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MANILA: Margarete Serrano’s foray into content creation began in the Philippines nearly two decades ago, when she would upload comedy skits while juggling her responsibilities as a nursing student.

What was then a hobby had a boost a few years later, as she moved to Abu Dhabi in 2014, where she found employment as a private nurse.

Known online as Em, she started sharing food reviews from her new home abroad.

“Some restaurant owners and managers began to notice my posts and invited me to revisit, which marked the beginning of my food blogging journey. Eventually, I returned to vlogging as well,” Serrano told Arab News.

Today, she has nearly 160,000 followers across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and has transitioned into full-time content creation, sharing her culinary, travel experiences and tips for other overseas Filipino workers.

“I actively participate in community and volunteer events. Through my content, I aim to spread positivity, hope and kindness,” she said. “I want to inspire others to do good, give back and uplift one another — especially within the Filipino community.”

Gulf countries, especially ����ֱ�� and the UAE, are home to nearly 2 million Filipinos. About 700,000 of them live in the UAE.

Traditionally employed in health care, education and corporate sectors, some of them, such as Serrano, have turned their social media-savviness and digital creativity into new opportunities.

With followers ranging from hundreds of thousands to more than a million, they rise to online fame with content varying from comedy skits to wellbeing, lifestyle and informative videos that help Filipinos adapt and adjust to life in the Middle East.

Michael Banua moved to Dubai in 2017 with a degree in chemistry and began his career as an account manager for a construction company. But storytelling has always been his passion. He now pursues it professionally.

“I’ve always loved storytelling. I once dreamed of becoming a filmmaker or writer, but life took me elsewhere. Content creation brought that dream back. Now I get to tell real, relatable stories in my own way every day,” Banua told Arab News.

His 116,000 followers on Instagram are drawn to positive and lighthearted content, in which he always tries to include Filipino culture — “from humor to everyday moments, so other nationalities can see and appreciate who we are,” he said.

“It’s my way of giving Filipinos here a piece of home while celebrating Dubai’s diversity, too.”

His compatriot and fellow Dubai-based creator, Jep Laguitan, retains his main job as a photographer and videographer.

Having lived in the UAE for the past 12 years, he has earned nearly 200,000 followers on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, aiming his content at Filipinos.

“Mostly, I do comedy videos which attract more OFW audiences,” he said. “(It) makes our kabayan (compatriots) forget about the stress of their day.”

Others, such as Mark Ilano, who has about 230,000 followers on Instagram alone, are focused on specific themes.

Iland has become widely recognized for his content on menswear as well as Dubai city, creating posts dispensing advice for fashion and styling, as well as smart shopping and money-saving tips.

“I liked the idea of building a community around things we all care about and putting out content that’s fun, helpful or inspiring,” he said. “At first, it was just a hobby, but over time I realized it was something I really wanted to take more seriously.”

For Rechel Hoco, who has more than 1 million followers on Facebook alone, the content career also started out of sudden.

“I would film my daily life as an OFW — simple things, nothing fancy. Then one day, I made a video about trying mandi in Dubai, and it suddenly went viral. That’s when I realized, ‘OK, maybe this is something I can actually grow.’ That’s where it all began,” she told Arab News.

As one of the most high-profile Filipino content creators in the Middle East, Hoco sees her content as something that reflects her embrace of Dubai as home.

“I moved to Dubai in search of better opportunities, and this city gave me more than I ever dreamed of,” she said. “It helped me grow not just in my career, but also as a person.”

LONDON: The co-founder of a pro-Palestinian campaign group sought on Monday to challenge the British government’s decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, a move her lawyers said had “the hallmarks of an authoritarian and blatant abuse of power.”
Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, is asking London’s High Court to give the go-ahead for a full challenge to the group’s proscription, which was made on the grounds it committed or participated in acts of terrorism.
Earlier this month, the High Court refused Ammori’s application to pause the ban and, following an unsuccessful last-ditch appeal, Palestine Action’s proscription came into effect just after midnight on July 5.
Proscription makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Ammori’s lawyer Raza Husain said Palestine Action is the first direct action group to be banned as a terror group, a move he argued was inconsistent with “the honorable history of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds in our country.”
Dozens have been arrested for holding placards purportedly supporting the group since the ban and Ammori’s lawyers say protesters expressing support for the Palestinian cause have also been subject to increased scrutiny from police officers.
Britain’s interior minister Yvette Cooper, however, has said violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that Palestine Action’s activities – including breaking into a military base and damaging two planes – justify proscription.
Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment.
The group accuses the British government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in its ongoing bombardment of Gaza.
Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses in its war in Gaza, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.