The topic of passports comes up fairly often in the UAE, probably because about 90 percent of everyone here is a citizen of a country that is not the United Arab Emirates.

You live here long enough, and you begin to notice and appreciate a strong passport. United States and United Kingdom passports are, at the moment, the strongest in the world. Each will get you into 147 countries without need for a visa.

You get on a plane, you land, you show your American or British passport, and you’re on your way. Which is very handy.

Passports from France, Germany and South Korea are tied for second, with 145 visa-free entries.

As this story in The National notes, UAE passports are the strongest in the region; Emiratis can travel to 72 countries without a visa, and they are rightly proud of that. A strong passport generally indicates a stable country.

But at the other end of the spectrum are passports that are weak, difficult, dangerous, even … and you feel badly for people you know with a passport that leaves their ability to travel significantly circumscribed.

Like, say, Syria. Or Palestine.

And you realize that lots and lots of people you know spend a lot of time, energy and money trying to improve their ability to move around. Or escape, if necessary.

First, the Syrians.

Their homeland is a mess. Nonstop civil war into its fifth year now. Part of the country held by the government. Parts of the country held by rebel groups.

One Syrian we know got his passport renewed by the Assad regime … but he didn’t want to be forced to do military service. He paid a four-figure amount in U.S. dollars as a bribe to get a new passport which relieves him of a military obligation.

Another does not have that option. He/she carries a passport issued by one of the rebel groups. The Assad government will never “renew” that rebel-issued document. For this individual to submit it for renewal could have serious consequences.

Which means no “going home” any time soon.

The UAE also has significant populations of people with other “weak” passports. Among them: Pakistanis, Palestinians and Lebanese.

Pakistan’s passport gives its holder access to 46 countries, or 101 fewer than a U.S. passport holder.

The National has several Pakistani passport holders … and we don’t just figure they can travel hither and thither without a problem. They need time and money to get a visa (when they can get one), which makes for the sort of friction that sometimes leads to other staffers traveling, instead.

At the bottom of the passport strength list is Palestine (with four other countries). They can go to only 28 countries without a visa.

Many Palestinians (and Lebanese and Pakistanis) carry another passport, just so they can get around.

We know more than a few of them who have worked hard to get a second passport, often Canadian or British, which gives them far more options, if things get weird.

This concern about passports extends to generations above and below, too. Some women will make a point of giving birth in the UK or Canada, which conveys citizenship to the child. Some marry a person with a stronger passport, then make sure they get their own version of the spouse’s passport.

It makes us realize how lucky we are. If something goes badly wrong in the U.S. or the U.K. those citizens can go to the airport and head for 147 countries — without a visa.

That’s a big deal, and I’m not sure Americans or Britons appreciate it. Palestinians and Lebanese do.