When i was in dubai last year, we took a tour with a nice (afghan? dont remember) tour guide. We were all europeans in the bus, and he had worked in Germany before, so he could compare. He was telling us how many of the migrant workers work there: Many owe money to the agent who gets them a visa to work there, essentially being indebted from the moment they step foot in uae. Their passports are withheld from their bosses. They cannot buy property there (nobody can) , and the locals keep the rents artificially high (even though there are literally millions of empty apts) so that most migrant workers cannot afford to rent and have to rent in Sharjah, a different emirate. And when their visa ends, they cannot get a new one for 6 months (so they need to get back home)
Money governs dubai, and that is not even close to what you call "reasonably well-governed". Mass atrocities, neglect , decay etc. is everywhere, even in dubai, no matter how well they try to hide it.
UAE citizens enjoy free housing (with pool+ garage) in a specially allocated part of the city, virtually all the businesses are run by foreigners. Locals go to their own native-only exclusive nightclubs where you need an ID card. The locals own lots of money and businesses (mostly trade) and compete with each other over who has the biggest skyscraper (the land is very cheap since it's a desert). Showing off your wealth (by building exorbitantly expensive mansions , skyscrapers, islands etc) is practically their native sport.
And they are right about the culture thing. I was supposed to be visiting an arab country but you never meet arabs - everything is run by foreigners. Tourism isn't just about leisure time. Most everything feels artificial, plastic, empty, from the driverless trains, to the huge but empty skyscraper regions, the pointlessly long roads (who lives at the end of the road? still nobody), to the artificial islands full of beaches where it's always too hot to swim. And then the heat, when you feel your brain will boil if you stay outside a taxi for more than a few seconds. In all, dubai feels like plastic - odorless, cheap, flexible, disposable and eco-unfriendly
That being said, VanityFair would not have written this article back in 2005 when thousands of western engineers were making millions in the world's largest tax-free construction site.
The article has its share of gushing. However lines like "As far as fantastic working environments go, what of the tens of thousands of lowly immigrant laborers who are toiling like slaves under the whip of all-consuming construction?"
VanityFair would not have written this article back in 2005 when thousands of western engineers were making millions in the world's largest tax-free construction site.
excellent point!
I've had the same tour experience as you with pakistani expats there 5 years ago, and they seemed utterly amazed by the whole Dubai thing, as we did.
Money governs dubai, and that is not even close to what you call "reasonably well-governed". Mass atrocities, neglect , decay etc. is everywhere, even in dubai, no matter how well they try to hide it.
UAE citizens enjoy free housing (with pool+ garage) in a specially allocated part of the city, virtually all the businesses are run by foreigners. Locals go to their own native-only exclusive nightclubs where you need an ID card. The locals own lots of money and businesses (mostly trade) and compete with each other over who has the biggest skyscraper (the land is very cheap since it's a desert). Showing off your wealth (by building exorbitantly expensive mansions , skyscrapers, islands etc) is practically their native sport.
And they are right about the culture thing. I was supposed to be visiting an arab country but you never meet arabs - everything is run by foreigners. Tourism isn't just about leisure time. Most everything feels artificial, plastic, empty, from the driverless trains, to the huge but empty skyscraper regions, the pointlessly long roads (who lives at the end of the road? still nobody), to the artificial islands full of beaches where it's always too hot to swim. And then the heat, when you feel your brain will boil if you stay outside a taxi for more than a few seconds. In all, dubai feels like plastic - odorless, cheap, flexible, disposable and eco-unfriendly
That being said, VanityFair would not have written this article back in 2005 when thousands of western engineers were making millions in the world's largest tax-free construction site.