The Dark Side of Dubai

[coralie]

Daniel was sentenced to six months' imprisonment at a trial he couldn't understand. It was in Arabic, and there was no translation. "Now I'm here illegally, too," Karen says I've got no money, nothing. I have to last nine months until he's out, somehow."

did she contacted her ambassy asking for help or assistance or at least let them know about the situation ? the ambassy must be informed of the situation of 2 of its nationals . in the case of her husband i doubt the ambassy will get involved or interfere in juridical procedure they consider it a "commercial" or "financial" problem between a canadian expat and the local authorities but at least there should be a sort of assistance for both the husband and the wife .

why ambassies are not geting involved why dont they help their "ressortissants" or at least assist them ? if respective countries are not taking care of its own nationals can we blame the locals when they misbehave and treat their foreign workers,maids or employees like animals ?

"The thing you have to understand about Dubai is – nothing is what it seems," Karen says at last. "Nothing. This isn't a city, it's a con-job. They lure you in telling you it's one thing – a modern kind of place – but beneath the surface it's a medieval dictatorship."

you will never see this side until you get in financial troubles . many business men faced the same destiny, were totaly ruined and thrown in jail like dogs .
the worse is that they throw you in jail and in the same time want you to pay your debts .... how will you pay your debts if they keep you in jail for one 2 or 3 years ? you lost your work/company you are broke and the day they release you they keep your passport , you cant find a job cause you do not have a passport thus you are classified as ex con = no one will dare hire you , you have no money and due to your situation no bank will give you credits to start a business .... imagine the situation .


......."everything in Dubai is fake. Everything you see. The trees are fake, the workers' contracts are fake, the islands are fake, the smiles are fake – even the water is fake!" But she is trapped, she says. She got into debt to come here, and she is stuck for three years: an old story now. "I think Dubai is like an oasis. It is an illusion, not real. You think you have seen water in the distance, but you get close and you only get a mouthful of sand."

very true .

He looks around at the shiny floors and Western tourists and says: "What we see now didn't occur in our wildest dreams. We never thought we could be such a success, a trendsetter, a model for other Arab countries. The people of Dubai are mighty proud of their city, and rightly so. And yet..." He shakes his head. "In our hearts, we fear we have built a modern city but we are losing it to all these expats."

as much as people say wow unbelievable city,amazing this , wonderfull that .. i still find it a city without soul,.... did they realy lose it to all these expats ? or did they lose it to their own folie des grandeurs ??? out of greed and for this trendsetter , they built this fake model that is fare from being related to any of their culture or traditions , long empty glass buildings, hudge fantastic inhabited projects . they were very happy with all this why blame it on expats ? without them you could not have this wild dream you could not make it happen , you wanted it . you wanted more and more .

without the expats (workers in all fields , employees in all fields, CEO, managers, architects,industriels,traders,..) the locals are nothing but a groupe of lazy, overweight ARBABs.

so stop blaming it on expats they built your desert and made your dream cometrue so respect them and the least you can do is treat them like humans .

[Arze]

Didn't waste my time to read all the article,, as it looks from the start that its full of exaggeration.
I'm in Dubai since almost 17 years,, I have lots of friends and believe I haven't heard such stories.
I can agree on the life that the Asian workers live but not any other story been written by this writer..
The article lack of objectivity ,, this is the less to say.

[Frisbeetarian]

Didn't waste my time to read all the article,, as it looks from the start that its full of exaggeration.
I'm in Dubai since almost 17 years,, I have lots of friends and believe I haven't heard such stories.
I can agree on the life that the Asian workers live but not any other story been written by this writer..
The article lack of objectivity ,, this is the less to say.

Your opinion regarding the article wont be valid and wont be taken seriously if you dont take the time and make the effort to read its entirety.

[Zouxi]

I have visited dubai twice so far, herebelow my 2 cents regarding the dark side of this city:

-Toooo much artificial, nothing is natural...
-Too much traffic jam,you need somtimes 3 hours to pass a distance of 10 kms from one part of the city to the other part ( especially on cheikh zayed road), especiallyin the peak hours (morning from charka to dubai, and evening vice versa)...
-No cultural and human exchange, in other words too much business, money,luxury, technology, but you can't find a museum, nor a theatre...

Such a city is going to extinction no matter what time it will take, because the grow is based on money and not on human value...

[Arze]

Originally Posted by Zouxi

I have visited dubai twice so far, herebelow my 2 cents regarding the dark side of this city:

-Toooo much artificial, nothing is natural...
-Too much traffic jam,you need somtimes 3 hours to pass a distance of 10 kms from one part of the city to the other part ( especially on cheikh zayed road), especiallyin the peak hours (morning from charka to dubai, and evening vice versa)...
-No cultural and human exchange, in other words too much business, money,luxury, technology, but you can't find a museum, nor a theatre...

Such a city is going to extinction no matter what time it will take, because the grow is based on money and not on human value...

Who Told you??? Have u asked some1?

[Arze]

Originally Posted by Frisbeetarian

Your opinion regarding the article wont be valid and wont be taken seriously if you dont take the time and make the effort to read its entirety.

I'm not asking your opinion,,
As a Lebanese and as a Dubai Citizen since 16 years+ I can tell you about Dubai reality without reading any article.

[hiptanaka]

Originally Posted by Arze

I'm not asking your opinion,,
As a Lebanese and as a Dubai Citizen since 16 years+ I can tell you about Dubai reality without reading any article.

Arze im not addressing this solely to you, but you cant always gain the whole picture without living it. i lived in saudi arabia for 16 years and i can tell you for a fact that, apart from straying emotionally wayward at times, this article is spot on. to build a city like that in such a short amount of time, under its particular circumstances, requires corners to be cut somewhere. unfortunately its the asian migrant workers that get the short end of the stick and are subjected to the worst living conditions known to man. why? because they longed for a better life? its an utter atrocity on a number of levels.

its quite a shame you didnt read the article because a few paragraphs in and you'll find something that may seem familiar.

"You see them everywhere, in dirt-caked blue uniforms, being shouted at by their superiors, like a chain gang – but you are trained not to look. It is like a mantra: the Sheikh built the city. The Sheikh built the city. Workers? What workers?"

if this does indeed apply to you, i wont hold you to it or lay the blame on you - its a normal tendency when you're on the "other side". i was once one of those "trained not to look" folks, and its only after i grew older and wiser that i came to terms with the so-called reality.

[Arze]

Originally Posted by hiptanaka

Arze im not addressing this solely to you, but you cant always gain the whole picture without living it. i lived in saudi arabia for 16 years and i can tell you for a fact that, apart from straying emotionally wayward at times, this article is spot on. to build a city like that in such a short amount of time, under its particular circumstances, requires corners to be cut somewhere. unfortunately its the asian migrant workers that get the short end of the stick and are subjected to the worst living conditions known to man. why? because they longed for a better life? its an utter atrocity on a number of levels.

its quite a shame you didnt read the article because a few paragraphs in and you'll find something that may seem familiar.

"You see them everywhere, in dirt-caked blue uniforms, being shouted at by their superiors, like a chain gang – but you are trained not to look. It is like a mantra: the Sheikh built the city. The Sheikh built the city. Workers? What workers?"

if this does indeed apply to you, i wont hold you to it or lay the blame on you - its a normal tendency when you're on the "other side". i was once one of those "trained not to look" folks, and its only after i grew older and wiser that i came to terms with the so-called reality.

I'm not talking about building the city,, nor the empty buildings.
I'm talking about the fake stories that the writer is telling... About the empty hotels and empty streets and and and...
I do agree with the part he talked in it about the Asian workers and I mention it in my previous post

[Frisbeetarian]

I'm not asking your opinion,,
As a Lebanese and as a Dubai Citizen since 16 years+ I can tell you about Dubai reality without reading any article.

Im not stating an opinion. Im just clarifying that from a logical perspective your argument isnt valid because you haven't gone through the article which is the point of discussion.

[Zouxi]

Originally Posted by Arze

Who Told you??? Have u asked some1?

can you find a public library in dubai?