Job Discussion Forums

[ckhl]

This should provide some passing entertainment

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

[adorabilly]

i can only really say
wow.

I am very surprised that this article hasn't been blocked "for public safety" or some such other excuse.

the real question I would pose to those who work and live in Dubai is how accurate is it?

[SD BOY]

Gosh...pretty harsh.

Years ago, Dubai seemed to me like a city planned by a group of fourteen year-old boys. Now it seems like a city planned by a bunch of fourteen year-old boys whacked out on coke or heroin.
That article might be slightly exaggerated, but there's nothing in it that I haven't witnessed myself.
The thing I've never understood is Western expats who do not know when it is most expedient to jump ship.

[kiefer]

This is not news that would be censored. It's not even news. Once a month an article about appalling labour camp conditions makes it into print and we all shed crocodile tears for five minutes before turning to TV guide.

[ckhl]

yes, slightly harsh... and some minor inaccuracies...and definitely of a certain political persuasion, but the gist is not inaccurate.

[SD BOY]

Most of this article is accurate..a few things have been spiced up or added for dramatic effect.
The bit about the "Gay Bar"...if it's the one I'm thinking of...is a bit overblown. He makes the place sound like West Hollywood on Saturday night, when in fact, it's pretty subdued. Also Gay locals are actually harassed by the cops...perhaps not as much as the Filipinos and other Asians, but it can be tough for those guys.
Another thing ..the author suggests all UAE nationals are living the life of Riley. That is decidedly not true. Most of the boys I taught from the northern Emirates came from relatively poor families. They had few prospects in life other than to become a sergeant in the Air Defense Force or whatever. Admittedly, few of them ever wanted more than that.
I knew a young Emirati guy with an excellent degree from the UK. He could not find a decent job for love or money. No wasta..no government position..and the private sector wouldn't touch him because..well, he was a Local.
Last I heard, he was on his way to sunny Montreal.

[sundrieddate]

At home in London and saw this documentary on BBC, on Dubai, wonder if it was aired over there.

Here is an article on it, you can find it on the BBC website I guess, not sure what they still block over there on the net. Was quite a bit two years ago.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidWAM20090408171037973/Ministry%20of%20Labour%20investigates%20the%20truth%20about%20BBC%20documentary%20on%20Dubai%20labour%20camps%20/

[sundrieddate]

http://montieth.livejournal.com/268608.html

[veiledsentiments]

[Neil McBeath]

Am I the only one to have noticed this?

Johann Hari interviews Karen Andrews for FOUR HOURS, and at the end, Karen has to ASK her for money to buy a meal.

Yet the same Johann Hari happily pontificates about uncaring expats who are, it seems, wilfully ignorant of the living conditions in places like the Al Qouz and Al Qusasis Industrial Areas; places where most expatriates would never have to go.

There is not a word about the extensive middle-class Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi communities in Dubai (not everybody is a semi-bonded labourer) but there is a clever use of adjectives to imply contempt "sun dried" women, the "vomit yellow" decor of Pizza Hut - which is the same vomit yellow that you find in London, Paris, Bangkok.

There have been a number of these articles recently. We had Germaine Greer's in-depth analysis, culled from the pages of some in-flight Business magazines and a four hour tour on a double decker bus, and now this tripe. It is basically schadenfreude; one section of opinion-makers has never really approved of the fact that ARABS had a lot of money, and so any suggestion that the global economic downturn is hurting will be seized on with glee.

Just after 9/11 we were told that Dubai was dead as a holiday destination. It was. For about six months....

[SD BOY]

I've noticed the same thing, Neil. There was a similar article in one of the Canadian rags the same day.
Are things so tight in Dubai that the Minister of Information has neglected to pay off British journalists?

[veiledsentiments]

I think that it is partly (or perhaps mostly) the tendency of the media these days to make every topic a feeding frenzy.

Topic of the quarter... Dubai has been cocky the last few years... they are being caught up in the worldwide financial fiasco... blood in the water... let's say what we really think about these rich A-rabs.

VS

[veiledsentiments]

Here's another one:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090416/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_dubai_suing_the_family_4

[anaxiforminges]

Is there any chance I will love Dubai? I really want to...

[trapezius]