Dubai Inc.

[Waleed]

This is a really nice special on Dubai that was aired on 60 minutes. Dubai is one of 7 emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that is now one of the fastest developing region of the world. What is usually not appreciated is that Dubai had very little oil wealth, as fas as I know they hardly produce any substantial amount now. In the beginning, the rules of Dubai were very smart with their investments and now Dubai's economy doesn't depend on oil revenues rather all their other business ventures. Sheikh Mohammad put the collective business acumen of his community to good use and produced an investment friendly climate. It is more than evident in the results.

My phupo (Dad's sis) lives there and I had visited Dubai a few times before I came to the US, the best way to describe it is 'a mirage in the desert'. From the airplane window, all you see is sand one minute and then from out of nowhere you see the city appear. It's simply unreal.

Part 1: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4312234n
Part 2: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4312039n

 

[Jeeti]

Waleed brother I saw that 60 minutes as well...

absolutely amazing what Sheikh Mohammed has been able to do for the country. ..I have for quite some time wanted to visit Dubai..its on my list of things to do...ahahah hopefully sooner rather than later.

 

[Don]

His ambition his unparalleled, amazing how in only 7 years the former desert land he showed is now an economic hot spot. I found it interesting that he doesn't walk around with any type of security...I definitely would.

 

[Hans]

I really don't like Dubai. I have a ton of family there and I go every 3 years or so, and I like it less every time. Yes, I do respect the fact that, unlike most places in the middle east, Dubai has built itself from the ground up without relying heavily on oil revenue. What they have relied on instead, though, is tacky, showy displays of extravagance built by something close to slave labor. The city is divided into several sections, and one of them (I don't remember the name) is populated almost entirely by south Indian laborers who've built the entire city on FAR less than minimum wage ($175 per month for a construction worker, but the city's average income is $2106 per capita per month overall) with awful working standards.

I could go on for a while about the things I don't like about Dubai, but I'll stop myself there. Everyone's always excited about seeing new development, a set of islands that look like a map of the world, an indoor ski slope, or the world's tallest tower, but I think it's just important to remember that's there still lots of progress to be made. That's just my take, though.

Here are some sources for anyone who's interested:
Human rights watch photo essay - http://www.hrw.org/photos/2006/uae1106/
Constructing Dubai - the poor side of the city - http://wideangle.cafebabel.com/en/post/2007/10/06/Poor-Dubai
Building Towers, Cheating Workers - http://hrw.org/reports/2006/uae1106/

 

[Waleed]

I really don't like Dubai. I have a ton of family there and I go every 3 years or so, and I like it less every time. Yes, I do respect the fact that, unlike most places in the middle east, Dubai has built itself from the ground up without relying heavily on oil revenue. What they have relied on instead, though, is tacky, showy displays of extravagance built by something close to slave labor. The city is divided into several sections, and one of them (I don't remember the name) is populated almost entirely by south Indian laborers who've built the entire city on FAR less than minimum wage ($175 per month for a construction worker, but the city's average income is $2106 per capita per month overall) with awful working standards.

I could go on for a while about the things I don't like about Dubai, but I'll stop myself there. Everyone's always excited about seeing new development, a set of islands that look like a map of the world, an indoor ski slope, or the world's tallest tower, but I think it's just important to remember that's there still lots of progress to be made. That's just my take, though.

Here are some sources for anyone who's interested:
Human rights watch photo essay - http://www.hrw.org/photos/2006/uae1106/
Constructing Dubai - the poor side of the city - http://wideangle.cafebabel.com/en/post/2007/10/06/Poor-Dubai
Building Towers, Cheating Workers - http://hrw.org/reports/2006/uae1106/

I agree, while it is easy to be carried away with the glitz and glamor lets not forget the plight of migrant workers who built Dubai in to what it is today, in the scorching heat. Check out the 60 minutes link, they touch upon this subject and notice even the Sheikh says that he wants to improve the quality of living for "his people".

 

[Jeeti]

I was waiting for someone to comment on their labor practices...I'm glad its been said...but after watching the 60 mins about it...my dad and I discussed the labor problems and the manner in which they treat their laborers (regardless of whether they are Indian or not)...and this is the thing about it and a good point he brought up...Indians are there voluntarily and are not being forced to work (so as to imply "slave" labor)..

soo my question is this..How does it reflect on India that Indians are leaving the country and working in other countries under terrible conditions..is there something that can be done about it..is it because India is being so poorly run and not presenting its countrymen with enough labor opportunities?

...Before we go on to bash Dubai's labor practices...lets think about why exactly Indians are working there in the first place...

Also..Waleed...although the Sheikh touches on it...by trying to improve the quality, but who really are "his people"? Was he talking about immigrant workers?

 

[Billy Bob]

I agree that the labor practices are bad. BUT, why are these people there in the first place? Would they have jobs if they didn't get a chance to work in Dubai tho it sucks? Though their situation is bad, its much better than what many of them had before as the construction of Dubai has created thousands of jobs for these people. Nonetheless they should be treated "better", but its all relative in the end.

 

[Waleed]

Also..Waleed...although the Sheikh touches on it...by trying to improve the quality, but who really are "his people"? Was he talking about immigrant workers?

I'm quite sure he was talking about the native arab population. There is no doubt that the poor South Asians are treated like 2nd class citizens but the only reason why we even know or care about this issue is because the media has covered it. Let's not forget the millions of Indian and Pakistani workers who work in worse conditions with even less pay in our homeland.

I'm not the least bit impressed with the compensation and care that the South Asian workers are given by Dubai rulers since they have the resources to make imrpovements but choose not to do so in order to cut costs. However, at least from experiences in Pakistan, the conditions that mazdoor work back there are far worse. No hard hats, no gloves, no saftey harnesses. Pakistani mazdoor sleep on the streets, barely get enough to eat and are overworked. I could see why they rush to avail opportunities in Dubai.

I found it interesting that he doesn't walk around with any type of security...I definitely would.

Yeah, that was def very interesting. Pretty baller on his part.

 

[Hans]

I agree that the labor practices are bad. BUT, why are these people there in the first place? Would they have jobs if they didn't get a chance to work in Dubai tho it sucks? Though their situation is bad, its much better than what many of them had before as the construction of Dubai has created thousands of jobs for these people. Nonetheless they should be treated "better", but its all relative in the end.

This is the classic defense of children working in sweatshops, that yes the conditions are bad, but the alternative is worse. I don't think that's a very productive viewpoint to propose, though, because I think it's bad to accept human rights violations in the status quo even if there are worse things in the world.

Yes, it's very true that these Indians and other foreign migrants choose to work there for a reason, but the situation in Dubai is particularly appalling for a few reasons. First of all, Dubai is often flaunted as a "mirage in the desert" the way Waleed phrased it. It's marketed as a city of great success and wealth, which distracts from the dark side underneath.

Also, I agree that conditions in India and Pakistan are just as bad, and very often worse, than they are in Dubai. What's different is that India is a 3rd world, largely undeveloped, impoverished nation. Poverty is all around, so if a worker is being mistreated, it's likely that his employer is not necessarily much better off. In Dubai, however, there's billions of dollars of investment flowing in from wealthy Arabs and European and American investors who #1) can afford to treat these workers much better but choose not to as a business decision and #2) have most likely benefited from human rights standards their entire lives, and so they should know better than to perpetuate these problems.

So yes, Dubai is not the worst place in the world to work, and we should also pay attention to those areas that are much worse off, but I have a special kind of disgust for such extreme poverty and mistreatment in an otherwise wealthy nation. It's the same reason Hurricane Katrina was so bad, not because those Americans deserved good treatment more than a poor Indian worker, but because we have the resources and so we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.