Ahmed,
You haven't really addressed my questions on discrimination, lack of job portability (in other words slavery) and human rights issues I raised. It is interesting you and I share our names but its clear you are unable to carry a civil conversation without name calling. Can we discuss this with decorum and civility?
And Cosmos, I have been to UAE alright. This post was not about my personal experiences, although some of them are truly unbelievable and I have one for every time I have travelled through these places. For example:
1. I was once denied entry to first class lounge in doha after they saw my green Pakistani passport (seriously, I am not kidding, I was told that the lounge was full but the fair lady from London who was on the same flight and sitting next to me in first class and who was next to me in the queue to enter the lounge was let in, *after me*, without anyone even looking at her Passport).
2. Dubai was a nightmare, a stupid moron security gaurd (local) tried to *confiscate* my rather cool looking palmtop, when I started screaming at him, he backed down, partially I suppose because I was yelling at him in American accent.
3. The next example takes the cake. I once applied to a technical position in Saudi Aramco while I lived in Karachi. I got a written response back (at least that is something), the response which I saved as a token of my humiliation for years until I moved to US clearly stated that while I had the qualifications, they were specifically looking to hire Americans or Europeans only for this position. It boggled my mind at how this was legal but then, I had not had a chance to deal with people from UAE until then and still had a naive sense of attachment and pride in their financial success. Wake up call, if you will.
4. Several of my friends who work in Dubai or Doha or Abu Dhabi are working at one third the salaries of their exact counterparts from Europe and America. (Yes if you look like an American, you can make a mint, although recent crash in economy may be a hinderance in successful prospects). But this sort of discrimination is almost part of the law (I mean not really just tolerated but systemetic).
I have since decided never to even pass through these countries, it is not worth the hassle. But these are just personal experiences and stand nothing in comparison to the issues faced by south asians who have to live and work there. Most wrokers cannot port their jobs, most domestic and low pay servants cannot even leave as their sponsors hold their passports to ransom, sometimes without paying them for months on end. With almost no protection for workers from abusive employers (whether domestic or corporate), they are trapped in a cycle of poverty, they can't bring their families in and just live like animals in ghetto like conditions with 8 people per room. My hope with this post is try and communicate with people in UAE who have the power to change some of this (this is not about the regional politics, it is simple economics - convert the poor masses into next generation of consumers and prosper).
Some links:
Human rights in Dubai - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The dark side of Dubai - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent
LiveLeak.com - Dubai's Dirty Little Secret
Asia Sentinel - Dubai’s Labor Ghetto
Dark Side of Dubai's Boomtown - The Blotter
'Slave Labour' In Dubai's Building Boom | Home | Sky News
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