Monday, June 27, 2005

Dubai Dubai Duplicitous Dubai!

Well I guess something interesting has finally happened to me to warrant an actual entry into my blog (dare I call it that), man this feels just as gay as the first entry! Anyhoo I’m down in Dubai checking out job prospects and doing some other stuff that’s probably less fun than the fact that I’m actually in Dubai cos’ I’ve gotta stick around with the old man which basically means I’ll be doing more of the same boring shit I’ve been going through for the past 2 years of my life…I think they call it work..

Anyways we did some dull official stuff today after our 6:30am wake up call for our villa here. Good thing I picked myself up a decent camera in London cos’ despite not knowing Dubai like I know Doha I’ll probably get a few choice photo ops here and there. I’m still learning how to use the damn thing still but I’ll post some photos up soon depending on where I can get a decent internet connection etc.

Right now for a little explanation on the title of this blog entry. Over the years as I’ve (hopefully) matured and had time to mellow and understand the world around me a little more I’ve come to the understanding that my life here in the middle east was really one long dream. Now I’ve always tried to be honest and self-righteous (in a good way), but one thing really struck me and struck me harder than it has ever done before.

As soon as I got off the plane yesterday I saw a few groups of Asian low-paid labourers/contract workers (mostly from the Indian subcontinent as you usually find here) being herded around like sheep by a fat local arab security guy, its disgusting how he treated them with so much contempt like they were merely crap stuck under his shoe, he yelled at them and just asked them to come to him rather than him bothering to take his lardy ass over to them and explain to them nicely where they need to go. It really hurt me to see this and really made me think whether or not investing in this apparent lap of luxury was such a good thing. ‘Welcome to Dubai now get the F**ck outta my face!’ that’s exactly what it felt like when I saw them dismissed like that.

After all, all we’re doing by investing in property or whatever in this country is just adding to the eventual misery of thousands of poor workers who simply come here not to have a better life but to make a better living and hopefully be able to send back whatever they make to their families back home. But alas they rarely get paid properly or just don’t get paid and then are simply deported back to the miseries they tried to make good upon in the first place! Seriously WTF!!!

And while all this is happening you have the wealthy passengers coming in from the West and waving their passports at immigration and being treated like royalty. Money’s flowing around this city like the Asian Tsunami but its simply a case of ‘water water everywhere but not a drop to drink’ at least not if you’re poor; have no rights whatsoever and have a family to keep alive.

The bottom line to my seemingly inarticulately written blog entry and the result of my current seething temper and outrage at all this is simply this: The incentive to work for a poor worker in this part of the world is to keep his family back home from dying before he gets back from his 10, 20 etc year ordeal ahem 'Construction company contract', the incentive to work for wealthy citizens of these countries is to keep Daddy’s Rolls’ tank full.

That’s it I’m pissed off! Pictures to hopefully follow.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your views, insights and tenacious attitude should win a nobel prize. Afterall why can't the underdogs win a NOBEL??? Great Stuff Em.....Pattikakes10@yahoo.com

Kelvin said...

Why are we waiting..........for "pictures" ???
(Hehe) Great blog. I'll be back.