Arabian Nights

One of my interests is modern architecture and this is perhaps one of the main reasons why i love living in the cities. Therefore i've always wanted to visit Dubai as i've heard news and stories about how marvelous that city is and that it is any architect's dream to visit Dubai. More importantly, Dubai is a symbol to the Islamic world as it shows that there can be modernization within the religion and that people of all backgrounds, sexual orientation and so forth can express themselves openly and live harmonous without fear of being harassed by authorities. The citizens are given free education and healthcare by the Government. This free education program extends all the way to getting PHDs, and that students are being sponsored to study abroad to U.S. and Europe. I've always believe that education is the key to sustain democracy. For this reason itself, our goal in spreading democracy to the Middle East failed as the majority of the population in Afghanistan and Iraq are uneducated. Dubai gives these people hope and aspiration as Muslim youths know that they can have a better life in Dubai. This symbolic gesture will also give the Muslim population dreams and ambitions rather than despair and violence.

I came across this article,http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html , which tells a dark tale about the current situation in Dubai. Just like the rest of the world, Dubai is no doubt hit hard by the global financial crisis. Constructions have stopped as they are not enough investors to finance the boom. Besides that, the UAE had just approved a loan to bailout Dubai. The sewage system has exceeded its capacity and the palm islands are sinking slowly. With ample bad news, the Government has chosen to censor the press. Bloggers and foreign correspondents are not allowed to write any negatitive news about Dubai with the threat of imprisonment or deportation.

Then there is the issue of slave labor. It's obvious that many of the labourers come from India and Bangladesh and the maids from the Phillipines. Maids from the Phillipines are known to be better trained and more responsible than those from other 3rd world countries. Bangladeshi workers are also known to be more hardworking and ethically responsible in contrast to the poorer 3rd world nations. They have obviously been abuse and mistreated but that is common everywhere in the world. The thing that surprises me is that their embassies are not willing to help them out. These workers are not getting proper food and sanitation and this is obviously cruel. I would have thought that their own countries will be ensuring that their workers are getting the deserving salaries and working conditions. It's in their interest to do so as these workers will be sending home money and this labor export is good business. The biggest income for Mexico is the dollars flowing in from the U.S. by their people. 

Finally, there is no bankrupy law in Dubai. This is definitely a surprise to me. I would expect that a city which prizes itself as the new global financial capitol of the world will have proper bankrupcy laws. If you ended up owing money and unable to pay, you go to jail. That's a draconian law as i'm certain that only workers will be affected by this and not corporations. Free healthcare is only provided for its citizens and not the foreign workers that comprises 90% of the population.  This makes opening up a small business in Dubai will be of high risk as failure means going to jail. This too explains why there are a big influx of foreigners who would drive their cars to the airport and fly home. With prices of houses and apartments going down, i hope that i would be able to afford a holiday villa at Dubai sometime in the future.  Hopefully by then, the laws will be properly set up to accommodate the modern world.