The dark side of Dubai
Dubai, a city where fantasy is reality. As a matter of fact, for some, Dubai is the synonym of luxury. Well, there's an old saying: all that glitters is not gold. This is exactly the case with Dubai, especially Dubai. I have been to Abu Dhabi and Dubai as a tourist. I enjoyed my stay there. Very friendly people, and their hospitality is beyond imagination. Did I get a chance to meet the royalty? No! However, I did meet the Director of Finance, Vice President, and CEO of the organisation, who work for the ruler (Sheikh Mohammed-Bin- Rashid Al-Maktoum) of Dubai. Our team was their guest. My organisation then worked on a project for them. They were happy with our work, and after the completion of the task, they invited us to Dubai for a leisure trip. It was a "thank you" from them. All arrangements were done by them. We were there as tourists.
Well, this post isn't about me or my experience in Dubai. This is about the dark side of Dubai. The tourism industry of Dubai surged in the late 90s when large-scale developments began to make news across the globe. How did Dubai become a global sensation? The answer is simple: marketing! Businesses in Dubai, especially the hospitality sector, used celebs, business magnets, and renowned models for advertising about their business. Just open any social media app, and then open the page of any celeb or model; you'll find ample posts of their stay in Dubai. This type of content lures people across the globe to visit Dubai. Now, you must be thinking, what's dark about this? This is pretty normal. Every business uses this strategy.
Please allow me to explain the dark side of Dubai. Every skyscraper that you see in Dubai today has been built by workers from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia. All of these workers have the same story, they were promised a better pay, lifestyle, and home, but all of them became bonded labour soon their arrival in Dubai. Their wages cannot even cover two meals a day, and they are made to work for more than 12 hours in a day. They live in shelters owned by their employers, where one small room is shared by four or five workers. They don't have any healthcare either. So, just imagine the hell they are living in. They can't share their ordeal with their family members because they are under observation. Legally, an employer cannot hold the passport of any employee, but none of these workers have their passport with them. It's with the agent hired by the employer and is given to them only when the worker becomes a spent force for them. You wouldn't find these labourers while you are in Dubai because they are busy in construction sites, mines, and ports throughout the day, and the shelters they live in are quite far away from the city. Does the UAE administration know about these practices? Absolutely! Why don't they do something about it? Why should they! Does the human rights commission of the UN question the UAE about these practices? Yes, but the UAE administration is smart enough to find a way around it. The vicious circle never ends!
Models who make Tik-Tok videos, Instagram reels, and YT shorts promoting Dubai tourism are paid huge amounts to do so. Their actual assignment is a secret party with the elites of the UAE in heavily guarded, super-luxurious mansions. What kind of parties are these? Well, folks like Hugh Hefner and Diddy can tell us better! Some of these models are asked to do things that a woman who values self-respect won't agree to do. These models, if they don't agree to do what they are asked to do, soon become a nobody from somebody.
Finally, the kind of treatment women receive from men. Not every woman in the UAE experiences domestic abuse, but there are women who live with trauma, and they cannot share their story with anyone. The percentage of such cases is low, but even a low percentage is a matter of concern.
Did I witness any of this when I was in the UAE? No! I don't come from the elite class. So, I don't have any idea about this. However, the accounts of victims available over the web cannot be ignored either.
Some of you might say that it's just the Middle East being the Middle East. Whoa! Take a look at your country first. Elites, be it from any country, always have something dark about them. Most of them are associated with cults, and cults are all about sexual exploitation, drugs, and money laundering. Correct me if I am wrong.
Are all elites evil? No, but 99% are! Fact: Take it or leave it!
[media=https://youtu.be/13AYj5upfME]
Well, this post isn't about me or my experience in Dubai. This is about the dark side of Dubai. The tourism industry of Dubai surged in the late 90s when large-scale developments began to make news across the globe. How did Dubai become a global sensation? The answer is simple: marketing! Businesses in Dubai, especially the hospitality sector, used celebs, business magnets, and renowned models for advertising about their business. Just open any social media app, and then open the page of any celeb or model; you'll find ample posts of their stay in Dubai. This type of content lures people across the globe to visit Dubai. Now, you must be thinking, what's dark about this? This is pretty normal. Every business uses this strategy.
Please allow me to explain the dark side of Dubai. Every skyscraper that you see in Dubai today has been built by workers from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia. All of these workers have the same story, they were promised a better pay, lifestyle, and home, but all of them became bonded labour soon their arrival in Dubai. Their wages cannot even cover two meals a day, and they are made to work for more than 12 hours in a day. They live in shelters owned by their employers, where one small room is shared by four or five workers. They don't have any healthcare either. So, just imagine the hell they are living in. They can't share their ordeal with their family members because they are under observation. Legally, an employer cannot hold the passport of any employee, but none of these workers have their passport with them. It's with the agent hired by the employer and is given to them only when the worker becomes a spent force for them. You wouldn't find these labourers while you are in Dubai because they are busy in construction sites, mines, and ports throughout the day, and the shelters they live in are quite far away from the city. Does the UAE administration know about these practices? Absolutely! Why don't they do something about it? Why should they! Does the human rights commission of the UN question the UAE about these practices? Yes, but the UAE administration is smart enough to find a way around it. The vicious circle never ends!
Models who make Tik-Tok videos, Instagram reels, and YT shorts promoting Dubai tourism are paid huge amounts to do so. Their actual assignment is a secret party with the elites of the UAE in heavily guarded, super-luxurious mansions. What kind of parties are these? Well, folks like Hugh Hefner and Diddy can tell us better! Some of these models are asked to do things that a woman who values self-respect won't agree to do. These models, if they don't agree to do what they are asked to do, soon become a nobody from somebody.
Finally, the kind of treatment women receive from men. Not every woman in the UAE experiences domestic abuse, but there are women who live with trauma, and they cannot share their story with anyone. The percentage of such cases is low, but even a low percentage is a matter of concern.
Did I witness any of this when I was in the UAE? No! I don't come from the elite class. So, I don't have any idea about this. However, the accounts of victims available over the web cannot be ignored either.
Some of you might say that it's just the Middle East being the Middle East. Whoa! Take a look at your country first. Elites, be it from any country, always have something dark about them. Most of them are associated with cults, and cults are all about sexual exploitation, drugs, and money laundering. Correct me if I am wrong.
Are all elites evil? No, but 99% are! Fact: Take it or leave it!
[media=https://youtu.be/13AYj5upfME]
