I agree with just about everything you say. However, if I implied at any point in time that the British built Dubai (and I’m not British for the record), that was not the intention. No one but the vision of the Maktoum family built Dubai.

Like you say, Dubai has its perks and its drawbacks, and the analogy of your American Professor would be pretty damn accurate. But what’s to note is that Dubai thrives on this inappropriate and comfortable mix of people. Imagine what would happen if the rich, elite expats of Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Marnia started mingle with the not so well to do expats of Al Rigga Road and Al Naif, and others from Sharjah.

It is a disaster waiting to happen, both on social and financial levels, and the Dubai Metro may play a big part in making it happen.

I’ve left Dubai. To me, it is just another tourist destination for the time being, and that is what I intend to treat it as.

What I must say is that I have a lot of respect for you. I didn’t meet many Emaratis during my stay in Dubai (given the fact that there aren’t a whole lot), but the ones I did meet did not appreciate education or hard work, especially not from a Pakistani. So, for coming up with such a profound response, I absolutely salute you.

It was this extreme form of targeted racism based on passport, country of origin and skin tone which disregarded everything else about you as a person, that I despised most about the UAE.

In any case, best of luck to you, my friend.

In your article it is more about for expatriate that are welling to visit or move to Dubai, and I don’t have a problem with that. However, among the citizens of Dubai people look to the foreigners as having the good life here (I mean the middle class of course), yet no body wanted this to happen and people look at inflation and the increasing number of visitors as a boiling state which indicates that the worst is yet to come. I am actually among the people that are thinking of leaving the country for good just because we don’t know where we are heading to.

You are trying to compare Dubai to London or NY, but it’s not Dubai is Dubai a city that is built for the rich no matter where you come from( and yes it is not like the American dream so you’ll never feel like a citizen). If you think traffic is the biggest problem in Dubai, well it’s not, because there is no strong culture or a well structure society in Dubai. You will see people from different nationality working together but you will not see them living together as one, because in the end everyone has his own identity and will not want to change for the sake of another culture. I liked how an American professor of mine compared Dubai to New York, he said: ” That they are both like a salad, the only different is that New York is well mixed up to small pieces and Dubai is left up with every one piece as it is… they will never mix and will not have any harmony”.

And I have heard from many people that they where the one responsible for making Dubai as it is, I heard from Indians that they are the one who built Dubai (They say it with a smile), from Iranians that they invested from Dubai, from Korean and Japanese that they provided the technology … or in your case British engineers built Dubai (you make it sound like if it were only British engineers). And I really don’t care, what I know is people didn’t work for the kindness of their heart… it is because of the money.
When it comes to wet backs jobs and slave worker westerns compare their state to the situation that they have at home and then they blame the government, which their opinion is perfectly fine with me, but yes there is no strong law for immigration and they trick these people to come here and they know that it is not that pleasant yet still they keep up coming (just because they could earn a little bit more than they do at home). But people have to understand that there are so many people are involved in the process that saying ONLY the government is responsible is not a well claimed fact.

The government leave it to the market to have the equilibrium price for worker and it tern to be very low because there are many people that are welling to work for that salary. Also there are people from the same flesh and blood of the workers and they bring them to work for some companies and they take most of there salary just because they where the ones whom brought the workers and so they own them (basically pure slavery) Why don’t people react to them? Simply because they have so many things to worry about (it is not because they are oblivious about it). In the U.A.E we have the highest percentage of foreigners in the world (a new record for Dubai since they like to break new records). So if 15% of Dubai’s residents are locals do you really expect that they would able to control everything in the country!!! I am sorry for the people that are involved in human traffic but we can’t help ALL of them, but they tray to find them and return them to their country (or at least that what they clasim).

Furthermore, Dubai is not the best place to work in but for the people that are within the region or for the close countries to it (mainly south Asia) it is a paradise to them. It is easier to get a working visa than in other western societies. Dubai is a good place for a short holiday or to have a second home there, but I don’t recommend living there if you don’t want crowded places and very expensive things for no reason (then again we all don’t).

Well worth NOT visiting..

I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you have. Belive me, I have researched the subject, and I have family friends who have been living in Dubai since before the UAE was formed.

Thanks!

We all know this country of ours is being sold down the pan and life here is becoming unaffordable as well as intolerable.

If Dubai IS following the Brit’s lead, then all of their work will have been for nothing. It will sink faster than the Titanic.

wishing all New-Yorkers well.

Pete.

I recently wrote an article about why London will never be New York. This is second of the series of such articles which comparies London and Dubai. I think that Dubai is built on a very similar pattern to London, and in a few years, if Dubai plays t…