Slave Labor, Filth, and Unbearable Heat: The Dark Side of Dubai Emerges

Evil Conservative Radio ^ | 09 April 2009 | EC

[nysuperdoodle]

Dubai was meant to be a Middle-Eastern Shangri-La, a glittering monument to Arab enterprise and western capitalism. But as hard times arrive in the city state that rose from the desert sands, an uglier story is emerging.

[GeronL]

It was always a facade.

The entire thing was a giant sham.

[nysuperdoodle]

yep.... from the article -

She is not alone. All over the city, there are maxed-out expats sleeping secretly in the sand-dunes or the airport or in their cars.

“The thing you have to understand about Dubai is – nothing is what it seems,” Karen says at last. “Nothing. This isn’t a city, it’s a con-job. They lure you in telling you it’s one thing – a modern kind of place – but beneath the surface it’s a medieval dictatorship.”

[pabianice]

[GeronL]

How did so many people fall for it? A new Hong Kong in the middle east? In a Muslim country?

it wasn’t going to happen

[MplsSteve]

BUMP for later reading...

[Indian_Fighter_Kite]

“It was always a facade.

The entire thing was a giant sham.”

There WAS a time when Dubai was a great place for people to work . I remember that time .

[fortunate sun]

Oh well.

[Publius6961]

“The thing you have to understand about Dubai is – nothing is what it seems,” Karen says at last. “Nothing. This isn’t a city, it’s a con-job. They lure you in telling you it’s one thing – a modern kind of place – but beneath the surface it’s a medieval dictatorship.”

That has never been a secret for those wishing to really know.
I have no sympathy for stupidity.

Greed, next to stupidity, is the driving force for all these "victims."

[rednesss]

"Greed, next to stupidity, is the driving force for all these "victims." "

Wow, you're definitely in line for humanitarian of the year with that statement. If they were lied to, told that they could make X, and then when they get there they are told they will receive 10% of X and have their passports taken from them and given no way to return home, I'd have to say, yeah, they're victims. But Muslims have been all about slavery for centuries, its a way of life and religion to them.

[Leisler]

"Sahinal could well die out here. A British man who used to work on construction projects told me: "There's a huge number of suicides in the camps and on the construction sites, but they're not reported. They're described as 'accidents'." Even then, their families aren't free: they simply inherit the debts.

Kind of like us now with the trillions that Bush/Congress/Obama are chaining our kids too.

[aruanan]

But Muslims have been all about slavery for centuries, its a way of life and religion to them.

Speaking of which, I know a Muslim landlord and his wife in Chicago who asked an African widow four months after she signed a lease to move out so they could dig up the floor in her basement apartment. They said it would take 2 days or 2 weeks, depending on what they found. They said that since they weren't sure whether they'd rehab the apartment for rent or just keep it for storage, they wanted her to move out as soon as possible so they could use the Mexican workers they had renovating apartments on the second and third floor to do the basement. The wife kept calling and calling, asking when the mom was going to move out and saying that it had to be soon. During this time there were two occasions when the gas furnace went out. The first time it took about 3 weeks before someone finally came in to get it started. The second time no one ever did come in, so the mom was using electric space heaters. When the family first moved in, we saw rats and notified the landlord who sent someone over to patch up a few holes in the baseboards but did nothing more. Sometime later in the middle of the night a rat bit the one-year-old's hand, necessitating a visit to the emergency room. After months of looking for another apartment she could afford, the mom finally found one. When she was moving the stuff out, the wife of the landlord came over and asked her, "Oh, are you moving out?" and then told her that she would have to come back over and check for damages that the mom would have to pay for. The ridiculous thing is that the place was in very bad repair before they ever moved in, unoccupied for 8 months, and was, essentially, whitewashed for them just before they moved in. Loyola University students apparently had been the tenants before. Bathroom cabinetry was already rotting out but just painted over. If they rehab the place like they did for the other apartments (for which they're charging $1400/month rent), they'll tear out all the very same crap they're trying to charge the mother for (I know because I saw it in the trash as it was pulled out). Bottom line: the landlord wanted to break the lease early for his own benefit and wants to make her pay for it.

[Leisler]

deception n. the act of misleading another through intentionally false statements or fraudulent actions. (See: fraud, deceit,congress,obama,GOP,DNC,paulson,aig,citibank...)

[Publius6961]

Wow, you're definitely in line for humanitarian of the year with that statement. If they were lied to, told that they could make X, and then when they get there they are told they will receive 10% of X and have their passports taken from them and given no way to return home, I'd have to say, yeah, they're victims. But Muslims have been all about slavery for centuries, its a way of life and religion to them.

All overt sarcasm aside, your final statement summarizes my "humanitarian" attitude.
Your initial statement although totally correct, is disingenuous to the point of comedy.
The initial victims, going back at least 20 years, have been quite active sharing their horrible experiences on the internet.
Certainly, in the last 5 to 10 years, one must choose to remain clueless; horror stories can be found by the dozens, perhaps hundreds on line. How much naivete is "normal" for those choosing to remain ignorant?

[ChocChipCookie]

We never do work for Muslims as a rule. It’s just not worth the haggling over price nor the potential of the payment issues.

[Lorianne]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2225319/posts

[rednesss]

I managed a small business about 10 years ago. Had a group of Kuwaiti college students who started coming in. Always wanted to haggle over price, and always wanted a discount because of paying with cash. Had to inform them that cash, or whatever, had to report the income and pay taxes on it. They looked incredulous.