The dark side of Dubai

mar 5th, 2009

1. a parsi's first-hand account of the deadly sins and inhumanity in dubai
2. a news report
3. list of projects cancelled or on hold
4. pointer to my article about the end of immigration, peripherally touching on dubai:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/155579/Immigration-boom-ends.html

dubai is clearly in deep doo-doo, and this will affect indians, esp. kerala people.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: A P



----- Original Message -----
From: Satish Oberoi
To: undisclosed recipients:
Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 11:40 AM
Subject: Fw: CURRENT REALITY IN UAE - check this out - Dubai


I would like to share my story with you to show that what is happening in
Dubai is surely and undoubtedly so vile, so manifestly an affront to our
dearest Zoroastrian values and precepts, that one must ask: What in God's
name are we doing here?

My story will convey to you the grave injustices that have been meted out to
me and my family and which completely ruined our lives, and I would like to
remain anonymous, for fear of persecution and harassment from the Dubai
Government Authorities, to my friends and colleagues, who continue to work
there.

Let me start from the beginning.  I am a qualified construction engineer who
was working for one of the most prominent engineering construction companies
in Ahmedabad, responsible for generating project cost estimates and
coordinating all aspects of planning, development, design and observation of
construction and infrastructure projects.  However, like all of the
Zoroastrians I knew, the moment I received an offer from one of Dubai's
leading engineering construction companies, to come on board as the Deputy
Chief Engineer Construction for the numerous hotel construction projects
underway, I was exuberantly happy at the thought of improving my prospects
and status in life.  After due consultation with my wife, family and
friends, who were very supportive of me, I decided to accept the offer and
my wife and I moved to Dubai, envisioning a bright and prosperous future
ahead.
Unfortunately that dream soon diminished and our prospects of a good future
were shattered.  On my first day on the job, I was told by the other
engineers in my construction team that human labour is the cheapest
commodity in Dubai and that migrant workers are treated little better than
cattle, with no access to healthcare and many other basic rights.  At first
I was skeptical and could not fathom how a construction company of this
stature could ever be so disrespectful of basic human rights..  My work took
me around the city and it was here that I saw at first-hand, the harsh
reality that is Dubai and which is hidden from the rest of the world.  The
Dubai Government has always painted a rosy and glamorous picture of this
city, which is far removed from the pain, agony and sorrow, etched into the
faces of the thousands of migrant workers who have helped built this
so-called "City of Dreams."
Behind Dubai's spiralling towers, man-made islands and mega-malls are
hundreds of ghetto-like neighbourhood camps, hidden away from the eyes of
tourists.  These are areas around the Gulf set aside for an army of
labourers, toiling and sweating in the hot sun at temperatures exceeding 45
degrees Celsius, to build the icons of architecture and hotels that are
patronised by tourists who are totally oblivious of the conditions under
which these hotels are constructed.  It was on the job visiting various
construction sites that I saw the appalling conditions under which the
workers operated.  If we think that conditions in India are unsafe for
construction labourers, I would call upon all who read my story, to witness
first-hand the absolutely hazardous and unsafe conditions at numerous
construction sites I worked on.  I was also witness to horrific accidents
resulting in the deaths of many workers, due to the non-provision of
adequate safety equipment, fatigue or heat exhaustion.  Although the UAE
does have federal labor laws, contractors who mistreat workers or withhold
wages are rarely punished.

The nature of my job not only entailed the inspection of construction sites
but also necessitated late night meetings with local investors, high-ranking
Government officials, overseas clientele and arranging sex-workers to
entertain them, in order to secure the necessary funding for the company's
numerous construction projects.
This is where I was subject to the reality of Dubai's human-trafficking and
prostitution racket.  This inexcusable trade in human flesh is a
high-profile activity in a region which hosts Islam's two holiest places -
Mecca and Medina.

We Indians readily accept the fact that India is not free from the clutches
of human trafficking, the sex trade and child slavery, and that the Indian
Government, despite undertaking several measures to root out this social
menace readily acknowledges the problem our country faces.  The Dubai
Authorities on the other hand, have turned a blind eye to prostitution and
illegal trafficking based solely on greed, hypocrisy and corruption, to the
extent that when the Dubai Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
makes arrests, (at times) it is because they want to gang rape a particular
woman.  This is in a land where the legal system implemented by the Dubai
Federal Judiciary is based on a very strict code of conduct known as Sharia
law that imposes the death penalty for adultery and prostitution.  This kind
of hypocrisy and exploitation goes against all the tenets and teachings of
our Zoroastrian religion and made me seriously reconsider my position.
During my three years in Dubai, I was witness and also subject to acts of
racism, where people are strictly segregated and a hierarchy worthy of
previous centuries prevails.  At the top, dominating all other poor mortals,
in their black or white robes, are the locals with their oil money.  Under
the locals come the western foreigners,
the experts and advisers, making double the salaries they make back home,
all tax free.  Beneath them are the Arabs - Lebanese and Palestinians,
Egyptians and Syrians.  I realised that what unites these groups is a
mixture of pretension and racism.  We Indians come way below, at the bottom
rung of this ladder, and it is indeed sad to see how many Indians, including
Parsis, quietly accept and subject themselves to this inhuman treatment, all
in the name of the money they worship.

The final straw on the camel's back was when I decided to quit my job and
move back to Ahmedabad as my wife was diagnosed as suffering from the worst
form of Tuberculosis, a drug resistant strain of Pulmonary TB.  I was told
by my company that I needed to complete my three year contract before I
could leave Dubai.  It all started with Legionnaires' disease, which she
contracted from the hotel in which we were put up for a month, when we first
came to Dubai.

Legionnaires' disease has become increasingly prevalent in hotels in Dubai,
due to the high flow of traffic in all hotels, including five-star hotels,
which cannot cope with this traffic and therefore,
have absolutely low or even zero maintenance and disinfection procedures of
air conditioning ducts, humidifiers, shower heads, and any piping in which
water can lay.

The Legionnaires' disease worsened and escalated to Pulmonary Tuberculosis.
Because of the very nature of Pulmonary drug resistant TB, which is an often
virulent infectious and contagious disease, my wife was refused permission
by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) to fly back to Ahmedabad, and was
quarantined for six months in hospital in an isolation ward.

My pleas of help and support to the Indian High Commission fell on deaf
ears, as they too had no power to intervene with the DHA.  I also contacted
the Dubai-based Khaleej Times and Gulf News, to tell them my about my
difficult situation and I was subsequently threatened with imprisonment by
the Government, which controls and oversees each and every aspect of the
press, enforcing media-related laws, censoring publications and even going
so far as to appoint approved and vetted editors, who "toe-the
Government-line."

Unlike in India, where we are so used to free and fair speech and freedom of
the Press, my dear fellow Zoroastrians, that kind of freedom is absolutely
unheard of and unimaginable in Dubai! Increasingly, my wife's condition
worsened, until finally, exactly a year to the date she contracted the
disease in this land, my beloved wife and the love of my life passed away.

My aim in writing my story is to reveal to the Zoroastrian Community the
true character and nature of the city of Dubai.  We as a community who are
supposed to practise the tenets of "Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds,"
"Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta," should rise as one to prevail upon our
religious leaders to relocate the 9th World Zoroastrian Congress Dubai 2009
from this city.  I appeal to all members of the Mumbai Parsi Panchayat,
FEZANA (Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America, World
Zoroastrian Organization (WZO) and indeed all other Zoroastrian
organisations and councils world-wide to unite as one, as it is not too
late.

The 9th World Zoroastrian Congress should not be held in Dubai, as this
alone would serve as a wake-up call to the Dubai Government, that there is a
small yet significant community in the world, which is aware and opposed to
the atrocities being perpetrated in Dubai.

We should as a community, which is peace-loving and amiable assert
ourselves, and stand up against what is happening in Dubai.  The inhuman
behaviour that is quietly overlooked by the world at large, all for the
money being thrown around by the Dubai Government, is an affront to the
human race and deserves complete censure and total condemnation from the
world-wide community.  This would also serve as a fitting mark of respect to
my beloved wife, and finally help to put her soul at rest.  May Ahura Maza
guide all our future actions and grant wisdom unto all our community leaders
to take the right path.

I would with humble humility request all fellow Zoroastrians to sign a
petition, to relocate the 9th World Zoroastrian Congress Dubai 2009 from
this city, by following the link below:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/relocatedubai

This petition will prove to the leaders of our community that we are honest
and God-abiding Zoroastrians, who will stand and unite together to support a
fellow Zoroastrian, who has finally had the courage to speak out against
what is unacceptable in society and goes against all our Zoroastrian tenets,
precepts and values.

With regards and be safe,
Anonymous

........................................................

DUBAI
There was always something surreal about Dubai's fantastic development
plans.  Skyscrapers were rising in the desert faster than anybody imagined
was possible.  While some wondered about such rapid growth, others marveled
at the plucky Dubaians' go-get attitude.  Nothing was considered out of
reach; the sky was the limit, literally - the tallest building in the world,
the most expensive hotel suites with helicopter landing pads, man-made
islands, huge shopping malls, indoor sky slopes and ice skating rinks in the
desert - all meant to attract foreigners and their investments.  And they
came, by  the hundreds of thousands.  Dubai was nicknamed, "Do Buy"!

Over the last several years, property values hit the roof.  People put down
payment on properties that would not be built  for a year or more but would
flip them in a few months making a tidy profit.  It was not unusual for some
properties to double in value in six months. Overall, real-estate values
surged fourfold over the past five years, fueled by a supply shortage and an
influx of expatriates. Rising commodities prices also drove inflation,
accelerating to a record 11.1 per cent in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in
2007.  The UAE is made up of seven tiny sheikhdoms, Dubai is the second
largest of the seven statelets after Abu Dhabi. Dubai opened its property
market to foreign investment in 2002.

Where on earth could people get such fantastic return on their investments?
Spurred by such phenomenal growth rate, people speculated lavishly putting
down payments for 10, 20 or even 50 properties at the same time.  Borrowers
tapped mortgages for as much as 90 percent of a property's value to buy
homes on the man-made fronds of the Palm Jumeirah and villas with gardens or
golf course views in developments such as Emirates Hills, The Springs and
The Lakes.  Many became multimillionaires overnight in this
made-for-speculators market until the financial crunch that started with the
bursting of the US housing and mortgage bubble hit the rest of the world.
Tiny Dubai could not remain immune from the   ill effects of such financial
downturns.

The property bubble in Dubai has burst as credit has become scarce and
international investors have scrambled to dump their assets to minimize
losses. That may shatter Dubai's goal of creating a sustainable economy by
building the Persian Gulf hub for finance and tourism, forcing it to depend
on oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi for financing.  The rulers of Dubai  had
speculated that the price of oil would perhaps continue its upward surge -
it had reached $147/barrel before its precipitous fall to $40/barrel or less
in recent days.  With Dubai's reserves at a paltry 4 billion barrels
compared to Abu Dhabi's 92 billion, Dubai is more vulnerable to such price
fluctuations.

Banks have tightened lending or froze it altogether.  Amlak Finance PJSC,
one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the  UAE, announced on November 19
that it had suspended new home loans.  London-based Lloyds TSB Group Plc
stopped offering mortgages for apartments in Dubai on November 11 and
reduced the amount it will lend for villas from 80 per  cent to 50 percent
of the price.  This has naturally had a negative effect on property values..
For instance, in November, the cost of a seven-bedroom villa on Palm
Jumeirah dropped to 19 million dirhams ($5.2 million), still an exorbitant
price, down from 30 million dirhams in September, according to the Dubai
unit of German real estate company Engel & Voelkers AG.

On November 20, Nakheel PJSC, Dubai's state-owned developer of three
palm-shaped islands in the Persian Gulf, and its South African partner threw
a $20 million party for the opening of the $1.5 billion Atlantis resort,
complete with the world's biggest fireworks display and celebrities from
actress Charlize Theron to singer Kylie Minogue.  The hotel's most expensive
suite costs $42,000 a night excluding breakfast.  Ten days later, however,
Nakheel announced it was scaling back or delaying work on some of its $30
billion in projects, including the 62-story Trump International Hotel &
Tower    near the Mega Yacht Club on the trunk of Palm Jumeirah.

There is fear the worst is yet to come as a glut of properties arrives on
the market.  About 70,000 units are scheduled for completion in 2009, more
than half were originally planned for 2008 or even earlier, according to a
September report from EFG-Hermes.

Buyers willing to commit to purchases before construction are harder to find
now.  Before the credit crunch, speculators accounted for 50 percent of the
market.

"Dubai is more precarious than it has ever been," said Christopher Davidson,
professor of Middle Eastern Affairs at Durham University in the U and author
of Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success (2008, Columbia University Press).
"If the property industry collapses in Dubai, it will be finished.  Dubai's
relative autonomy will come to an abrupt end."  Dubai's push into luxury
property developments and tourist attractions was diversification on "paper
sand," said Davidson.

Dubai has borrowed $80 billion to finance its transformation and make up for
lack of natural resources like its richer cousin Abu Dhabi.  The latter is
not so badly affected because of the oil revenues it has accumulated.  Even
US President George Bush has called upon Abu Dhabi for a $70 billion
handout, in addition of asking for $120 billion from Saudi Arabia, $60
billion from tiny Qatar and $40 billion from Kuwait.  The Arab sheikhdoms
and kingdoms will not be able to say no to Uncle Sam.

Dubai built its property empire on the backs of expatriate workers from
Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka and maids from Indonesia and the Philippines
that frequently suffered abuse..  Such workers are paid pittance and kept in
miserably overcrowded localities, often lacking basic amenities.

Workers have been denied the right to bring their families and  have few
rights. Regardless of how long they live in the UAE, they cannot become
citizens.  The same is true of Saudi Arabia. The expatriate community is far
more numerous than the local emiratis but because they are not granted
citizenship, the expatriates remain vulnerable. With downturn in the
property market, these workers will now be the first  to lose their
livelihood on which they depend so desperately and send to their families
back home.

There is also another side to Dubai's booming market.  Most large hotels are
little more than dens of prostitution.  Hotels are permitted to issue guest
permits to bring people from outside.  In order to attract customers, many
hotels bring girls from Central Asia, Russia, Romania and Western Europe.
These girls are provided free accommodation in the hotel for three months
while they are expected to service hotel guests.  Each hotel has a club
where girls enter for free while men must pay 100 dirhams.  Alcohol is
available and consumed in large quantities.  Customers come to these clubs
to pick up foreign girls. It has been pointed out to the authorities in
Dubai that they are sitting on a time bomb. Girls with such loose moral
character are likely to be infected with the AIDS virus.  There are already
reports of AIDS spreading among the local population because of the behavior
of Emirati men who then infect their wives.

Whether Dubai will achieve its dream of becoming the hub of property and
tourist attraction is debatable.  What is becoming certain is that it is
leading the way in becoming the AIDS capital of the Middle East.