Thursday, March 26, 2009

Holiday - Dubai I

I have really mixed feelings about Dubai, mostly negative I have to admit. Ok, so on the tourist bus around town you get to hear that Dubai has invested their (oil) money into education, health care and infrastructure, and that islam is a tolerant religion (excuse me! Haven't they heard of suicide bombings?). Investing in education, health care and infracture is great, but when you know that they have done it on the expense of foreign workers (mostly Pakistanis) who they pay 200 US$ a month it leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth. And now with the financial crisis going on, they are laying off those people. Guys who are away from their families for years earning 200$ (instead of a dollar a day at home), supporting their families including the extending ones. These Pakistanis do not get the benefits of the investment in health care. Dubai in short is the big guy (read rich due to oil) tramping all over the little guy. I do not like.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dubai

pretty depressing, and this happens all over the world, most major engineering feats as well as just the regular buildings in most cities were built on the backs of poor and underpaid immigrants laborers from the Pyramids to the Gotthard tunnel

Witchbitch said...

I hope they paid a bit more than 200 US$ a month for the Gotthard builders.