Xhamster, my hat off to you....
sums it up really well...... and for being away many moons ago, I can tell you it has gotten A LOT worse....
But if you think about it : these days, the next generation of pilots (with the majority of guys being hired now 25y or less) values 'likes' on their facebook account next to a shiny jet, next to their maxi Hummer v3.0, or in a beach club, MORE than living in a civilized country....And more and more of them come from f-u countries...
I have been here for over 12 years and I fully recognize myself in your post. Have to admit that there are some lovely locals to work or to fly with, but those are just people like me and you. But if you look up higher up the ladder, its all corrupted. Ask the people who have done a legal case here in the UAE against a local, higher up in the foodchain and ask what the outcome was....
The ME is nothing more than a sticky flytrap. Once you're caught, its damn hard to get out. I am now working on my exit for more than a year but with a family and being not of the 'new generation' it is damn hard and at times I am so exhausted that I don't have the energy to continue to work on the exit plan... More and more I wake up with the feeling I am nothing more than a prostitute needing the money and trapped inside by clever tactics by my employer.
ooh btw, if you google your name here in the UAE, you IP will most likely be added by the moral police of list of individuals to be monitored. Great find ;-)