Dubai: From riches to rags BBC Panorama tonight 8:30 UK:

[Metro man]

A Dubai F&B business did a recent waitresses recruitment in Philippines and hundreds of people were queuing for a 1100 AED job, including people with masters.

1100 AED = 300USD, working behind the counter in McDonalds in Manila would pay 100USD. ie pay in Dubai is 3x higher while saving ability would be higher still. Eg you may be able to save $70 out of $300, doubt you could do it on $100. Puts things into perspective a bit.

[Marooned]

Trouble is Metro that it may appear to be $300 but when you get here you have other expenses as well as having to cope with much higher prices than in Manila. It may be the only chance they have but $300 is not going to leave too much to send home.

Long-gonner: I am trying to find out if there are any ways we can help and will keep you posted.

S.F.L.Y: many of these men arrived in Dubai on an Emirates aircraft. I wouldn't like to guess how many arrive by the back door.

[S.F.L.Y]

I hope more and more this sort of documentaries will be on all major international news channels so people can be aware before they choose DXB as their holiday spot.

If western tourists shouldn't come in DXB for holidays what about western expats like us working in DXB ?

I think some Italian workers are barely getting 800 euros salaries without accommodation... and I don't want to name all illegal seasonal fruit industry workers in Spain, often coming from north Africa which are paid less than that without accommodation. It's a fact that illegal workers are employed in Europe, not being accomodated and badly remunarated while often having a family to feed and risking to be kicked out anytime. Isn't it also slavery ?

I'm not competent enough to decide which country is right or wrong and I feel surprised to see people being very confident with their opinions.

I agree to say that the workers conditions in DXB are awful, however as our European countries are not really doing better than DXB to help these people I don't feel in a position to make any comment. If I'm not fine with that I just can live the place.

[GBB]

I know that EU is not perfect. All I was trying to say that I dont think it is wise to compere illegal emigrants in Europe and poor construction workers in Dubai.
I didnt want to create any misunderstanding here, Im sorry.
As it does say for it self, emigrants that you are talking about come, stay and work in EU illegaly, poor guys that coem to Dubai were brought here by big local companies, sometimes gov. companies. (as somebody said on EK flights) I think the chances of caoming to DXB as illegal emigrant are almost 0.
What im trying to say is that they came here with all the papers, so Dubai gov. is simply "supporting" all this slavery. In simple words, its all legal slavery which has full support of Dubai gov.
If I was illegal emigrant in any country I would NOT expect to have the same rights or salary as everybody else as I simply should not be there in the first place.
But when I go legaly somewhere (pay to have a job) sign some sort of contract, to find out when I get there that I would be paid 1/3-1/5 of what was promised, my passport is taken away form me, and I simply become slave with no rights and salary too low to even repay that loan I took to get "my dream dubai" job. (something is very wrong)
Sorry if I didnt make my self clear enough from the begining.

Anyways, let us know of any organization that is helping this guys with food, clothes or anything else. Its always nice to help somebody.

[Craic Ore]

HelpingHandsUAE

This organisation does offer charitable aid to migrant labourers, maids etc. if you want to do your part

[mensaboy]

Argue all you want. The fact remains that Dubai treats all expat workers poorly. Even the likes of EK pilots are abused (not by comparison to the slave labour though) but it is caused by the same mentality.

Funny how the UK was the biggest supporter of Dubai but now that things have taken a turn for the worse (in other words they can't come and benefit from the rape and pillage), the media is suddenly taking the moral high ground.

This place is a cesspool and there is no denying that fact. You have to get on with your life and tolerate the bad aspects of this place. Either that, or you leave because there is no middle ground. I suppose DENIAL is the middle ground but that is not exactly reality.

Dubai is a terrible place in most respects, but it does afford some benefits. Now that I am 'acclimatized' , I wish I never came here. It has become less relevant that economics dictated my decision but now that I am here, it is very hard to leave. Please, some other airline offer a job that gives me 2/3's the benefit of this place! I would joyfully pack my bags.

Dubai is a ****hole, and anyone considering coming here, needs a good slap. I guarantee all future pilot hirees will be disappointed, to say the least.

EK is symbolic of Dubai. It is amazing that so many intelligent people still believe the propaganda, but then again, I believed it a long time ago. Damn, what was I thinking?

[S.F.L.Y]

So don't even try and go there again about the bad western people.

I am politely sharing my personal opinion which I understand may differ with yours. I don't think I need your prior approval to express myself and I'm certainly not meaning what you insinuate. As far as I know workers have always been treated like that in middle eastern countries and be sure that all immigrants have enough of networking and feedback to know what to expect on their arrivals. Of course the working conditions are terrible especially when compared to the lifestyles of people like you and me but life is tough for billions of people on earth and some decides to land in DXB knowing how difficult it will be. It is incorrect to compare UAE workers to billions of potential immigrants in Europe as workers in UAE are not immigrants and only meant to stay to complete a specific job. Riots and organized crime are less related to origins than unemployment which once again is not the case withy the UAE workers.

UAE offers to be legaly and voluntarely exploited for some money
Europe only offers to be legaly or illegaly unemployed

Again, I'm not pretending to be able to decide what is good or bad and remain very surprized by your confidence.

Thank you for keeping a polite attitude towards your democrat brother.

[S.F.L.Y]

if I might expand your principle, would suggest that those the brits, Portuguese, americans etc, were doing the Ghanians a great service by enslaving them them to plantations, because and god forbid other parts of Europe would not let them in.

You basically didn't get anything of what I said and only read what you wanted. I am not saying that Europeans are hypocrites but feel skeptical when people pretend that European societies are better than GCCs on this point. I don't mean this is not true (which obviously is) but as you mentioned it western societies precisely used slavery to emerge and to differentiate from third world countries, as such it is curious to use a trick to get ahead in the race for development and later blame people using the same trick... The western world doesn't have the intellectual property for slavery. Having said that, it is true that western countries are almost no more abusing foreigners within their own boundaries while the countrary occurs when you look at the ex-colonies... BP, Shell, Total and many more are basically sucking the resources from potentially rich countries without sharing anything with the real owners of the land, resulting in masses of dying immigrants on the south European shores. To me such alienation smells like slavery and I cannot say with your confidence if it is worse to alienate them within GCCs or within their own countries... Citizens of Irak, Nigeria, Gabon, Congo and many more are probably less blaming GCCs than western countries for their sad fate.

This is my last post on the topic as personal opinions like mine are not gonna change anything.

[Marooned]

This is my last post on the topic as personal opinions like mine are not gonna change anything

Suspend your dogmatic opinion and historical rhetoric for a moment and perhaps use your compassion.

a) Can you accept that there are people suffering here, not elsewhere where they surely are, here on our doorstep?

b) Is it acceptable?

c) Should it be allowed to go unchallenged?

(Ans a) Yes, b) No, c) No.)

[BusyB]

Try reading this

The dark side of Dubai - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent

[djuggler]

The Dark Side of Dubai

very true, indeed...and really scary

[Dropp the Pilot]

"very true indeed"

Really?

May I suggest that one of the career paths you should probably not pursue is 'newspaper editor'?

I particularily liked the 55 degree heat (!) and the woman living in her Range Rover, but overall I think the articulate Pizza Hut girl was most convincing. Too bad she sounded exactly like the reporter speaking out yet another of his orifices.

Looks the market for idiotic financial products has move on to idiotic newspapers.

[Silverspoonaviator]

So true, but a waste of time

It will take an act of GOD for any improvement in the general state of Dubai.

ssa

[White Knight]

Nor have I yet seen the tumbleweeds and cactii..................

[ATCO1962]

Don't want to be a scare-mongerer or anything but I was travelling around the Palm Jumeirah's outer edge road near the Atlantis yesterday and the road seemed to be undulating in a manner that suggested either it was constructed shoddily or subsidence was in evidence big time. Each member of my family noticed the same thing and driving along was something of a laborious process. So, what is it?

[LLuke]

Scary story idd I guess anyone working for EK already has an escape plan like; get family out of country, than resign from EK on outstation via ACARS.

Some postings here are alarming and show that people realise things aren't right and try to ignore it by justifying everything with ridiculous arguments.

Where do you keep your maids passport DtP

[djuggler]

looks like i scared the s#*t out of you, pilot droppings!

[Jet II]

Originally Posted by eklawyer

Jet II / SFLY ,they have the option to stay at home and carve a living for themselves in the worlds largest democracy and take home the same amount of money they earn in Dubai but live as free citizens.

Lawyer - I think you are kidding yourself if you really believe these guys have options. For a start most of them dont come from the 'worlds largest democracy' - they come from Bangladesh, where there are simply no jobs. Or from the border regions of Pakistan, where the only other 'jobs' are growing Poppies or joining the Taliban.

Many governments rely on remittances from expat workers to keep their economies afloat so the idea that any expat can simply return to a job in their home country is simply not realistic.

Given that many of these guys must find work abroad and Europe or the Western Democracies are not interested in allowing them to find employment they their only real option is to come to the regions where they can get work whatever the conditions are.

If Europe allowed them in to work so that there was more competition for their services then conditions would quickly improve everywhere - as it is conditions are improving slowly in the region - the examples in this film are not representative of all the workers employed here - Aldar probably treat their workers the best and gradually the rest will follow.

As for hypocrisy in Europe, a migrant worker is entitled in Europe/North America and Australasia has exactly the same employment, civil and criminal rights as a born and bred citizen of that country.

But as I have already pointed out - they are not allowed in the country to partake of this largesse so your point is somewhat irrelevant.

[LLuke]

From: BBC - Panorama - Migrant worker 'fixer' speaks out

What do you say to the argument this is just globalisation - getting people from markets where the wages are very low?
Fine but why the hell can't you pay them the wages that have been promised to them? They are not asking you to pay them the standard wages that a person in a developed country gets.
You often hear people from the West say that the accommodation looks bad to us, the salary sounds low to us, but for them it's fine, for them it's a good salary?
I would suggest you take a visit to some of the villages in India and come and have a look at them before you form an opinion on that. I don't think it is an argument unless you have actually seen both sides of the coin. I would suggest that they are behaving like ostriches with their heads in the sand. They may not have a tiled bedroom or a Jacuzzi, but it's not inhuman like this, I can bet that it's not as bad as this.

[kit330]

hey BusyB- great post..sad but true...

"Later, in a hotel bar, I start chatting to a dyspeptic expat American who works in the cosmetics industry and is desperate to get away from these people. She says: "All the people who couldn't succeed in their own countries end up here, and suddenly they're rich and promoted way above their abilities and bragging about how great they are. I've never met so many incompetent people in such senior positions anywhere in the world." She adds: "It's absolutely racist. I had Filipino girls working for me doing the same job as a European girl, and she's paid a quarter of the wages. The people who do the real work are paid next to nothing, while these incompetent managers pay themselves £40,000 a month."

The greatest truth I've heard since been in the sandpit for many moons......