Dubai/UAE - where did you think you were?

[WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing]

I’ll preface this by saying I wish the best for anyone out there, working or holidaying. I hope you are and remain safe.

but do people go there with next to no concern for where in the world it’s located? Do they pay no attention to news or the general geopolitical situation, it’s hnot exactly a secret.

are we really that dense that most people don’t look past the bling, the weather, the tax perks, the bloody influencers?

No they are expats. They can never gain UAE citizenship and most are on short term, conditional visas. The UAE government and everyone living in Dubai calls them expats.

Nah they are immigrants
They just dont like to be reminded that.

I suggest you let Sheik Mo know he's been wrong all this time. No doubt he'll be glad of you wisdom.

He gives even less of a fuck about them. No matter how superior they think they are.

Dear oh dear there’s always someone who misses the point but tries desperately to compare it lol apples vs oranges

I'm glad someone said what I was thinking 🤔 I wouldn't dream of going there now.

Er... in what way? Not just the current situation with Iran but there are many examples of miscarriages of justice.

The UAE is a grand wee country. Been yo Abu Dhabi a few times. Very liberal for an Arab country. You can even drink alcohol in the hotel bars.

No. I know someone who is holidaying there now. I dont know if theyre ok. They just see it as a luxury place to go and as long as theyre part of that group then they are doing OK. Regardless whether they die or not. Lets face it, some influencers aren't the sharpest tools and the type of influencers that would holiday here, definitely not so. Hate to sound like Im stereotyping. They probably dont know the first thing about politics of that country or any other.

I think so. Look at the number of influencers who spend their lives out there. Just read an interview with Arabella Chi from Love Island this morning - talking about how scared she is but how wonderful Dubai is. Human rights don't seem to matter to a lot of people. Quite sad really

Laura Anderson ditto - it's all look at me and my lifestyle

Instead of stating you are bored and being misogynistic. Have a read, despite the smokescreen narratives the country is still under archaic UAE sharia law which as we've all seen, is bandy AF. They couldn’t lay straight in bed over there, Maybe have a watch of documentary British Airways flight 149 about the Gulf war

Yes, definitely "well I'm fine and I've got lots of nice wee bling" attitudes about (on this thread too) - if it's not happening to them, and to other people instead, some can close their eyes and just "see" the surface. If they don't think too hard, or carry on "well it happens to others, not the likes of me."

Lots of Muslims are critical of human rights abused. There are NGOs and rights group run by Muslims. And loads of Muslim countries have raised complaints over the UAEs treatment of their workforce. Likewise their activities overseas. The UAE and Saudi Arabia spend a lot of time criticising each other and accussing each other of human rights abuses abroad. That's not really coming from a place of genuine concern but rivalry. They are both awful.

The odd thing about Dubai is it isn't excessively religious. It's deeply hypocritical (Muslim men drinking alcohol etc while their wives wear burkas). But foreigners can drink, wear skimpy clothes. It's not authoritarian in the religious sense. It's just soulless. The biggest risk to Westerners comes not from religious hangups (they really don't care about people having sex) but from the racist/xenophobic hierarchy. So if a westerner gets raped by a local they will walk of free and the westerner will be punished if they report it. If it was the other way round it would be different. The maids etc from non western countries are lower on the hierarchy even if they are also Muslims.
But on the whole the God worshipped in Dubai is money.

Whilst I don’t disagree with you, there will be plenty on this thread that think nothing of buying from Temu or Shein or use products by companies that exploit people somewhere on a supply chain

I lost brain cells reading that Chi interview this morning. As for Anderson - she's taken her two year old kid to Dubai - the child is understandably scared - they could be stuck there for months

All for Instagram content. There was some push back during covid because so many ex love inlanders were moaning about being stuck there - while people were dying.

And apparently if you do care about human rights issues - youre jealous

It was widely reported and not difficult information to find. This is an article from mid-January… https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/foreign-office-travel-warning-countries-middle-east-iran-b1266860.html8

Quite.

I have VERY limited sympathy for British citizens who work there for the tax perks, and will now be whinging about being transported back to the UK - at our (actual taxpayers) expense.

Not a place I'd go on holiday to, either.

Dont forget that some influencers are paid to promote things, including Dubai travel. Or they are being funded. Its literally their job in some cases so if course they are going to look in the bright side. That doesn't mean I want them to be in harms way. And there are plenty of normal, non annoying people in Dubai as well.
I love a good Dubai bashing thread. But I feel mean criticising the people stuck out there given the circs.

I love a good Dubai bashing thread. But I feel mean criticising the people stuck out there given the circs.

The bottom line is (unlike a lot of the service workers there) nobody forced them to go.

I don't pretend to live a one hundred per cent ethical life or anywhere close to it . It's pretty much impossible.

But - I don't buy from either company. I wear second hand clothes and have done so for almost 20 years - because I'm not comfortable buying from companies that use sweat shop labour. Any new purchases that I have made over the last ten years have been ethical ones that don't involve sweat shop labour. Child labour doesn't just extend to clothing obviously.

In fact - I rarely buy clothes full stop - I have enough of them

It's not just clothes. It's where you bank, how you shop, the countries that you buy products from . I definitely am not 100 per cent ethical (phone springs to mind). But I do as much as I can to have spending habits that reduce as much suffering as possible

I'm vegan as well and I don't use make up, perfume or products that aren't ethical incase someone asks if I eat meat (and I also know that there are certain products that some vegans avoid for various reasons).

Its a major airport hub, so many people will be in transit

Still, having a layover on a journey of choice is still quite a long way from "forced".

TBF I wouldn't go to any of those either!!

Free Sudan.

Agree 100%. Plus wouldn't go to Egypt or Turkey