Burj Khalifa - awesome

[Starmummy]

I know there is a lot of Dubai bashing at the moment and no doubt much, but def not all, is deserved. But I must just say the opening ceremony of the newly renamed Burj Dubai was amazing.

The tallest building in the world is stunning and I would just like to say for once I am really proud to have been part of this.The idea was started in 2004 and is now a reality and open to visotrs allbeit not yet to resisents.

Awesome take a look on YouTube.

thanks MOS, and a good point well made from someone actually in the ME.

moondog, source of information is actually the source itself - if you live in the ME, you can actually talk to some of these "slaves" and find out their stories. They are just people making a living for themselves and their families in the way they consider best or available to them.

im wiht doggy

the OP sounds like an advert tbh.

terrible conditions oflabour - no maximum heat where they have to haev a break etcetc

terrible to have people condoning it

www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2799483/Dubai-waiter-rapes-British-girl-then-SHE-and-fiance-are-h eld-for-illegal-sex.html

And your point is?

The source of information is the source itself???

Eh?
So you are out there getting on down with the construction workers are you?

What a spectacularly stupid comment.

I live in one of the countries that exports most of the slave labour to build this and other towers of Babel.

Thre are a few platitudes out there which are used by those living in relative comfort to justify the abuse of semi-skilled and unskilled labourers in the Gulf.

One of them is already on this thread. I could provide a few more choice ones that I have heard in my time.

The main problem from my limited experience is that the laws of the UAE, Qatar, RSA, Libya etc grant employers the right to behave with impunity towards workers. As long at the employer is white, Arab or Bedu they have almost life and death power over their workers who come mostly from the Indian subcontinent or south East Asia. It is a very very racist system which yes, is a form of modern day slavery.

moondog yes, actually, I DO talk to the workers and I very much resent your unpleasant and sarky comment. Now I'm not saying that I'm off down the construction sites, but there are many security guards, maintenance and domestic staff that I do talk to. And a very good friend is a pastor who has many of the construction workers at church and makes an effort to learn their language enough to regularly talk to and help them.

I stand by my statement that a lot them are here because they want to earn the money (and the current reality is that this does not transpire in the way many of them hope). HOWEVER I did not say they were happy about it. Nor did I make any comment about their treatment. That is something I'm not getting into because it is enormously upsetting and likely to get very very heated.

Foxytocin is right about the laws. All I can do as an expat here is the treat everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve, regardless of where they're from. Not that that's going to change much.

Really?
I resent your assumption that a few patronising chats with the little people give you an insight into what is going on.

How hopelessly naive can you be?
(Obviously very.)

God I think its hideous!But everyone has different taste i am going purely on the visuals as know little about the workers bar what I've seen here and in the papers!But I don't see the point of it at all and hate the culture of bigger and flasher is better Its BS