-”Great for shopping, nightlife, relatively cheap. In 15/20 years when the bulk of the construction is finished most of the Indians/Pakistanis will be gone and only the prosperous will remain.”

That’s good to hear that finally, when most poor Indians and Pakistanis are done with the construction, they’ll take their sorry poor asses back to the Desh and leave Dubai as the playground for the wealthy. Who said migrants can’t be treated like disposable waste when their purpose is over with?

-”The nightclubs we went to were packed out with Russian girls working as escorts. Fascinating and fun place.”

I’m happy to know you’re enjoying all that Dubai has to offer.

Moreover, you sound like a very profound, thoughtful person. Those Indian and Pakistani migrants who are ruining the facade of Dubai with their poverty are just party poopers. There needs to be more Indians like you who enjoy and appreciate wealth, luxury, and know how to have a good time, preferably with Russian escorts in glitzy and glamorous Dubai.

Jagdeep:

“the Indian/Pakistani/Philipino agents who ’sell’ their fellow countrymen into these poor paying jobs in return for commision are equally culpable.”

Exactly. They are often the middlemen when it comes to the human trafficking of South Asians.

By all means you’re right on that one–this is not a city in “the West,” but Dubai often markets itself as the “Westernized oasis of the Middle East”–they aim to have it all: nightlife, wining (maybe?) and dining (definitely), high rise apartment buildings, immense pristine shopping malls…that’s how they’re ending up with so many europeans and americans moving there (and many arabs from other middle eastern nations move there instead of the west!)

So maybe this is a signifier that they just dont want the “brown” people that go with the geographic territory (anf brown is such an encompassing word, i dont know if i feel comfortable positioning it in opposition to the arab folks…but i disgress)

I agree with that. I remember reading about this saudi who brutalised an Indian migrant, and his justification was that he did it not because of hate, but because they are easy targets and don’t defend themselves. I am sure you also heard about a large number of rape cases of filipino maids. Saudis do it because they can get away with it.

The fact is that most Asian countries have a bad record when it comes with their minorities. The West has indeed come a long way.

I remember being at Delhi International airport a couple of years back, the number of men in there 20′s who were not able to fill out the documentation to board, and yet were all headed for the Middle East was quite shocking. And that is perhaps another reason for the dislike of people from the Asian sub continent.

Definitely worth a visit if you can get there. With the boom of the Indian economy it is going to be a major hub for business and culture and tourism between India, Middle East and Europe. India especially already sees it as its own glitzy backyard, playground for the rich. Like a mad combination of Hong Kong, Las Vegas in the Arabian Desert. The nightclubs we went to were packed out with Russian girls working as escorts. Fascinating and fun place.

One thing I worry about though is how long it can exist slap bang in the Middle East, this relatively liberal, decadent, hedonistic city-state without drawing the attention of the jihadis, whose blood must be boiling to see an Arab land turn into a holiday home for infidels…..

I wouldn’t solely blame the Emiratis for the plight of the migrant workers though (most of the labourers work for about £90-100/month) – the Indian/Pakistani/Philipino agents who ‘sell’ their fellow countrymen into these poor paying jobs in return for commision are equally culpable.

Personally it reminded me of a gag that Marcos Brigstock does: “People coming over here doing our jobs. Note I didn’t say ‘taking’ our jobs, I said ‘doing’ our jobs. We aren’t bloody doing them.” I believe the same applies to Arabs in Dubai …

Cheers,

TFI

If you ask me, it is not racism based on skin color ie because they are “brown” but rather, because they come from another geographic location and are migrant workers.

Also, I don’t think it’s fair to say “Arab racism”. Arabs are not the only ones to look down upon South Asians. There are rich Desis who harbor distaste for poorer Desis as well. Furthermore, these same Arabs may very well look down on other Arabs, such as the Egyptians and Palestinians, including in the Gulf States.

Finally, there is more than just racism involved here – local and global economies, “construction and development”, class, etc.

Leon: What is a “style sheet”?

If it’s the style of the website’s format that you are referring to, you’ll have to give props to the “Admin” of Pass the Roti.He is the boss of those things. Me, I only write, I don’t tinker with the web logistics of it. Don’t know much about that stuff.