For the first time that I know of, Desi (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan) workers in Dubai have gone on strike to protest low wages and working conditions. After years of systematic exploitation, it’s about time.
The boom has been possible due to plentiful investment from oil-rich neighbors and armies of non-unionized south Asian workers whose fear of deportation, until recently, kept them from voicing discontent over low wages.
“The cost of living here has increased so much in the past two years that I cannot survive with my salary,” said Rajesh Kumar, a 24-year-old worker from the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh who earns $149 a month.
The laborers ignored the threat of deportation and refused to go to work, staging protests at a labor camp in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Industrial Zone and on a construction site in Al Qusais residential neighborhood. They demanded pay increases, improved housing and better transportation services to construction sites. On Saturday, workers threw stones at the riot police and damaged to police cars.
Emirates’ Minister of Labor Ali bin Abdullah al-Kaabi described workers’ behavior as “uncivilized,” saying they were tampering with national security and endangering residents’ safety. (link)
Uncivilized? In my view, what’s uncivilized is when you’re making billions and your workers (nearly 2 million of them) are forced to live in prison-like conditions for $149 a month. When they have limited civil and legal rights, and are forcibly segregated from the native population. And when you have laws on the books that prevent them from organizing in any way that might lead to a better situation for themselves.
The era when South Asian workers were desperate to go abroad to try and make a little money under these circumstances seems to be gradually ending, and many in Dubai are more than ready to walk away, especially with a growing economy at home, and the UAE’s Dirham linked to a falling dollar:
Companies, however, do not want more workers to leave as they struggle to find enough to complete existing projects following an overwhelming response to a government amnesty program to persuade illegal laborers to leave.
In June, the government offered, no questions asked, a free one-way plane tickets to illegal workers hoping to leave. They have since been swamped by 280,000 workers who, fed up with a rising cost of living and low wages, were ready to go home. (link)
280,000 are ready to go home right now (NB: they can only go home if the UAE allows them to do so).
It’s true, even if many of the Desis leave, others might be willing to take their place. But with one large reservoir of dirt cheap labor drying up, it sounds like the oasis of Dubai’s recent economic boom is starting to flicker. It may have always been a mere mirage — albeit one built with real sweat, and in some cases, blood.
The way construction workers are treated in Dubai is equivalent to modern day slavery. The sad part is they find millions other laborers to do this until this issue is raised on International platforms.
What will be powerful is these workers coming back to their countries to tell all those willing to go to Dubai, the conditions they lived in during the period they worked building the city from nothing. Them coming back with empty pockets would be an even stronger signal. No work and self-respect and even saftey is something they’d keep staying in desh rather than building a skyscraper in unsafe conditions because a developer sees you replaceable.
The problem is the lack of action by the governments to which these laborers belong to. What is happening in Dubai is so obscene especially when you consider how rich these people are. India needs to fight for its workers. They should prosecute the brokers who do not honor agreements.
Mad props to our desi brethren for standing up to fight for their rights. Wondering if Gandhian non-violent protest model may work in the UAE.
I would think they would just up and leave. If they are laborers they should find work in India, at a similar rate with cost of living going up but still much cheaper than Dubai. In Delhi alone they are uncountable construction projects going on right now.
Of course, what happens when the same happens here, wages don’t move and the cost of living gets as prohibitive? Can the world’s elites ever be convinced to share?
My grandfather moved to Dubai in the 1940s and for 60 years South Asians built up the industries, urban centres and commercial business in not only in that city but all of the cities in the Middle East. And for 60 years Arab Jim Crow has only become more deeply entrenched.
These movements are long overdue! I’m glad to see it happening. In a globalized world in which they want a high profile, Dubai cannot any longer hide its Jim Crow laws and culture under the veneer of skyscrapers and palm islands!
The way desi laborers (and even more so desi kids in the camel races) are treated in Dubai is disgusting.
The problem is, even if the current crop (mostly Pakistani Pathans and Punjabis, as well as Indian Punjabis and South Indians) leaves, there is so much poverty a little further east (U.P. and Bihar come to mind) that a whole new, ready-to-be-exploited demographic still awaits.
revolucion?
What makes it worse is not just the poor working conditions. Even the meager amounts of money promised are not honored. If the laborers knew that part, I doubt they would be signing up to go.
Don’t forget that there is also a sizable Desi professional class in Dubai, with roots going back fifty or more years. Dubai will be a suburb of Mumbai and Karachi for a long time to come.
The other thing related to the workers’ plight is that local recruiters share the blame. Indian and Pakistani laborers on the subcontinent just can’t show up in Dubai without a work contract. Someone has to funnel them there. The blame for poor working conditions on a Dubai construction site spreads well beyond the UAE.
It’s not really the first time, but it’s probably the first major strike since the media has been really lax about things. And things are definitely looking up. Almost all Indian embassies (and those of other South/East Asian nations) have put in place conditions on the employment of domestic labourers, the maids who always faced some of the worst damage.
Increased western/international scrutiny on these countries has led to establishment of Human Rights Departments (such as in Qatar), and with no governmental censorship in the media, the news about the inhuman conditions are getting more common. Moreover, other labourers are not simply replacing the ones that leave. That article, and others, talk of how companies in the Gulf are finding it harder to recruit cheap labour.
Meanwhile, the countries themselves are getting more worried about amount of expatriate labour they use, and they discussed, earlier this year, a plan to effectively force unskilled labourers to leave within 3 years.
Strike interferes with an individual employee’s right to work. The striking workers are red diaper babies who cannot honor the contract they freely entered into. The Free Market system will take care of the subhuman conditions in Dubai for labor by 3089. Plus a minimum wage will create unemployment. I suggest the striking fools be given autographed copies of Milton Friedman.
@Badmash
You are wrong on several levels. South Asians did not “build” Dubai into what it is today, but rather simply were and are the imported labor used to complete the task. Dubai, and the UAE does not belong to the hired help, anymore than Germany belongs to the Turks or the U.S belongs to Mexico, and in fact even less so. Besides the GCC nations which have utilized massive amounts of unskilled and skilled South Asian labor, what other Middle Eastern cities and industries have used them in a large scale? None that I can think of.
Comparing the treatment of South Asians in the UAE to the Jim Crowe days of the old South is beyond silly, and it very much disrespects and belittles the severity of the experiences of African Americans in U.S history.
The results are going to be that there are far, far fewer South Asians in the UAE within the decade.
Al_Chutiya….I know your comment is sarcastic, but there are important points that arise from it. We must be careful not to use Dubai as an ‘example’ of the excesses of the free-market system. Dubai is nothing like a true free market. It is essentially a feudal state, with severe inequality of opportunity, and immense concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a few unelected officials. Now back to the case of the workers. I think it is quite clear that it is companies, who often don’t pay on time, and the brokers, who swindle the workers even before they arrive, that are not honoring their ‘contracts,’ not the workers. By denying the worker’s access to any legal system, the SHeiks render themselves incapable of the most fundamental government responsibilty in a free-market system: the fair enforcement of contracts. But onto the main points, a minimum wage almost certainly WILL create unemployment in a situation like this. Dubai’s building boom is heavily dependent on cheap labor, without it it will slow and there will be less construction jobs available. And they certainly should be given copies of Milton Friedman, they will learn what are their TRUE rights in a free-market system.
“You are wrong on several levels. South Asians did not “build” Dubai into what it is today, but rather simply were and are the imported labor used to complete the task. Dubai, and the UAE does not belong to the hired help”
Theres a big difference. In Dubai South Asians(along with Europeans and Americans) supply not only the labor, but the intellectual capital that has built Dubai. What did the native Dubaians supply? A horribly primitive system of government, lazy and ostentatious snobs, and oil money.
@Roger
It has been mostly Western know-how that has been utilized to build Dubai and the UAE into what it is today. South Asian capital, not so much. Even South Asian skilled labor imported into the UAE reflects Western approaches and schooling in any application. After all, when one thinks of a brilliant and innovative approaches to free market capitalism, South Asia nations hardly come to mind.
Those Gulf Arabs in the UAE that you passionately hate so much had the vision back in the 70’s to formulate a approach to a free market economic model that sees their standard of living as perhaps the highest on Earth. In the case of Dubai, an economy that needs no oil to prosper, either. South Asians had nothing to to with this approach thirty years ago, and yet have been allowed to prosper in the UAE’s extremely open business environment. Saying that the folks who created the basis for this incredible economic engine are nothing but “lazy and ostentatious snobs sounds” like nothing more than pathetic jealousy.
Plus a minimum wage will create unemployment. I suggest the striking fools be given autographed copies of Milton Friedman.
Or they can be lectured by Manju – perhaps they should seek out their inner-whatever to start a bank and get rich – really they are not pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. And really is 3089 so far away?
Dubai is nothing like a true free market. It is essentially a feudal state, with severe inequality of opportunity, and immense concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a few unelected officials – But isn’t that always the result of an unfettered free market? The US before the major labor laws were passed and unions legalized wasn’t much different, except of course we had a somewhat free press that was able to openly report on the horrid conditions many laborers, minorities and women suffered and that helped propel major changes that couldn’t wait until the free market caught up.
Or they can be lectured by Manju – perhaps they should seek out their inner-whatever to start a bank and get rich – really they are not pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. And really is 3089 so far away?
Also this will be an OPPORTUNITY for the desi laborer to turn into entrepreneurs and make their own bigger and taller buildings.
ACfD, thanks 🙂
Roger, I don’t think that Dubai’s “lack of a free market economy” explains the gross exploitation of desi workers.
Cyrus, much of the treatment of desi workers in Dubai (and the Arab world at large) has been especially egregious, and I don’t think it’s entirely inappropriate to analogize that the laws regarding treatment of migrant workers (or migrants) are similar to the segregationist and “white power”-oriented policies of the American South after the Civil War. I think it goes way too far to say the native Dubai population had nothing to do with the growth of UAE — that’s just patently false. That said, I do think a country’s success must be credited in part to its labor — including Turks in Germany, African American slaves and migrant workers in the U.S., and desi workers in UAE, etc. It is easy to dehumanize workers and say that they were just cogs in the machine. The reality probably lies between the two extremes.
Singapore’s experiences may be instructive here.
It shares many similarities to Dubai (other than not having any oil or sheiks): small country, strategic location, limited locals willing to do the “dirty” work. Since the 1980s, there have been successive waves of laborers in the construction industry from Thailand, South Korea, India, Bangladesh, and now China. I remember passing their housing everyday to and fro school in the 80s and 90s: the ramshackle plywood huts they lived in amidst the dust and debris of the construction site, showering at the shared taps where they could be seen by everyone, having no recreational facilities.
About 5-7 years ago, some nicer-looking dorms were built which took care of some of these issues. However, not all of the workers get to stay in them as there are more workers than beds available. Healthcare is not guaranteed- a bill was recently passed (or is being passed, I’m not exactly sure) mandating this. Their wages are still miserable, and often, the 1st 2 years of their earnings go to paying off their agent’s fees. This part of their life is not interfered with by the Singaporean govt, since it’s unwilling to interfere in most private business deals.
Once in a while (about 2ice or 3ice a year), you hear of a group of disgruntled workers making their way to either their embassy or the Manpower Ministry to complain about not being paid, and after a while, this gets resolved somehow.
I’m not sure how bad Dubai is in comparison to Singapore’s record on taking care of its foreign labor force, but I guess that if it tried some of these things (e.g. better dorms, health care), things might not be so bad. Failing which, it could do what Amitabh says: attract labor from other poverty-stricken locations, e.g. Bihar. Who knows- maybe the next trend could be construction labor from Sub-Saharan Africa?
Well, Dubai is responding to the strike
UAE to deport 4,000 [South] Asian workers after strikes
The Desis of Dubai (and the Gulf) are probably the worst treated members of the Desi Diaspora (yes, worse than Fiji). Desis in North America are the most successful part of the Desi Diaspora. Although I know a lot of American Desis have the attitude described (jokingly) in Comment #12 — is there any scope for activism by American (and North American) Desis? Pressure, even just via letters, e-mails, and boycott campaigns. I know some activist type Desis read this blog — what could be done and how much work would it be?
So long as India / Pakistan do not provide the requisite economic opportunities for their citizens, there will be exploitation of desis in the UAE.
Another alternative would be to invade Dubai, imprison the sheiks, and take what is rightfully ours. I prefer this one.
As I think about this further, the UAE is the perfect place to invade:
I am disappointed I never thought of this before
“But isn’t that always the result of an unfettered free market? The US before the major labor laws were passed and unions legalized wasn’t much different, except of course we had a somewhat free press that was able to openly report on the horrid conditions many laborers, minorities and women suffered and that helped propel major changes that couldn’t wait until the free market caught up.”
PS. First, the US was never a ‘feudal society’ in the manner of Dubai. After slavery, which is about the biggest violation of ‘free’ market principles possible, we enjoyed perhaps the greatest period of freedom in our history, which not coincidentally was also the greatest period of improvement in life for the common man. People mis-judge the so called ‘robber baron’ era and wrongly credit labor laws and unions for improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens. First of let me state I agree child labor is an exception, to my general belief that ANY labor law hurts ordinary people more than it helps them. I think anyone would agree that no one has the ‘right’ to work. In that case, when full information is shared and all contracts are enforceable, how is it fair to regulate the right of two independent entities(worker and employer) from negotiating their own deal. Unions, in so far as they go toward providing information to workers and supporting them when employers renege on contracts, can be a positive force. ‘Banning’ unionization is an ‘anti’ free market policy in this respect, since workers should be free to join in any group they wish as long as they don’t impede the rights of others. I would even say strikes are a perfectly acceptable way of negotiating in a ‘free market.’ However Unions fall on the wrong side when they advocate special regulations, minimum wages, and other legal instruments which use government to interfere with the rights of other individuals . Today in the US, the same Unions you praise consist of members who earn FAR above the minimum wages they advocate. This is because they act in their own interest not in the interest of the general body of employable people. Underprivileged Minorities are most ‘screwed’ by unions and the regulations they advocate. The minimum wage law is most accurately described as a law that says if there is a person who has skills worth 4 dollars an hour, you cannot hire him, even if he is WILLING to work for that amount. This keeps the labor market saturated and maintains a high level of pay for unionized workers who consist of a minority of total workers.
The ‘unfettered’ free market as you call it, most often works in the interest of the least privileged and the most vulnerable. Fundamentally, it allows those who have LESS to out negotiate those who have MORE.
Pressure, even just via letters, e-mails, and boycott campaigns. I know some activist type Desis read this blog — what could be done and how much work would it be?
An Op-ed piece in NYTIMES/Washington Post should shed some much needed light on this issue. There is a gushing article on Dubai’s success in the media every week with nary a mention of the conditions of workers on those construction sites.
“Who knows- maybe the next trend could be construction labor from Sub-Saharan Africa?”
i think it says in the linked article that they are considering tibet and north korea. desperation indeed.
Cyrus.
I think your ‘hatred’ for South Asians is far greater than mine for Dubaians. Clearly South Asian, and other, intellectual capital is ‘good enough’ for silicon valley and the US defense industry, yet you claim that it is insufficient for building tall buildings? If the natives of Dubai were so farsighted and modern, where is its democracy, its decency, where are its universities? Those are true measures of ‘standards of living.’ Not pathetic ski-slopes built in ridiculous buildings for exorbitant prices. Dubai is feudal in the sense that a large group of people think they are ‘better’ than others and deserve ‘more’ simply on the account of their birth. Why else would they pass a ridiculous law which necessitates a ‘local’ partner for any business adventure? Go read about it.
What about the ‘standard’ of living for the South Asian workers you hate so much? Whether you like it or not, they are residents of the country, and must be included in any ‘standard of living’ estimate.
What ‘free market?’ As I said Dubai is nothing like a free market. Pro-business does NOT equal free market. This is a similar mistake to when Indians are against the free market because of the East India Company. And Dubai DOES have oil revenue, it is just going to run out sooner than the rest of the UAE.
ditto for singapore
Dubai is less a political entity than a corporate one. Dubai, Inc. provides the semblance of a city-state, but people in Dubai (even the Emiratis) are less citizens or subjects than they are corporate stakeholders (employees or investors). Dubai doesn’t feel it owes anyone anything, much less poor laborers from the subcontinent. No one, not even the locals, has any right to anything, since the ruling family can do whatever it likes. Dubai’s ruling family happens to have styled itself like a corporation and not a monarchy, but it really doesn’t recognize the basic rights or freedoms that citizens (and guest workers) expect. Dubai is image- and brand-conscious and bristles at being seen as the Sweatshop of the World, but its actions are those of a corporation punishing workers who refuse to do the jobs they’re paid to do.
Again I insist than on the whole it is NOT the workers who are refusing to do their jobs, but the employers who are forcing action by non-payment of salary.
I was raised in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates. It is what I call home when asked of home, although I now have to seek permission to visit. Dubai isn’t far away. Seen the changes, noticed the violations. I did nothing, mates of mine kept quiet too, as did my parents. It is a sort of fear that is placed on blocks, learnt by the inhabitants, and is a part of life. Authority is rarely questioned by the layman. No one wants to be deported and a tax-free life can get addicting.
A large number of workers that go to the gulf region do so after selling practically all they have got or taking out loans (rarely from banks). There is a also a certain comfort in a person from the south asian bloc if going to a place where a person who used to live down the street back home can be found without looking real hard.
Discrimination isn’t overt it might seem to visitors or even observors but it reeks. Nationality matters. North Americans, expat Arabs, Asians all have their place on the racial food chain. Pays differ by the color of your passport. And discrimination between members within the community is notorious. Improvements are now being considered since the Emirates (It is unfair to pigeon only Dubai) and other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have gone up in profile and it will not do for countries interested in courting foreign visitors to be seen as sweatshops. Alternatives to combat the situation is underway. In the Emirates, workers are transported to secluded labor camps, away from the public eye. Life may improve, but what is most interesting is this technique in moving these media eyesores to a quieter location. So if one doesn’t see the problem, there isn’t a problem.
If there are assumptions South Asians did not build the region, but merely contributed labor, that is a little daft. Technology may have been First-World imports, management predominantly First-World imports, but the cogs are very Asian, even African, and low-class (so crassly named)Arabs. It is an unusual country in that the expatriates outnumber the local flora and fauna significantly. The ministers do not kid when they claim that these workers have the power to shut down airports, health services, banks and the works. They do. They deport because there are others willing to work for cheap and not ask questions. When there are families to feed, a person shuts up. And English is not a requirement in a country where Urdu, Hindi, Tagalog, Tamil, Malayalam, Russian, Farsi, and others all thrive. I am not saying Asia built the middle eastern region, but in some if not all of these countries, in the roads, in the buildings, in the infrastructure, a “lowly” darker man or woman has contributed. The bluprints may have been put together by the privileged, but the privileged did not put the pieces together, and I repeat, do not. Not since the last time I checked, which was thirty days ago.
I am not going to get into comparing the troubles of these peoples with the troubles of others, but if it is stated what these people endure isn’t crazy labor, or isn’t a form of frightful labor akin to slavery, I must disagree. It is hard to explain desert heat, and it is hard to explain the hope some of these people get here with; construction people work and sometimes sleep in conditions that are frankly appaling. And psychological violence has to be experienced to be understood. Yes, people come to these countries for money, can leave whenever. The deal is always explained. That is not the problem. The problem is that of respect and of dignity, simple terms leaked out of these people after years of poor pay. And for people like me, out of guilt maybe, it is important to let people know that there may be a lot of glitz in a place like Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but the trash that get picked up, the buildings that are constructed in nut and bolt, the cabs that are driven, and much else considered menial labor, are basically done by those willing to work for cheap and come from countries quite young, granted independence fairly recently. I owe them that much.
Roger – your point on how the free market is also supposed to mean everything is voluntary and upfront is taken. I think there is a difference between the definition of an ideal free market and what happens when it is “unfettered”. The reason we have labor laws, including laws protecting children, is that despite all the potential for good with the free market(and there’s so much I agree with in the idea and practice of a free market)the fact is we are human and not all of us go around thinking of the common good and there will be exploitation and “feudal” conditions.
the US was never a ‘feudal society’ in the manner of Dubai – well that is your opinion – I think with slavery and the US working conditions before unions and labor laws were enacted, millions of people were living in servitude – like I said the “free market” would have been too slow for things to improve – humans shouldn’t have to wait that long and I dare say, the US might also not be able to be what it is now (even with it’s many problems) until 3089.
Minimum wage is needed – even though the current minimum wage is NOT a livable wage.
I really hope this issue gains attention. I just saw this thing on 60 minutes where they interviewed the “king” I think of dubai and was in such praise of the grandeur he has created – http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/101/dubai . And what about the environmental destruction – I wonder if dubai’s builders ever have to contend with environmental regualtions? My mother, who never thinks about the people who labor in Dubai, visited Dubai and was just in awe of its wealth and full of praise – I really wanted to throw up when she kept exclaiming how grand it is. How I wish India’s own economy would strengthen so we would have some muscle with regards to its citizens’ human rights violations – that seems the only way to even make a dent in influencing countries like dubai.
Someone the other day told me about how dirt cheap condos are in Dubai and how they are the best investment you could make. Dollar signs appeared in my eyes like in the cartoons, but then I remembered how south Asians are treated there and the reason for dirt cheap condos are the virtual enslavement of my own people.
Dirty money = stress I dont need
The sectors allowing this inhumanity and exploitation to occur aren’t going to change their positions because they developed a heart all of a sudden or even because it is being talked about in the media now (which has been covering this for a few years). And the situation in the labour camps in the middle east IS BAD, I have seen the camps personally, even if it was 3-4 years ago. There is NO body/agency other than the national government that the business sector will listen to… again not in the monetary interest of the country to be sympathetic to its ‘labourers’.
What about the governments of the countries these ‘labourers’ come from? Why isn’t India, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka raising these issues with the UAE government with greater urgency? Why should other countries care for a different people when their own country doesn’t make them a priority or consider them important enough to raise a fuss.
Amnesty and UN Human Rights commission have not been doing much on this either. I personally know of documentation that was sent to Amnesty back in the late 90s consisting of newspaper clippings of at least 80 cases of inhumane violations of human rights among low-income workers in kuwait. nothing had come out of it in terms of follow-up or investigation. nothing has been mentioned in the yearly UN Human Rights Watch reports.
Raising a voice is great but where can we push the right button to get a movement going. In my opiion, the governments of the native countries of the ‘labourers’ are also responsible in allowing this to continue. They CAN intervene in the most effective fashion to improve living conditions in the ‘labour camps’ and to not tolerate cases of inhumane conduct or personal exploitation.
roger is absolutely correct in noting that theoretically “free market” does not mean “pro-business”. in fact quite the opposite; a perfectly competitive market (given all the usual assumptions about human rationality) in theory is very anti business insofar as profits would tend towards zero. but in reality the there are more or less powerful groups in society (e.g. corporations are highly organized and hence have more bargaining or coercive powers than non-organized groups). also state coercion is not very different from other forms of coercion (like that which stems from lack of bargaining power).
(given all the usual assumptions about human rationality)
It’s time to fire all the policemen and dissolve the IRS.
PS……its clear that we have the same goals in mind, and truthfully I thought just like you two years ago. You seem reasonable, so think about what a minimum wage actually does. Why do you think it is necessary? Who does it help, and who does it hurt?
More importantly think about what you said about us ‘all being human.’ It is precisely this fact that makes the free market such a great tool. It is the only way we have ever developed by which people, looking after their OWN personal interests, jointly promote the wellbeing of all. It is the only way that people who may even fight each-other if they met face to face, can cooperate for the betterment of both parties. The way I see it is, REGARDLESS of what system we have, people will be people. Therefore the best system would be one in which individual greed, pettiness, evil can do the least harm. And also one in which individual generosity, intelligence, initiative and plain goodness can do the most good. The free market system is one in which even vices such as greed can be a positive force in society. The free market also allows the best expression of our positive qualities as well.
I insist that you not associate slavery at all with the free market, as it is the polar opposite of ‘freedom.’ When you consider working conditions you cannot look simply at their absolute quality. You have to look at the improvement in those conditions over the course of a policy regime. I would contend that the free market of the late 1800’s and early 1900s acted swifter and more forcefully in improving working conditions than any union or any laws did subsequently.
You say that Unions have been an overall force for good, I can make several contentions to the contrary. For example the American Medical Assosciation intentionally keeps the number of physicians artificially low, in order to benefit an extremely wealthy membership, with the horrendous side effects of ridiculously high medical expenses and an insufficient total number of medical professionals. They force the passage of licensing laws, prescription regulations, emergency vehicle registrations and everything else they can possibly do to maintain the tight monopoly they have over the health of American citizens. Why do they do this….to indirectly maintain a ‘minimum wage’ of around 200K a year. Certainly SOMEONE is benefiting, otherwise such organizations wouldn’t exist. The Teacher’s Union puts out ads every election year about the good it does for American children, yet as any entity it looks primarily after its OWN interests. This is why, for example, it is impossible to hire non-union teachers in public schools, and it is impossible to pay more for good teachers and fore bad ones. It is extremely difficult to hold teachers accountable to any standard due to the immense power of the Union. Teachers don’t earn all that much, but you can’t say thy are even close to the minimum wage. Why is it, then, that they are among its strongest proponents?
Sigh! This is precisely why the most important policy goal of those interested in the welfare of the least powerful ought to support the diminishing of government power. If you have a weak government, even its collusion with special interests cannot do much harm. Power in the hands of a few will necessarily hurt those who are not the few, regardless of how ‘good’ those particular people happen to be.
I watched the whole thing on 60 Minutes just now, and it all sounded like some infomercial for Dubai. This reminds me of the “feel good” era between the USA and many Islamic countries during the Reagan Administration. It was then that I remember seeing how “progressive” countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were with the same zeal and enthusiasm as this 60 Minutes reporter.
In this documentary, they mention that the Sheikh is striving for “religious tolerance and gender equality in the work place.” WTF? This is a BLATANT LIE!!! Why aren’t there any synagogues or Gurudwaras there? I’m certain that there are a lot of Jews and Sikhs there in Dubai! At the beginning of this 60 Minute piece (which I viewed on youtube – keywords “60 Minutes and Dubai”), they cite that there are churches and mosques…but nothing about Mandirs, etc.
How the heck can the reporter talk about gender equality in Dubai?
Everything about Dubai has the smell of the noveou riche: They treat workers like crap! They have a slave-owners mentality, and the people there are VERY VERY VERY arrogant. Even when they come to the USA, you see these young Arabic brats on the college campuses driving Porsches and showing up late for class.
I had an uncle who worked at Das Island, part of the UAE, for 25+ years. He would work in that area for 3 months, and then he’d come home for 1 month at a time. His family wasn’t allowed to live in that area (even though 2 of his kids were born in Kuwait). In the USA, we treat our workers and Mexicans a LOT better. In my humble opinion, we treat them with dignity, respect their work ethic, allow them to worship, have no problem with intermarriage with them, etc.
I would love for a Pakistani and an Indian to colloborate, as a peace-building measure, to bring light to this terrible feudal system which exploits the South Asians!
This is probably one arena where south asian nations can come together and have an effective voice in theory. If not the governments, then NGOs in the countries that won’t be bought off in political deals. One thing that has been reverberated to me even by rich Indians from the Emirates who I went to college with, is that racism is rampant against them and they, even in wealth are treated differently from the Arabs and the white westerners who receive the best treatment. Although they have been allowed to build wealth, it is not fun being spoken down to on a weekly to daily basis by a population that sees themselves as inherently better. The comments by Cyrus are indicative of this thought.
South Asians are responsible for Dubai. SAs don’t just do the menial labor. They also dominate the professional and business classes. There are South Asians just as rich as the Natives even though they do not get the monthly welfare stipends from the government. Take away South Asians and Dubai would simply cease to function. Take away Dubai and South Asians would continue to manage.
Here’s a directory where you can look up Indian businesses in Dubai:
http://ibpcdubai.com/html/members.php
Off particular note are all the companies with Islamic/Arabic names run by Gujus and Sikhs.
BTW is Cyrus Persian?
Most Persians I know are anti-Arab and rather fond of Indians.
I wonder if this was taking place in country like Sweden or Holland there would be more outrage. But since alot of this is one kind of brown treating other browns less then human, it harder for many people to deal with.
I actually would think that such a case would create more outrage since it plays more cleanly into the “white/brown” dynamic propagated in the racial hierarchies and practices of many western European countries + the U.S. and Canada.
RE outrage:
Where’s the outrage in India and Pakistan? If there’s no outrage on the subcontinent, it’s hard to see why other countries should care beyond an abstract humanitarian concern. India does precious little for its Gulf workers except soak up some $5 billion per year from them in remittances.
Should the Indian government also be more vocal about underpaid H1b workers? I read an article sometime back that stated that an H1B worker is 20% underpaid compared to his or her American counterpart.
Where’s the outrage in India and Pakistan? If there’s no outrage on the subcontinent, it’s hard to see why other countries should care beyond an abstract humanitarian concern.
Yes, that’s what I’m thinking. I’ve said this before but I wish some bollywood people would take this up as a cause – I mean bollywood is popular in the middle east, they admire the stars, might help to start changing public perception along with the govt and activists’ work and spur some change.
PS,
The only reason I can think why Bollywood doesn’t get involved is precisely what you state. They see Dubai etc as big overseas markets and they don’t want to jeopardize that. Given our history, I think a lot of people in India are focused on very short terms objectives, which in these cases is making as much money as they can. The increased global exposure has also exposed a lot more Indians to Western consumption ideals, I am not saying that is correct but that is what is happening on the ground. I am not sure if you travel to India often, but in big cities the transition is mind boggling, people are thinking selfishly at the moment but I have high hopes. I personally am willing to give it time and am almost positive things will turn around.
That’s an interesting point, Preston.
In Abu Dhabi, I remember, the indifference from the “better-placed” (within the Indian community) towards the poorly treated workers was as troubling as a neutered Indian Embassy. The fear of deportation is heavy, so few people wish to attempt anything considered subversive. People write about the problem, yes — newspapers print them sometimes. Even talk about it. And there are Emirati ministers I am certain who understand the problem requires considerable reform. But so far I have found it rare to meet a man or a woman who was willing to walk next to or go on strike for a laborer protesting shoddy treatment in a country where an easy fix is deportation. You are imprisoned first of course, then deported.
Aside: HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel once aired a segment on child camel jockeys smuggled to the U.A.E.. The program focussed on this Pakistani fellow who made it his mission to rescue most of these kids. The segment became a public relations nightmare for the government, coming under severe pressure to do something. The kids were sent home, some back to the very families forced to sell them. Robots do the job now.
Deep@#31:
Nice post.
I have been living in Dubai for a few months now .. agree with most comments above ( though wud love to add tht there is a Gurdwara and Temple in Dubai ! ) …
From the outside the city looks wonderful , but as u dig deeper the picture is not so pretty …
many Indians and Pakistanis claim the problems realted to pay are also caused by inflow of cheap Filipino and Nepali labourers who work for less than half of normal pay !
The conditions are appalling and the labour inflow from subcontinent is supposedly declining … Govt also doesnt help … There is a new rule being formulated by GCC countries to put 6 year cap on visas , this gonna make it worser !