Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble
And now the toil part. All of building and the support services behind it come at a price, and the price is our humanity and the chase for the money. This is a bit complicated and there are some twists so bear with me. In order to field the huge workforce required for all of this building there tens of thousands of expatriate laborers sponsored to come into Dubai on work visas. They are paid a minimum wage, rumored to be around 600 dirham a month or just over $150 US. They are also provided with sleeping accommodations in a labor camp and three meals a day. They wait in huge groups for the busses to coma at the end of the day to take them back to camp, sometimes a very long ride. So on the surface it seems they are truly being exploited, they work dawn to dusk for very meager wages that are usually sent back home to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, East Asia, Africa or where ever. The reality is they would be making far less in the home country and probably not have enough to eat. So is it exploitation?
The irony here is that expatriate pay for Americans and other high skilled workers. It’s almost the same deal , they pay us more than we could make at home, provide our accommodations and transportation (but not our food). We are quite happy because we come from a good life to begin with, put up with an exotic location and culture while sacrificing the things we can’t get here that we had back home. Same deal different perspective.
Dubai is all about growth. The phenomenal amounts of money poured into the economy have created what appears to be the largest real estate bubble on earth. Until very recently rents were increasing by 8 to 10% per year as were the prices for the unfathomable number of new residences, commercial office space, condominiums, etc. I am going to make a prediction that within 3 years real estate in Dubai will be the best value on the planet. There are simply not enough people to fill the amount of space being created here. I picked up the daily edition of Gulf News the local English language newspaper on Wednesday and it is about an inch and a half thick. Half of the paper was a section on real estate. I have also noticed that the kiosks in the malls that the various developers have set up are noticeably less busy in the last two weeks, by noticeably, I mean nobody at any of them when I pass.
And now the toil part. All of building and the support services behind it come at a price, and the price is our humanity and the chase for the money. This is a bit complicated and there are some twists so bear with me. In order to field the huge workforce required for all of this building there tens of thousands of expatriate laborers sponsored to come into Dubai on work visas. They are paid a minimum wage, rumored to be around 600 dirham a month or just over $150 US. They are also provided with sleeping accommodations in a labor camp and three meals a day. They wait in huge groups for the busses to coma at the end of the day to take them back to camp, sometimes a very long ride. So on the surface it seems they are truly being exploited, they work dawn to dusk for very meager wages that are usually sent back home to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, East Asia, Africa or where ever. The reality is they would be making far less in the home country and probably not have enough to eat. So is it exploitation?
The irony here is that expatriate pay for Americans and other high skilled workers. It’s almost the same deal , they pay us more than we could make at home, provide our accommodations and transportation (but not our food). We are quite happy because we come from a good life to begin with, put up with an exotic location and culture while sacrificing the things we can’t get here that we had back home. Same deal different perspective.
I moved into new digs on the 30th and it is so much better. Hotel Apartment, serviced with a nice rooftop pool and exercise facility. Close to the old part of Dubai so you can walk to Souks (markets) and the Creek. Pictures to come.
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