{"id":6562,"date":"2017-07-20T11:57:18","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T11:57:18","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2017-07-20T11:57:18","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T11:57:18","slug":"opinion-slating-international-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/en\/feature\/opinion\/opinion-slating-international-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Dubai Has Been Slated – Again – In The International Press And This Just Has To Stop"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Yet another article has been published, by international media on the ‘dark side of Dubai’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An article, shared to Australia’s biggest news site, news.com.au,<\/a> was written by an ex-Dubai journo and basically accuses the city of being a superficial, soulless wasteland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It cited cliche examples of the UAE, the classic ‘big cats in super car’, the shiny towers, and the expat penchant for brunches, all painting a picture of a Dubai with no heart.<\/p>\n

But I\u00a0take issue with this article, for a few reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The international media seems ever eager to write about Dubai’s ‘realities’, and its short-comings<\/h3>\n

Often, the world is infatuated with this rare social experiment that is a rapidly developing nation that is the emirates, and somehow paints the country in a less than flattering light, but often it’s only half the story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sultan Al Qassemi wrote an eloquent piece on how a New Yorker journalist spent a mere day in the city, and judging it based simply on a few of the tourist attractions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0Emirati Commentator Sultan Al Qassemi Has Come Out With A Pretty Epic Response To The New Yorker’s Opinion Of Dubai<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m not saying Dubai is without its issues<\/h3>\n

As all cities are – Dubai has shortcomings, and it’s not always an easy city to live in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are tough times, as there are with any city. Busy traffic comes part and parcel in big cities, with wealth and opportunity comes opportunists and superficiality; every up has its downs. Sure our rent is higher than other cities, but we don’t have income tax.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So many expats come to Dubai, soaking up the sun, enjoying the tax-free income, and doing #humblebrag posts about their opulent lifestyle in Dubai only to go home and have a whinge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The article cites three tiers of classes<\/h3>\n

Top being: ‘local Emiratis who are inexhaustibly wealthy’<\/p>\n

Using an example:\u00a0“You know you\u2019ve spotted one if you see a polished metal Jaguar carrying a furry pet Jaguar in the front seat. Exotic animals as pets are illegal in the UAE, yet a common sight among the rich.”<\/p>\n

Having lived in the UAE for five years, I’ve yet to see a big cat seated in a car, and several new laws are being implemented to enforce the prohibition of owning exotic animals.<\/p>\n

Plus, being nationals of the country, why shouldn’t these people enjoy the wealth of their land?\u00a0<\/p>\n

What’s wrong with benefiting off a rich government?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most nations in the first world offer their citizens free education and healthcare.<\/p>\n

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Then the expats of Dubai the ‘second layer of rich foreign workers’<\/h3>\n

There’s no mention of the expats on mid-level incomes, struggling to pay rent at times, no mention of expats working here to better themselves and their career, often working 12-hour days, and paying high rent, living away from their families.<\/p>\n

Rather, it cites a cliche about old Dubai expats – the fat cats that ‘are the brains of the nation.’ (the Rulers of the UAE may dispute that)<\/p>\n

“The CEOs, bank managers, project heads who will sit at sports bars to discuss their home country\u2019s failed political scenario, and then follow it with shots of tequila on a Tuesday night.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

And the third example – of poor foreign workers ‘nobody wants to discuss’<\/h3>\n

The quote:\u00a0“They do 12-hour shifts at a construction site in the middle of the desert on a 50C day.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0It fails to mention the mid-day breaks for summer which are law in the UAE.<\/p>\n

It also ignores the happy men that have worked here for 12 years, saying it’s the way they can make life better for their families back home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Again, it’s not ideal, a lot of their living situations, but they chose this life, and many are happy to live here and reap the benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Life in Dubai is what you make it<\/h3>\n

The story tells of this journalist drinking “bottomless flutes of Dom P\u00e9rignon, and in the morning have my taxi driver tell me how he was not able to buy a goat for his family in Pakistan this Eid.”<\/p>\n

Sorry, but that’s your choice. You do that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not all expats take to ladies’ nights, hit up all the brunches, and live an ostentatious life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many expats spend quiet nights in friends’ company (if they can get away from the office), with their children, or exploring off-beat restos in the back streets of Dubai.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The beauty of the UAE is that it offers opportunity to all<\/h3>\n

There are experiences you’ll not get anywhere else, there is a magic in the city, a melting pot of cultures, a tax-free income and the world’s tallest, fastest, biggest, richest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But don’t act like that’s all there is here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are good people, rich culture, unique experiences and a beautiful history. If you choose to sip on champagne on weeknights and ignore all that, then you are the fool.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And frankly, if you don’t like it here, you can always leave…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yet another article has been published, by international media on the ‘dark side of Dubai’.\u00a0 An article, shared to Australia’s biggest news site, news.com.au, was written by an ex-Dubai journo and basically accuses the city of being a superficial, soulless wasteland.\u00a0 It cited cliche examples of the UAE, the classic ‘big cats in super car’, … ","protected":false},"author":396,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"acf":{"legacy_image":"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/07\/_relatedEntryImage2x\/81984243_l.jpg?mtime=20170720144921","legacy_full_image":"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/07\/_featuredImage\/81984243_l.jpg?mtime=20170720144921 880w","legacy_meta_tags":"Dubai Has Been Slated - Again - In The International Press And This Just Has To Stop - Lovin Dubai<\/title><meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yet another article has been published, by international media on the &#039;dark side of Dubai&#039;.\nAn article, shared to Australia&#039;s biggest news site, news.\">\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lovindubai.com\/opinion\/opinion-slating-international-press\">\n<!-- <link rel=\"amphtml\" href=\"https:\/\/lovindubai.com\/opinion\/opinion-slating-international-press\/amp\">\n --><meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dubai Has Been Slated - Again - In The International Press And This Just Has To Stop \">\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\">\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lovindubai.com\/opinion\/opinion-slating-international-press\">\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"But there are a few omissions \">\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/07\/81984243_l.jpg?mtime=20170720144921\">\n<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2765\">\n<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1517\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"photo\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"lovindubai\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Dubai Has Been Slated - Again - In The International Press And This Just Has To Stop \">\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Cait_12\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\" Yet another article has been published, by international media on the 'dark side of Dubai'.\nAn article, shared to Australia's biggest news site, news.\n\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lovindubai.com\/opinion\/opinion-slating-international-press\">\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/07\/81984243_l.jpg?mtime=20170720144921\">\n"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6562\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}