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The Dubai Debt Trap

economist.com

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Re: The Dubai Debt Trap

#4
post #3

Mirror: https://web.archive.org/web/20220218111600/https://www.econo...

Thanks. Hoes does WBM get the page? Does the economist let it's crawlers through?

Crawlers are often permitted to get more web visibility. I think the Web Archive also crawls the web as a browser sometimes, so they can't always distinguish between crawlers.

That said, with NoScript on I can just read the economist article, no banners or anything.

Re: The Dubai Debt Trap

#5
All I ever hear is horror stories about this place: environmental destruction, structural racism, serious abuse of human rights, culturally hyper conservative, corrupt legal system, plus it's absurdly hot. I can't believe anyone would voluntarily go there, seems like hell on earth.

Re: The Dubai Debt Trap

#7
One of many reasons that I will never enter the UAE. There is no rule of law, and so no protection if anyone decides to charge you for anything. I've read of women being raped and then being charged for reporting it which essentially admits sex outside of marriage, or of foreigners who get driven into by a local and then charged as if they were the ones being reckless.

That's not even going into their de facto slavery with foreign construction workers, environmental damage, and sexism.

Re: The Dubai Debt Trap

#8
post #5

All I ever hear is horror stories about this place: environmental destruction, structural racism, serious abuse of human rights, culturally hyper conservative, corrupt legal system, plus it's absurdly hot. I can't believe anyone would voluntarily go there, seems like hell on earth.

Because almost no one who moves to Dubai for a middle class job will ever experience any of the things you’ve listed except for the heat.

What they do experience is earning lots of tax-free money, and a vibrant city life. Obviously those negatives are all present but less of a threat than one might think from the outside.

Perhaps that seems like too much of a risk to some people. But to others, who aren’t living in “heaven-on-earth” first world countries it’s an easy gamble to make.

(Culturally hyper-conservative is especially hilarious for anyone who has been to a Dubai brunch.)

Re: The Dubai Debt Trap

#9
post #5

All I ever hear is horror stories about this place: environmental destruction, structural racism, serious abuse of human rights, culturally hyper conservative, corrupt legal system, plus it's absurdly hot. I can't believe anyone would voluntarily go there, seems like hell on earth.

I think it might have to do with the difficulty of getting a tourist or work visa for the US or Europe when from a country with a weak passport.
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