I’ve been in Dubai for 5 days and I’m starting to see and experience “The Desert Bubble.” As a contractor here you are considered a living and working at a level WAY beyond what the normal worker is experiencing, especially since we are here to work with an international resort company who specializes in catering to 5-star clientele. Lots of people talk about the double trap that exists here.
As an upper-level worker here, your company will pay you a competitive salary (TAX FREE), give you housing, housekeeping staff, personal property guard, etc. for you and your family, plus a company car. Also, you are entitled to be flown to your home country to visit once a year on the company dime. All of this is meant to draw the cream of the crop to work and live here in the desert and it’s very attractive to a lot of people because they see the dollar signs and possibility for huge money saving, early retirement, etc... I know I do!
Now here’s the rub…so you get here and start living this awesome Bubble Life where you are now a Baby Sheik in a Big Sheik pond. You’re making money (saving butt loads of cash), not being taxed, have a gardener, housekeeper, cook and guard. Do you really want to give that up when your contract expires? Do you really want to come back to the US and do your own laundry, weed your garden, shop for groceries and cook dinner every night?
Flip side? As a lower-level worker, there are NO employment laws, unions, or employee protection. There is no minimum wage, no maximum shift time. Companies as common practice “hold” their workers’ passport and visa paperwork, working them at double shifts regularly, using minimal safety precautions in construction zones. From a historical perspective, as I drive home to the hotel, I see thousands of Indian workers putting up, literally, the tallest buildings in the world (in weather that’s always over 100 degrees with 70% humidity). This is a live version of the ultimate empire building process.
Welcome to the new pyramids my friends, would you like a strawberry daiquiri?
As an upper-level worker here, your company will pay you a competitive salary (TAX FREE), give you housing, housekeeping staff, personal property guard, etc. for you and your family, plus a company car. Also, you are entitled to be flown to your home country to visit once a year on the company dime. All of this is meant to draw the cream of the crop to work and live here in the desert and it’s very attractive to a lot of people because they see the dollar signs and possibility for huge money saving, early retirement, etc... I know I do!
Now here’s the rub…so you get here and start living this awesome Bubble Life where you are now a Baby Sheik in a Big Sheik pond. You’re making money (saving butt loads of cash), not being taxed, have a gardener, housekeeper, cook and guard. Do you really want to give that up when your contract expires? Do you really want to come back to the US and do your own laundry, weed your garden, shop for groceries and cook dinner every night?
Flip side? As a lower-level worker, there are NO employment laws, unions, or employee protection. There is no minimum wage, no maximum shift time. Companies as common practice “hold” their workers’ passport and visa paperwork, working them at double shifts regularly, using minimal safety precautions in construction zones. From a historical perspective, as I drive home to the hotel, I see thousands of Indian workers putting up, literally, the tallest buildings in the world (in weather that’s always over 100 degrees with 70% humidity). This is a live version of the ultimate empire building process.
Welcome to the new pyramids my friends, would you like a strawberry daiquiri?
10 comments:
"Baby Sheik"
Love it!
- Ray
We live in a kind of bubble of our own here . . . our view of how the world should work is not how it actually does in many many many places (including the US!). I am interested to hear more.
oh what a life to be on the top, but if ones on the bottom how difficult is it to climb out of that pile of scatt? what do you know about the educational field in that area/
When one is working in the exposed elements one must take care to remain hydrated?? what is the quality of the h2o in this region?
take care and enjoy
Education is an interesting beast as well from what I've been able to gather. Most of the ex-pats (upper working levels) put their children into one of the International Schools or private schools...I even drove past a Montessori Academy yesterday. But the lower working class levels don't normally bring their families over. So, I believe it's much like the scenario we're used to seeing with the border workers in the US. Again...I haven't done a ton of research, but that's what I've seen so far.
Water...it's the ultimate commodity because there isn't any naturally occuring fresh water source. However, UAE is directly on the gulf they have giant desalination plants to extract fresh water. Coming from Colorado, I'm used to really cold tap water, but here everything is in the range from warm to HOT...cold water must be refrigerated or iced. I see every construction worker with the thermos water jugs hanging from their jumpers, so they're clearly drinking from the tap, but in the hotels and restaurants they to not serve tap water, it's all bottled for our tender little American and European intestines. ;-)
Speaking of tummies, have you experienced any of the discomfort you were worried about?
How's the food, is it traditional Middle Eastern fare or westernized (i.e. gyros and such)?
No tummy trouble due to food. I was "off" for a few days just due to the jetlag...eating when the body clock says you should be sleeping makes my tummy grumpy, but otherwise the food is AWESOME!!! There's a nice mix of western and regional, so we pick and choose according to the mood of the group each day.
Yeh.....yeh.
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