The title I chose for this blog entry probably isn't the best for what I intend to talk about. We have discussed poverty against wealth in cities and how they work with and against one another. However these concepts apply mainly to western society, particularly the United States.
In other places this type of contrast is far greater. One great example of this would be Dubai. Dubai is a place loaded with oil money. However oil supplies in Dubai are limited so a little over a decade ago, city planners and the government decided to invest their oil money in massive city development to continue the growth and economic development after the oil runs out.
This rapid development requires a very large workforce however, and Dubai and the UAE have received a great deal of criticism in recent years about how they acquire this workforce. It is mainly comprised of migrant workers from countries such as Bangladesh and India. These migrant workers are brought over thinking they can earn a decent living to send home to their families. The reality however is far from ideal. The workers live in camps, far detached from the glamourous city that we see in pictures. They work 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week, and are paid nowhere near what they were promised. Furthermore the living conditions of the camps are generally substandard. The government has rules against this but is not very strict about enforcing them.
This is an extreme contrast against the way people live in the city, which is practically built from gold. As far as I know Dubai is the only place in the world which builds islands in the shape of palms, and continues to build resort after resort after resort. It also has some of the most expensive property in the world, for which the value only continues to rise. Granted there are exceptions to everything, but it is difficult to imagine this type of extreme contrast of wealth, living conditions, etc. Reading this particular article, one would almost believe a homeless resident of an american subway station has it better off than these migrant workers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7985361.stm
I found the article about the wealth gap in Dubai very eye-opening. I never would have guessed that such a hideous issue would exist in such a beautiful place. It really goes to show that the impression you have of a place can be completely off-base, and problems can exist beneath a pristine exterior. This reminds me of learning that there is enough food to feed everyone in the world, it is just not distributed fairly, so thousands go hungry. Dubai relates to this because the rich people who live or vacation there probably would never imagine the living and working conditions of the workers who made the resorts what they are today.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely challenging to grasp such a huge difference between wealth and poverty in one place. Living in America, I think that what we see as poor and wealthy, is definitely different, but no where near the extreme as other places like Dubai. It only makes me wondering why the world hasn't figure out some sort of balance? The wealthiest of places, could still be wealthy with a lot less money, and that money could go to the poorer areas, helping to decrease the extreme difference. I'm sure it would be difficult to work out a plan for a balance of this type, but I think it could be doable. However, the world will never work to do so, because people are too individually driven and have their mind set on money and power.
ReplyDelete-Rachel Gordon
My first thought when I read your blog was that their living conditions couldn't that bad that it deserves a comparison to a homeless person in USA. However, once I read the article, it changed my thoughts. Their living conditions are worst than a bums. They are working very hard for nothing and have to live in camps that's not suitable for any human being to live in.
ReplyDeleteWe talked about the migrant worker situation and stark contrast between living conditions in Dubai last semester in my Global Economy and World Politics class. The contrast is amazing and it just goes to show that even in seemingly exponentially rich countries such as the UAE and even the US, there are pockets (for lack of a better word) of disparity and poverty. Income inequality is a problem for many developed countries.
ReplyDeleteLaura Oganowski
I never thought about other sides of Dubai. I always imagined that Dubai to be one of the most beautiful and awesome city of the world. The article was very shocking to me. I never thought there could be any worse than those beggars in the streets of D.C. in the US. I really feel bad that those migrant workers in Dubai have to suffer so much and live in such bad living conditions. But one thing, those workers are trying and beggars are not. I really value their hard work and I inspire them.
ReplyDelete-Hae Jin Kye-
I agree with all the comments above. The media, for the most part, portrays Dubai as a rich, beautiful, and exotic land. I'm fairly certain that there is an indoor ski park there. The thought that this structure could exist while people are living in absolute poverty is unimaginable. It seems that one of the main problems is that the rules set in place to create good working conditions are not enforced and definitely not followed. The fact that migrant workers are brought there thinking they will make good money and live in nice places makes the situation even more horrible. The government needs to start enforcing the laws to create a sustainable working situation.
ReplyDelete-Kate Chambers
I am very disgusted and shocked that Dubai had such a system that would even exist. It almost seems as if these hard-labor workers are indentured servants building for the future of others. But it sounds ironic to say that America did something very similar to become a flourishing nation that has a powerful military and strong government, loaded with money. Although Americans did not force any immigrants to come to America, they lured and used scheming tactics using the "American Dream" to bring over millions of immigrants hoping for vast opportunities to be rich and successful. Over 95% of the immigrants who came to America during the 1950's ended up living in hazardous and filthy buildings and in some cases, begged for work to make money. Although Dubai may be doing something that is inhuman and leave others disgusted, it is only benefiting their future as a city.
ReplyDeleteDubai provides a real insight beyond our shores on how poverty and the dream of finding new start to life can lead to continued poverty -- but before we decry what occurs in Dubai -- we still have plenty to address on our own shores about the disparity between the wealthy and the poor. WIthin our national sphere, we debate about the negative effects of migrant workers here and often complain that they take advantage of our open borders, seek work, and then send their money back to their homelands, but forget that they often work jobs that many Americans do not choose to undertake. This is not new -- our history is marked by immigrant migrations to our shores from our very first settlers. Many of those early colonists and indentured servants became leaders in our new nation. Even with the later immigrations from Europe in the late 1800s and arly 1900s, people viewed America as the land of opportunity. Many came and achieved a level of financial and lifestyle success, but many also suffered the low wages, poor working conditions, and loss of family because those in power abused them and used them for their own gains. Likewise, the migrant workers from the Indian sub-continent see the opportunity to work in Dubai as a way to help their families, but as the article points out -- although they are willing to work hard, the conditions and broken promises of those in power thwart their dreams and leaves no opportunity to improve their current circumstances or for their families back home. Pretty sad that we have not learned from the past -- and do not seem to be making any progress towards it.
ReplyDeleteThis post was very eye opening to say the least. As a tourist and outsider observing dubai is breathtaking in some aspects. The beautiful architecture, the lavish resorts, and beautiful skyline. This article really shines a different light on the city though. The living conditions these people are living in is just absurd and the lack of law enforcing is just cruel. It stumped me that the company only got fined two thousand euros for their blatant disregard for human health. Sewage issue like that can spread disease very quickly, and should be unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteLogan Ahrens
Like everyone else is saying, this is very eye-opening. I would never even think of problems like this happening, especially in Dubai when I have heard such great things about it. I guess that is what the workers were thinking as well
ReplyDelete-Mark Elghossain
Dubai is often mistaken for a prosperous land when in fact it is dealing with substantial debt and inflation.
ReplyDelete