4 Dark Side Of Dubai That Not Many Knows

When we talk about the city of Dubai, one thing that will surely come to mind will be the huge skyscrapers like the Burj Khalifa and other mega projects being built there. On top of that, the people there were also pictured to be super-wealthy and posh cars can be seen everywhere you go.

This is of course true and all the bright sides of livings here are being shared by international media across the globe. So it is not surprising that we see many people wishing to visit this urban city and see it for themselves.

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However, the reality can sometimes be bitter-sweet but there is some dark truth behind it. Here we would like to share with you some of the dark sides of the city of Dubai that are rarely told by the media.

1. Huge Income Disparity

Sheikh Maktoum who opened Dubai after the withdrawal of the British from this region promised to develop Dubai by introducing policies without taxes. This offer has got the interest of many foreigners or expatriates to make Dubai their forever home.

Much luxurious life being portrayed by mass media are a small group of people. But the population of Dubai only comprises 11% of the whole population. In general, the people of Dubai can be categorized into 3 groups.

The first one will be the idealistic class which is the rich local Emirates sitting at the top of the class. They can easily be identified by the posh cars that they drive as well as the exotic animals that they have as pets. Exotic animals as pets are considered illegal in the UAE but it seems that it is normal among the rich.

Next will be the second class which is the rich foreigners that generate the country's economy. Most of them are CEOs, bank managers, heads of projects, business owners, and anything related. We can see these people mostly in night bars discussing the political scenarios of their native country while enjoying drinks.

The final bottom class will be the poor foreign workers that are rarely discussed. They are told to work a straight 12-hour shift at construction sites in the middle of the desert under the scorching hot sun. But these people are also the ones that give Dubai its wealthy image in the eyes of the world.

2. Deceitful Working Syndicate.

Since Dubai is seen as a city full of wealth and money, many outsiders assume that they will be rich easier by landing a job in this city. Because of this mentality, many are trapped in job scams that promised their dream job with lucrative payments.

Sahinal Monir, a Bangladeshi age 24 said that Dubai is pictured as the world's paradise but as soon as he arrives in the city, he quickly realized that it was the city of hell. Everything that they see in the media simply lies all along.

Four years ago a work agent arrive at Sahinal's village in Bangladesh. He told the villagers that they can obtain 40,000 takas a month ($460) only to work from 9 to 5 at a construction site.

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The agent also said that the workers will be given a comfortable place to stay, decent food to eat as well as good hospitality. The only thing that they should do is pay upfront 220,000 takas ($2540) for the working visa which they can easily get back after their first 6 months of work.

Sahinal decided to sell his family's plot of land as well as take a loan to seek his paradise in Dubai city. As soon as he arrives at Dubai airport, his passport was taken by the construction company.

He was told at this very moment he will be working for 14 hours in the hot desert where most of the tourists were told to not stay outdoors for more than 5 minutes as the temperature can reach a staggering 55 degrees Celcius.

To make things worse, he was only paid a wage of 500 dirhams a month ($136), which was less than a quarter of what he has been promised.

3. Discrimination of Lower Staff

Due to the rapid development, you can see pretty workers dressed in blue shirts working at construction sites around the city. But they did not exist there.

Every evening, hundreds of thousands of workers that build Dubai will be taken from their workplaces to their squatter settlements which are located almost 1 hour away from the city where they will be quarantined.

Several years ago, they will go back and forth riding a truck but many expatriates complained that this situation will cause uneasiness as people watch them being sent from work to home. This is why workers are now being sent by bus instead.

It was estimated that almost 300,000 men lived there which people call in Hindi the golden city. Due to the abundance of people living in the same place, the smell of course will be like sewage on top of the sweating smell of the people around. There was no air conditioner or even a fan to cool them down.

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Workers are placed in a small concrete cell with a 3-level bed that fits up to 12 workers in one room.

4. Party Life For The Adults

If Disneyland was the place to go to for kids, Dubai is like Disneyland but for adults. As the sun sets in and the day turns to night, many bars and clubs will be turning to live.

The lucrative salary obtained by the expatriate workers has allowed them to buy expensive houses and entertain freely. It is common to see huge parties as well as women dressed in sexy clothes everywhere despite the city being a Muslim-led country.

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