Mike
Davis wrote this article from what appeared to be a factual view. It was able
to show you more about what Dubai actually was rather than expressing huge
amounts of his opinions. Following his description was like reading a travel
brochure, it took tourist to accept Dubai at first glance, the scene was set
poetically of the seat of the approaching airplane as it’s landing. However,
when Daivs once touched the ground, the surroundings became more resolved. His
following text revealed more detail about the subject and truths.
I still
remember the first time I heard about Dubai in TV in 2005, it said everyone
around the world was excited about the potential of the place. Every newspaper
and magazine had run some expose about what happened in Dubai; televisions
continuously cyclepalyed about those amazing constructions and sites: the seven
star Burj Al-Arab had been opened recently, the worldwide tallest building etc.
it’s true that dubai is spectacular, they had strived to construct the biggest
and best of everything conceivable to the human spirit. Dubai had invested
billions in becoming the biggest and best in all physical human endeavour and
material pursuit. In later text, Davis metioned about the comparing between
Dubai and Chinese cities. And I thought Shanghai’s features are the most
similar to Dubai’s. First of all, both of them had became a commercial center
in the world, both of them constructed themselves very fast and compelted their
evolution in a short time. Plenty of skyscrapers were the visual symbol in
people’s mind. However, there were still many differences between them. The
very basicly physical feature of them is location. Honestly, Shanghai has a
better location than Dubai since it locates at middle latitude, it has more
seasonal and comfortable weather than Dubai. Shanghai is near to the center of
Asian market, and has more convenient access to Pacific Ocean. The biger size
of land and the larger population base provides more opptunities to investers
and people who have dreams to create their own careers. Dubai is a pearl in
desert, those fancy architechtures, luxury productions and supreme life quality
are the most attractive flashing points to tourists. Although, those things
make you feel like paradise, it’s not reality. So if I have to choose one to
live at, I prefer Shanghai, because the place you spend lot of time to live
cannot be paradise, if it always convey feelings as a paradise, well, rest in
peace.
The
creation of a tourist paradise was part of their end-game for when the dark
part does eventually run out.Dubai tried to present itself as free and
progressive to the investors with the huge tax breaks and other incentives
available. But it fell down in Davis’ article. Towards the middle of the essay,
Davis brought us back to earth and told us about the conditions of the foreign
workers who made the dreams of the designers and investors came true and describing
it as ‘virtual slavery’. He metioned how police didn’t arrest those involved in
illegal diamond and gold imports but were diligent in exporting foreign workers
who complained about their wages. Dubai had an appalling safety record in
construction- nearly thousand construction workers had been killed so far on
the job- not something expected from a city with such high profile projects. Several
riots and protests had taken place and Dubai’s addressed to solve this matter
include expulsions, mass arrests and limiting franchising. I found it hard to
understand, even back in China, the foundation workers started getting the
protection, respect and reputation from the government that they should already
have decades ago after the leadership realized those people were crucial to the
development of country. Therefore, democracy shouldn’t appear in 21st
centries again, it should be left in the history. Without reform and
fundamental changes in Dubai, it did not matter how much money you throw around
the place, it would become a negative example in the Capitalist world.
Dubai was still run under a feudal system of
government- the Sheikh was firmly in control. Questions about working
conditions for the construction workers had been raised for a long time. Conditions
were often reported as horrendous with minimal pay and human rights violations
were surfacing all the time. Davis unveiled the real nature of the city in the
desert, he did well to convey the terrible conditions endured by the millions
of Dubai’s immigrant workers. The concept of a nation building feats of
architectural wonder off the backs of a poor immigrant labour force is not new
but it begins to beg the question how long will this relationship last? Any
visiting tourist was going to ask about the human rights issue and as Davis
reveals it is not a heart- warming tale. However, you might get the feeling
that many views of Dubai as an over the top, unrestrained monster that was
getting out of control. Sheikh Mohammed was determined
for Dubai to be number 1 and that everything should be world class. But, in
order to do this, he spent so much money that Dubai is not economically
sustainable. Even though, someone would think of Dubai was same as the Las
Vegas, the motivation of both city appeared very different. Las Vegas was a
city want to give anyone- poor, hoemless but talented- an opportunity whereas
Dubai uses these people to build itself as a city for the elite. It’s unlikely
that the Sheikh would suddenly lose his vast wealth, the oil run out or he
passed away, there must be a question mark about what would happen to Dubai. And
recently, the oil price was extremely declined, it also became a disaster to
Dubai’s economy.
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