Dubai - ice cream

Everywhere you look now-a-days you're bound to come across something about Dubai. Someone from Dubai is always trying to buy a football club or major companies. Quite simply, Dubai has exploded onto the world scene with a lot of promise.

But, this whole thing seems to be too good to be true. Dubai is more like an ice-cream than anything to me. Right now its all savoury and appealing and tasty, but its bound to melt or be totally consumed one day.

Nearly every alternate day you hear about a new project...some 90-storey building or an underwater hotel. The expansion is simply phenomenal. I always wondered; where on earth does the money come from, and then I saw this article in the news paper that Dubai will soon be borrowing over 10b $ to cater to its growth. "Damn", was what came to mind, even though I haven't got a clue about economics, money lending and whatnot, that amount is a LOT, and it sure is going to be hard to repay loans.


And so, for just one moment, I considered; what if this whole thing didn't come off as the government was expecting. What if people didn't flock to the emirate and investors never got the buildings or facilities they demanded for on time. Quite simply, these people and investors would lose interest and also warn their peers against making an investment here, for their own good. Then, debts go unpaid, resources are wasted, jobs and salaries are going to be cut, and a plethora of other circumstances that my untrained mind cannot perceive.

This whole; people staying away from Dubai, seems like a minimal possibility, but I'd like to think otherwise. People that I know; at least in my locality back in India, are aware of the situation facing us expatriates here in Dubai. They know that things are hardly ever in our favour, and here the seeds of this "staying away" are sown. Many of our parents or their friends may have fallen victim to job cuts, or bias in salaries or promotions at work. They come to this country seeking the "better life" that they have only heard about, they come to find that their work is more than cut out for them. Preferences are given to nationals over expatriates who sometimes, I dare say, are more knowledgeable and capable at jobs than the nationals.

To save themselves the embarrassment and trouble of having to return to their country and re-establish their lives, these people opt to live here. Their main obstacle; money. Money is never easy to come by, but in a place like Dubai, once you come across money, there always are things like temptations, expenditures for livelihood and even scams, to pull the money out of your wallet. Perseverance and struggle is the only order of the day for these people.


So with all the obstacles faced by people here, it seems more than evident that there will be a time when Dubai will be devoid of middle/working class people, who are part of the core of any city. So with these people gone and only the people who rake in the money around, a day shall dawn when Dubai becomes stagnant. Hotels will be empty, the airport quiet, restaurants all fired up but with nothing grilling, only a jungle of concrete, steel, glass and paper. Like the ice-cream, Dubai has melted.

It's only hope, is to once again be the place that always was on the tip of peoples tongues and that offered salvation to those looking for a better life. Then these wildly amazing projects would most definately come off, the residents would be nothing short of happy to promote the Emirate. Good luck Dubai, lets hope you can maintain the refrigerant in your fridge, and that this situtaition remains hypothetical