Dubai celebrates the landmark Grand Opening of Atlantis, The Palm Resort, and the Palm Jumeirah during unprecedented pyrotechnics and illumination sequences on November 20, 2008 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Atlantis, The Palm)
The Twin Towers.Dubai is a beautiful, unnatural folly of man's hubris, an oasis built by slaves in the desert so there would have to come a day of reckoning. It has arrived. I wondered then how long such a place could last now that the rest of the world was beginning to tighten its environmental and financial belts. Today the answer came out. Dubai is in trouble. Big trouble.
A modest lounge in one of the Burj Al-Arab suites.THE DARK SIDE OF DUBAI
Johann Hari
The Independent
December 3, 2009
Something has flickered in Sheikh Mohammed’s smile. The ubiquitous cranes have paused on the skyline, as if stuck in time. There are countless buildings half-finished, seemingly abandoned. In the swankiest new constructions ~ like the vast Atlantis hotel, a giant pink castle built in 1,000 days for $1.5bn on its own artificial island ~ where rainwater is leaking from the ceilings and the tiles are falling off the roof.
This Neverland was built on the Never-Never ~ and now the cracks are beginning to show. Suddenly it looks less like Manhattan in the sun than Iceland in the desert. Dubai is not just a city living beyond its financial means; it is living beyond its ecological means.
You stand on a manicured Dubai lawn and watch the sprinklers spray water all around you.
You see tourists flocking to swim with dolphins.
You wander into a mountain-sized freezer where they have built a ski slope with real snow.
And a voice at the back of your head squeaks:
this is the desert! ~ the most water-stressed place on the planet.
How can this be happening?
How is it possible?
The very earth is trying to repel Dubai, to dry it up and blow it away. The new Tiger Woods Golf Course needs four million gallons of water to be pumped on to its grounds every day, or it would simply shrivel and disappear on the winds.
The city is regularly washed over with dust-storms that fog up the skies and turn the skyline into a blur. When the dust parts, heat burns through. It cooks anything that is not kept constantly, artificially wet. And there is grit everywhere!
Dr Mohammed Raouf, the environmental director of the Gulf Research Centre, sounds sombre as he sits in his Dubai office and warns: “This is a desert area, and we are trying to defy its environment. It is very unwise. If you take on the desert, you will lose.”
And therein lies my point ~ Dubai is a dying monument to greed and excess, a crumbling sub-prime in the desert, and eventually the desert winds will reclaim it ~ for nature always outlives man’s hubris and folly.
A Nakheel PJSC construction site sits idle on the "The Palm Jumeirah" development, also known as Palm Island, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. Photographer: Matilde Gattoni/BloombergDebt strapped Dubai World who can’t pay its bills (60 billion dollar debt ) is a dying monument to world-wide greed and excess and its obvious consequences ~ for in attempting to create an artificial economy from reclaimed land and borrowed capital, it has become a crumbling sub-prime in the desert:
What was obvious to a few six months ago is now becoming apparent to the world ~ as the tasteless and gaudy monument to western capitalism and greed, Dubai, begins not only to lose its luster but its ability to pay its debts while the world financial markets stagger nervously. And that would include Wall Street investors such as Goldman Sachs.
Property prices in Dubai have plunged by 50% since 2008, large projects have been canceled while severely underpaid expatriate workers have left in droves. Scores of buildings sit unfinished while luxury houses and apartments are unsold or empty. Dubai’s overall debt load is actually 80 billion dollars which underscores the gravity of the present crisis.
As the Associated Press reported on November 26th ~ ”After months of denial that the economic downturn even touched it, the Dubai government earlier this year showed signs of trying to deal with the financial fallout that has halted dozens of projects and prompted an exodus of expatriate workers.
Last week, Sheik Mohammed demoted several prominent members of Dubai’s corporate elite and replaced them with members of the ruling family, including his two sons, one of whom is his designated heir.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/dubais-debt-shakes-world-markets-1828327.html
The Construction site for the Burj Dubai is seen December 11, 2005 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Uncertainty over Dubai continued to unsettle traders around the world with the FTSE 100 opening 1.5 per cent down after yesterday saw the biggest slump since March over the news the state-owned Dubai World would delay debt payments. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)In other words, Sheik Mohammed has gone into denial about the possible financial collapse of his fake paradise and surrounded himself with members of his ruling family to ensure the world does not learn the truth about the dark side of Dubai. As such, Dubai’s debt debacle is rightfully stoking new fears for investors across the globe ~ the potential of government default by heavily indebted nations.
On Friday, the award winning Independent writer, Johann Hari, who has been on top of this story for months, spelled out the truth ~
"Dubai is a morally bankrupt dictatorship built by slave labour ~Dubai is finally financially bankrupt ~ but it has been morally bankrupt all along. The idea that Dubai is an oasis of freedom on the Arabian peninsular is one of the great lies of our time…Yes, it has Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts and the Gucci styles, but beneath these accouterments, there is a dictatorship built by slaves.”
Hari has been there and fully experienced this dying monument to greed and excess ~
” The people who really built the city can be seen in long chain-gangs by the side of the road, or toiling all day at the top of the tallest buildings in the world, in heat that Westerners are told not to stay in for more than 10 minutes. They were conned into coming, and trapped into staying. Human Rights Watch calls this system “slavery.”The Burg Dubai, the tallest building in the World at over 800 metres, on November 23, 2009 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A six-month delay to repay 36 Billion GBP debt has been requested by Dubai. According to reports ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum is currently in neighbouring Abu Dhabi attempting to negotiate a bail-out. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Yet the Westerners who have flocked to Dubai brag that they “love” the city, because they don’t have to pay any taxes, and they have domestic slaves to do all the hard work. They train themselves not to see the pain. But Dubai’s bankruptcy does not end there: it is ecologically bust.
This is a city built in the burning desert, where everything shrivels up and blows away if it is not kept artificially cold all the time. That’s why it has the highest per capita carbon emissions on earth ~ some 250 percent higher even than America’s. The city has to ship in desalinated water ~ which is more costly than oil.
When it runs out of cash, it will run out of water. Today Dubai will be bailed out by the United Arab Emirates, the oil-rich country of which it is only one state. But the oil will not last forever. More importantly, there is no Bank of Morality that could provide a bailout for this sinister mirage in the desert.”
But to really understand the underpinnings of this crumbling fake paradise ~ you must read Johann Hari’s THE DARK SIDE OF DUBAI written in April of 2009 ~ when Hari rightfully predicted
” Once the manic burst of building has stopped and the whirlwind has slowed, the secrets of Dubai are slowly seeping out. This is a city built from nothing in just a few wild decades on credit and ecocide, suppression and slavery. Dubai is a living metal metaphor for the neo-liberal globalised world that may be crashing ~ at last ~ into history. “
Apartments are seen on "The Palm Jumeirah" development, also known as Palm Island, built by property developers Nakheel PJSC in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. Dubai's government said it hasn't guaranteed the debt of Dubai World, the state-controlled holding company struggling with $59 billion in liabilities, and that creditors must help it restructure. Photographer: Matilde Gattoni/Bloomberg
The marina development area is seen on "The Palm Jumeirah" development, also known as Palm Island, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. Photographer: Matilde Gattoni/Bloombergnews/
A Nakheel PJSC construction site is seen on "The Palm Jumeirah" development, also known as Palm Island, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. Photographer: Matilde Gattoni/Bloomberg
A view of the new development, The World, is seen from the air December 17, 2005 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Uncertainty over Dubai continued to unsettle traders around the world with the FTSE 100 opening 1.5 per cent down after yesterday saw the biggest slump since March over the news the state-owned Dubai World would delay debt payments. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
A construction site is seen on "The Palm Jumeirah" development, also known as Palm Island, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. Photographer: Matilde Gattoni/Bloomberg
An empty construction site is seen on "The Palm Jumeirah" development, also known as Palm Island, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. Photographer: Matilde Gattoni/Bloomberg
In preparation for the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open, tennis legend Andre Agassi of the USA and the World's No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland, couldn't resist the temptation to have a friendly 'hit' on the world's most unique tennis court, the Helipad of the Burj Al Arab, the world's most luxurious hotel on February 22, 2005, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Standing 321 metres high on a man made island, the majestic Burj Al Arab is without doubt the most recognizable hotel in the world. The hotel's helipad, which is situated 211 metres high covers a surface area of 415 square metres. (Photo by Mike Hewitt for Dubai Duty Free via Getty Images)
An aerial view of Burj Al-Arab hotel in the Gulf emirate of Dubai. The government of Dubai rocked financial markets on November 26, 2009 when it said it would ask creditors of its Dubai World conglomerate, which has reported debts of 59 billion dollars (39.3 billion euros), for a debt moratorium of at least six months. (DAVID CANNON/AFP/Getty Images)
The central reception area of the Burj Al-Arab.
A bathroom in a Burj suite.
A sleeping area in the Burj.
A hallway in the Burj.
A general view is seen of the Villa during the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge at Desert Palm Polo Club on March 30, 2007 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Uncertainty over Dubai continued to unsettle traders around the world with the FTSE 100 opening 1.5 per cent down after yesterday saw the biggest slump since March over the news the state-owned Dubai World would delay debt payments. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Cartier)
Pakistani expatriot construction workers play cricket during a break from labouring on a construction site on December 3, 2007 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Pakistani and Indian labourers form the backbone of a workforce that over the last few years has transformed Dubai in to a futuristic city that now boasts the tallest building in the world (Al Burj). (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)"I sold my house and my belongings to raise the thousand pounds fee," said one.
"I was promised a high salary but when I arrived, it soon became clear I'd been lied to."
The average worker's salary in Dubai is around £3 a day. They often work double shifts to try to make more money, toiling for hours in the baking heat.
A couple strolls along Jumeirah beach near the Burj al-Arab.
The new subway network going through Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai. The shock from Dubai's move to suspend payments due on a slice of government-backed debt spilled over on November 26, 2009 into world markets and caused a sharp weakening in global Islamic bonds. The move to restructure the state-owned Dubai World and the proposal to request a minimum six-month moratorium on its maturing debt has also triggered fears of a domino effect across the emirate's indebted state-run corporates, pushing debt rating agencies to slash the grading of Dubai companies. (KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images)
Birds fly past skyscrapers and Burj Dubai (C), the world's tallest man-made structure under construction, in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on November 27, 2009. Global stock markets fell for a second day over investor alarm about possible domino defaults rippling out from a shock request by Dubai to suspend debt payments. The government of Dubai rocked financial markets on November 26 when it said it would ask creditors of its Dubai World conglomerate, which has reported debts of 59 billion dollars (39.3 billion euros), for a debt moratorium of at least six months. (KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images)
With the background of Jumairah Island towers, people practice golf in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov.27, 2009. Investors recoiled from risky assets on Friday and dumped shares in Asian banks and builders, fearing a Dubai debt default could reignite the financial turmoil of the credit crisis. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
An Emirates airplane taxis down the runway at the Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. Dubai, whose government and state-owned companies borrowed $80 billion to fund an economic boom, raised $5 billion by selling bonds after the credit crisis battered its property and finance industries. Photographer: Charles Crowell/Bloomberg
Cranes tower over buildings under construction in the Business Bay area in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. Dubai, whose government and state-owned companies borrowed $80 billion to fund an economic boom, raised $5 billion by selling bonds after the credit crisis battered its property and finance industries. Photographer: Charles Crowell/Bloomberg
The Dubal Mall at the Downtown Dubai complex on November 23, 2009 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A six-month delay to repay 36 Billion GBP debt has been requested by Dubai. According to reports ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum is currently in neighbouring Abu Dhabi attempting to negotiate a bail-out. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The Burg Dubai, the tallest building in the World at over 800 metres, on November 23, 2009 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Ima
The amazing Wafi Mall. Built to resemble an Egyptian pyramid, it is full of Illuminati symbolism and Masonic structure, but also blindingly beautiful. Enlarge thumb to see the fine detail of the pyramid roof. 
Young men make their way to a mosque at prayer time in Dubai, Tuesday, August 5, 2008. (Shawn Baldwin/The New York Times)
An aerial view shows 'The Palm Jumerirah' development also know as palm island built by property developer's Nakheel PJSC is seen in Dubai, in this undated handout photo released to the media on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Nakheel, the Dubai-based property developer, is holding talks with its parent Dubai World about a $3.52 billion Islamic bond that matures on Dec. 14. Source: Nakheel via Bloomberg
Indian expatriot workers construct an advertising hoarding late at night in front of the iconic Emirates Towers on December 3, 2007 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Uncertainty over Dubai continued to unsettle traders around the world with the FTSE 100 opening 1.5 per cent down after yesterday saw the biggest slump since March over the news the state-owned Dubai World would delay debt payments. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
The sun sets behind the iconic Burg Al Arab hotel on November 23, 2009 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A six-month delay to repay 36 Billion GBP debt has been requested by Dubai. According to reports ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum is currently in neighbouring Abu Dhabi attempting to negotiate a bail-out. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Though it has not yet been built, and now might never be, the planned Museum of Middle East Modern Art in Dubai definitely has people talking. The design, by Dutch architects UNStudio, exemplifies the uber-futuristic look preferred in this arid Middle Eastern city.Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show
TRUTHTALK on www.
No comments:
Post a Comment
If your comment is not posted, it was deemed offensive.