Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down
With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.
The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town.
No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai’s major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy.
A new draft media law in the UAE would make it a crime to publish anything that might damage the country's reputation or economy.
Clamping down on the truth may cause more damage than the truth. The population of the UAE knows full well it's economy is in free fall, the property market has crashed and second hand luxury cars abandoned by fleeing migrant workers are almost two a penny at the auctions.
A ban on reporting the facts just makes the government look stupid. But they seem to thrive on that so no surprise there.
If the constant traffic jams on Sheikh Zayed Road have now gone and most of the construction sites shut down, Dubai could become a reasonably civilised place for a holiday.