I feel completely in disarray. I had visited Emirates Hills, Jungly's construction site yesterday. The immense size of houses & accompanying wealth, with people playing golf at mid-day in the hot Dubai sun shocked me. After that, I went to the Mall of the Emirates. As at other malls, the place was over-flowing with high-fashion brands.
Jungly heard some lady say:" I can't shop anymore!" in the sense that she was tired. People buying for the sake of it!!!
Dubai Marina nearby is home to hundreds of highrises where people pay unbelievable rents. What struck me was the complete absence of the middle class. There is either a labour class or the uber-rich class. It is not because the middle class doesn't exist, but their lifestyle does not permit them to be seen, literally so! They just keep running around! The poor are seen on the millions of construction sites, and the rich in recreation spaces. The middle class is stuck in the glass walled offices, slogging day & night. They hardly have time to make merry!
The labour class, whose life is pure toil, watches the uber-rich at play daily. This pushes many a labourers into perennial depression.
The middle class can afford some luxuries, but doesn't have the time to indulge. Morover, unnessesary items build costs: travel time and distance, basic amenity costs, accomodation, etc.
Income tax is nil, but other costs like toll-ways add up to a substantial sum.
Distances are so large, that if one doesn't own a car, he / she has to use a taxi and end up emptying pockets at 1.5 AED / km (about Rs. 20 /km). The buses are good, but the service is largely disorganized and its coverage is highly restricted. There are hardly any tourist friendly buses in this tourist haven! Just because petrol is cheap, flyovers and longer-faster routes are preferred and encouraged!
The crucial difference lies in cost of human labour. It is not possible to employ housemaids for the middle class. While the affluent flaunt nannies & maids scurrying behind them in shopping malls, the middle class cannot afford the same. India, in contrast, provides such opportunities to even the lower middle class, since cost of human labour is low.
When one combines the above problem with a hectic lifestyle, wherein daily life is reduced to commute & office, one is bound to see unclean houses, messy kitchens, and packed food for dinners and breakfast. This, inspite of not having any time to sit down & relax! Over weekends, most time is spent on household chores, leaving precious little for anything else.
To conclude, the clean & impeccable high-lifestyle city hides a reality behind its polished facades: a reality that reeks of exploitation. I must mention that the crime rate is ZERO (almost). But I would credit it more to the strict laws and administration. However, corruption is quite rampant!
One very disgusting attitude is seen due to the exploitation of labour class. The labourers, mostly foreign citizens, have been living here for decades, without meeting their families. They are shuttled daily from construction sites to their CAMPS. On the way, they dont miss any opportunity to leer at even half-decent looking girls. The ladies are overwhelmed at first, and gradually learn to ignore them. But, I find this attitude highly offensive. How would you like to stand at a traffic signal & be visually stripped every single day, twice atleast! Even the strict administration cannot stop that! Its a social problem, showing the existance of multiple socities in the same location. I was disgusted when i saw it, but i could not come to conclude whose fault this was..
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