All that *glitters* is not Gulf

Voices emerge and break the myth of the Middle Eastern Dream
Today, like every other, part of my morning routine is a catchup on the world and a glimpse into the lives of people I've met over the years to see what's happening in areas of my past.

Ordinarily, this activity is a quick affair, scanning through lots of injections of what people have thought, smelt, tasted....everyday stuff that in most parts is nothing new or surprising. Now to the untrained eye, something like this (a report from journalist Johann Hari) would be considered just a bitter review of a trip to this glimmering city. However, what you're in fact reading is a brave voice emerging from a mission to find the REAL Dubai.

Already, the wheels of PR and loyalty are turning (AmazingWomenRock article) with an interesting "two wrongs do make a right" approach, pointing the finger to the rest of the World who treat their citizens in a similar fashion! Interesting considering that for a long time, the Emirates smugly announced they've built the city of Dubai using the lessons/mistakes made by the Western World as a guid of how NOT to do it!

Comments

[Simon Palmer]

Hi Jon,

That's an incredible piece by Hari: I don't know what's more depressing the original article or the empty, shrugging response and accusations of 'bias' by Dubai's moral zombies (at the AmazingWomenRock blog and elsewhere).

All the best,
Simon