Britain's Independent newspaper columnist Johann Hari shouldn't expect an invite to dinner at my house any time soon. I've never met the man, but judging by the caustic lens through which he perceives Dubai that's no great loss. His ranting is so toxic it's beneath contempt. That was my take when I first glanced at his piece of fiction called ‘The Dark Side of Dubai' published in April. However, it is still the 11th ‘most viewed' article on the daily's website, which means it is screaming out for a rebuttal.
Hari is considered a serious war reporter, which leaves one wondering what possessed him to incinerate his journalistic credentials in order to bash Dubai. ‘Bash' is too tame. He deliberately went for the jugular. What's his problem? Did the five-star hotel in which he stayed in Dubai forget to deliver his laundry on time? Does he have an agenda? Or has he been dodging too many bullets for too long?
Dubai's residents would no doubt find some of his accusations amusing if they weren't so potentially harmful. Apparently, according to him, things are so tough in Dubai that formerly well-heeled expatriates have taken to sleeping "secretly in the sand dunes". Next time you drive towards Hatta, watch out for Bedouin from Blackpool!
He approaches a 17-year-old Dutch girl in a mall, who enthuses about her wonderful life in Dubai, only to ask whether she is bothered by slavery. He's lucky she didn't call for security.
Judging by the comments appended under his sensationalist screed, he has succeeded in spreading his jaundice to a few of his less informed readers, but I was gratified to note that others consider his diatribe an offensive misrepresentation of the truth.
Last month, he wrote an equally slanderous follow-up with a headline more suited to the most repressive third-world dictatorship on the planet. In that, he speaks of seeing "chain-gangs by the side of the road" and Westerners "who brag that they love the city" when all they're after is tax-free incomes and someone to scrub their floors. The stench of envy hovering over every single paragraph is overwhelming.
I spent 14 of the happiest years of my life in Dubai and that's no exaggeration. In all that time, I never encountered a chain gang and the only people I saw sleeping out in the desert were tourists on an organised safari. The foreigners I knew stayed because they benefited from a way of life that eluded them in their home country. Most of my friends in Dubai lived in studios or small one-bed apartments, which they mostly cleaned themselves or paid someone to come in for a few hours each week.
Work hard, play hard
They stayed because they enjoyed working hard and playing hard in an energetic, modern and clean multi-cultural environment, where an individual can stroll at night with little fear of getting mugged. They stayed because everyone smiles a lot and gets along.
If Hari would like to swap his chain-gang hallucinations for the real thing, he should hop on a flight to Maricopa County, Arizona, where the sheriff has proudly re-introduced the chain-gang concept for men, women and juveniles made to clean the streets. So much for a nation that's the self-ascribed world's policeman!
And as for his seeming preoccupation with slavery, there is plenty to keep him occupied at home. A report by the University of Hull and Anti-Slavery International states: "Modern slavery exists in the UK in various forms … trafficking into the UK for sexual or domestic labour involves hundreds or even thousands of women or children …" And that's a G7 country that is hundreds of years old!
There are no chain gangs in the less than four-decades old UAE. There are no slaves. Construction workers come here willingly of their own accord to send money to their families or save for a better future. Everybody is free to return home whenever they choose. Referring to construction workers as "slaves" is nothing short of an insult to a dedicated workforce that is protected under strict new laws.
Hari may be leading the anti-Dubai charge but he isn't alone. British newspapers, in particular, have jumped on the bandwagon purely because attacking stereotypical wealthy Arabs and purportedly fat-cat Western expatriates sells papers. If Dubai consisted of picturesque mud huts and grinning urchins begging for pens, they'd just love it.
Some readers sick of queuing up for buses in the rain or for the lunchtime cream cheese and cucumber sandwich hate that a veritable Shangri-La on Arab soil even exists and, worse, is out of reach; others are gullible enough to believe anything they read. Whatever the reason, bashing Dubai has turned into a contagion. It's time for everyone whose heart has been captured by this incredible place to set the record straight. Eat your heart out Hari.
Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She can be contacted at lheard@gulfnews.com Some of the comments may be considered for publication.
