Why the media's 'Dubai story' is crude

Did the recent fascination with Dubai start with two ill-mannered Britons on a beach? Perhaps. Dubai has been under the spotlight for a while, of course, but this particular news story left many of us disgusted and also bewildered. People asked: who exactly were these people? Why had they become representative of the rest of us?

Ever since then the ensuing barrage of news reports about Dubai would make you think the city has only just arrived on the international scene. And now the debate has moved on from two drunken expatriates; economic recession, Israeli tennis players and censorship are all being thrust underneath people's noses at breakfast tables.

At some point, there has been a conscious decision among newspaper editors and television networks to try and delve deeper into Dubai life.

That's fine. Dubai has been here before and dealt with it.

But so much of it is a crude attempt at character assassination of the worst kind - reporters from outside stopping over with a few hours to cook up a story, its conclusions already decided upon by their editors sitting in London or New York.

Recently, a well-known journalist penned a flamboyant critique of the emirate after viewing it from the top of a tour bus. If anything, it's a slight on the nature of the trade which, in its worst form, sifts through the positive and looks for the very worst. And the worst journalists scrape the barrel for what they think is good enough for news.

It's a challenge for newspaper editors that, so far, is being handled poorly.

For a region that has been the focus of the world over the last 60 years for its wars and struggle towards independence, the Dubai story that is currently being told is unsophisticated at best, and irresponsible at worst.

Dubai is more than all of this. That is why the irony of the so-called 'sex on the beach' story - a term coined by the so-called British 'gutter press' - is that it was condemned by the vast majority of expatriates living here, but those voices were barely heard outside the country. If anything, the whole grotesque media circus was self-confirming to Dubai's citizens - it reminded the vast majority of us that we are moral, respectable, law-abiding people. And the debate isn't just about what the West thinks of Dubai, anyway.

What about the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who have moved here, escaping war, religious and political persecution and finding opportunity that they could never have imagined? The Dubai story is, in a way, more about them than it is about office workers from suburbia. For many Arabs, Dubai is a success on so many fronts in a region where other countries are struggling to deal with political and social problems of their own making.

That's not to say Dubai doesn't have its own concerns, either, and many Emiratis make no secret in expressing their views about the direction they want their country to move in. But, fundamentally, the UAE separates itself from the rest of the Middle East by its readiness to deal openly with the rest of the world in a forward-looking way. And even among the recent controversies, the country is still showing the world this attitude.

It's no secret that Israel has no diplomatic ties with the UAE or the majority of Arab countries, and it's likewise no secret that the UAE does not allow full Israeli citizens across its borders. Should an Israeli (albeit a tennis player) still be allowed to enter? Many people, even outside Dubai, thought not. The horrors of Israel's recent offensive in Gaza have made many calls for action similar to the West's boycott of South Africa's sportsmen during the apartheid era.

Also, a 'ban' on a British author's novel at a literature festival currently taking place in Dubai turned out to be nothing of the sort. It has emerged that the frenzied attitude of Western media to falsely claim Dubai is keen on banning or censoring people was too much to resist. The festival is going on undeterred.

These moments in time need to be addressed head on, and the UAE will always make a stand, just like any other country, in spite of what other countries or journalists might say. Because the country is at the forefront of the Middle East it will, by default, appear in newspapers and on television around the world. And the media will continue to take stabs at it.

But Dubai will still carry on as normal and continue to weather these stories, including scandals of people's drunken escapades on beaches and the like. It is still willing to deal with these issues, even if they are incongruent with the values of the majority of its citizens.

Excellent article. It?s what the people want that matters.
M. H.
Newcastle,UK
Posted: February 27, 2009, 14:54

The views are absolutely true. A reasonable person knows what is being done by media. False reports should be properly countered by such articles with more comparison, within the UAE at least.
I. S. Abdul Rasheed
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: February 27, 2009, 14:52

Great article. After having lived in Dubai for many years, I strongly agree with the author's point of view. But such articles need to be published outside the UAE in order to achieve a better understanding of the UAE all around the world.
Andri Stocker
Munich,Germany
Posted: February 27, 2009, 13:42

I have been in the Middle East for more than 25 years, out of which many years were spent in the lovely Dubai. Dubai is a land of opportunity for all law abiding people. The prevailing systems are the best I have come across. Bravo for defending Dubai.
Syed Khader Masood
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 27, 2009, 12:01

I strongly approve of what the author has to say. More articles of this sort need to be published, but in the same time there should be more objectivity. There is nothing absolute or perfect and we rather look at both sides of what's happening around us so that we won't fall into contradiction.
Fouad Zebian
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: February 27, 2009, 10:33