Dear Editor,
I had always heard so many good things about Dubai, so I decided to visit and see it for myself. I heard it has the world’s tallest building and that it is one of the richest countries in the world. I came expecting to find the best place on earth to live. Indeed, I saw the tallest building, the vast wealth, the safety, the luxury, and the lifestyle of the rich. I saw their mansions and expensive cars, and I was impressed — at first.
But then, everything changed. I saw how foreigners from some of the poorest countries in the world were being treated in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I saw how hard they worked and how little they were paid. Many work six days a week, twelve hours a day, and earn so little that four workers often share a single one-bedroom apartment because rent is too high and wages are too low.
Their pay is what I would call slave wages. Many cannot afford to bring their families to live with them. I listened to their stories — stories of struggle, exhaustion, and fear — and my heart broke. I saw the fear in their eyes, knowing that speaking up could lead to punishment or deportation.
It shocked me that one of the wealthiest and fastest-growing countries in the world does not pay its foreign workers a living wage. And so, I close by saying this: with all of Dubai’s wealth, skyscrapers, and glittering lights, I would not live there — even if you paid me. I cannot bear to see immigrants treated so poorly, especially in a land of such great wealth.
I want to live in a country where I feel free. In Dubai, there is little freedom. WhatsApp calls are restricted. There are countless mosques, but very few temples or churches. Dubai is rich in material things but poor in religious freedom and compassion for the poor. For that reason, I could never live in Dubai.