Dubai economy may seem shallow but it is based on logical strategies. It placed its bets on real estate, tourism, finance and trade.
The global real estate meltdown is not unique to Dubai and Dubai is paying for it just like Miami or Vegas. Its bet on tourism is based on the theory of providing an alternative vacation destination to the larger middle east and northern Africa population. The tourism bet is also linked to the growth in global travel. Dubai conveniently sits in between West and East airline routes. Emirates airline has prospered precisely by taking advantage of this opportunity. So if Dubai just happens to be a transit stop, its quite logical to try to entice those travelers to vacation in Dubai. Dubai does not have any natural tourist attractions so they tried to build some. Some of it has been garish and comedic (indoor sking, etc) but some of it is quite fascinating from an engineering persective.
Dubai's tradition of trade goes back hundreds of years. Its been the primary trading port between the middle east and the Indian subcontinent. It has invested in its trade hub status by encouraging other industries to use Dubai as the trading hub. This has lead to the creation of Media City, IT City, etc.
Dubai's bet on finance is closely related to its admiration for NYC's financial status and history. Also, after 9-11, it was felt that some of the middle eastern oil wealth should be reinvested back in the region. Dubai tried to seize this opportunity by creating the Dubai stock exchange, and other related financial reforms. Dubai is not alone in these efforts. Bahrain (where I used to live), Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are all trying similar things. As far as the migrant labor situation, the entire Middle East region should do a better job of treating migrant workers.
There are shallow people who abuse human rights in Dubai. But there are also visionaries, entrepreneurs and hard working folks who are trying to build real businesses (see http://www.startuparabia.com/). The best thing about all these strategies and efforts is that it provides a space for hackers, creative folks, entrepreneurs, investors and the young of the middle east to try at other human endeavors.
I get the feeling from your post (and username) that you may be Emirati, and I certainly understand your wish to defend your home, but I think there's a certain amount of whitewashing going on here.
> "There are shallow people who abuse human rights in Dubai"
Based on what I understand, this is an extreme and gross understatement. The entirety of the construction industry was based on borderline, if not outright slavery of foreign nationals. This is not the case of "yeah, there were a few bad apples in the bunch", this was widespread and almost universal. (Again, if you'd like to contest this perception, please feel free). The Dubai skyline as we see it today was impossible to create at that cost, in that timeline, without labor abuses that would make most developing nations look like Eden.
I find it hard to believe that a hacker-friendly and creative-friendly space can exist amidst so much moral corruption and especially in such a closed society.
I am unsure if you've had the opportunity to visit some of the more tech-centric and creative-centric cities of the world - but you will notice that creative types (hackers included) tend to be a weird bunch. Around me right now are people with strange haircuts, strange sexual preferences, strange (and to some, offensive) clothes, strange habits... etc. Hell, even in a socially liberal place like the US many of these people are decidedly non-mainstream and are merely tolerated, not celebrated. Nonetheless, here they are protected and free. They also thrive on liberal, bohemian substance - not the glitzy, luxurious sophistique that Dubai is shooting for.
Dubai does not sound at all like a place where hackers and artists would want to call home. In fact, half the creative types I know would be at risk of imprisonment in that country. IMHO it is impossible to nurture a creative space in a closed, socially hyper-conservative country. Social conservatism is historically the antithesis of artistry - and this includes the middle east. The most scientifically and artistically prolific eras of the middle east all came during reigns of particularly secular (or at least, non-fundamentalist) governments.
The global real estate meltdown is not unique to Dubai and Dubai is paying for it just like Miami or Vegas. Its bet on tourism is based on the theory of providing an alternative vacation destination to the larger middle east and northern Africa population. The tourism bet is also linked to the growth in global travel. Dubai conveniently sits in between West and East airline routes. Emirates airline has prospered precisely by taking advantage of this opportunity. So if Dubai just happens to be a transit stop, its quite logical to try to entice those travelers to vacation in Dubai. Dubai does not have any natural tourist attractions so they tried to build some. Some of it has been garish and comedic (indoor sking, etc) but some of it is quite fascinating from an engineering persective.
Dubai's tradition of trade goes back hundreds of years. Its been the primary trading port between the middle east and the Indian subcontinent. It has invested in its trade hub status by encouraging other industries to use Dubai as the trading hub. This has lead to the creation of Media City, IT City, etc.
Dubai's bet on finance is closely related to its admiration for NYC's financial status and history. Also, after 9-11, it was felt that some of the middle eastern oil wealth should be reinvested back in the region. Dubai tried to seize this opportunity by creating the Dubai stock exchange, and other related financial reforms. Dubai is not alone in these efforts. Bahrain (where I used to live), Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are all trying similar things. As far as the migrant labor situation, the entire Middle East region should do a better job of treating migrant workers.
There are shallow people who abuse human rights in Dubai. But there are also visionaries, entrepreneurs and hard working folks who are trying to build real businesses (see http://www.startuparabia.com/). The best thing about all these strategies and efforts is that it provides a space for hackers, creative folks, entrepreneurs, investors and the young of the middle east to try at other human endeavors.