This topic is hard for me. Being from the U.S., I'm not used to some of the goings on in this part of the world. That is obvious. What really gets to me though, is the difference between the way I, a white woman from America am treated versus a woman from say, the Philippines. Us white folk automatically get paid significantly more. It's the way it is. But it's not just the pay that is different between colors of skin or shapes of the eye.
Standing behind the counter at Il Taglio (soon to be the world famous Pitfire Pizza), I am a service person to anyone who comes up to order. Except, even customers treat me better than the do my Filipino staff. They order them around like servants, all while politely asking me questions about the menu, the restaurant, etc. It's bullshit. I just want to look these people in the eye, hold their face in my hands and scream "USE YOUR FUCKING MANNERS! THESE ARE PEOPLE TOO!" But instead I just smile and walk away, venting my frustrations in my head.
Another problem I have are the big scary buildings here called "Labor Camps". It's where Dubai's low paid laborers live, provided free, by the company they work for. There are anywhere from 4-6 (sometimes more) people sharing these tiny apartments. Bunk beds are the only personal, private space these people have. But even if they made enough to have a place of their own, they would live here. Most laborers are here to send money home. All my staff do it. On the first they get paid on the second that money has already been wired to their home countries to provide for husbands, wives, children, and elder family members.
Once you turn the corner into these sectioned off areas, you leave Dubai. You're no longer in an advanced, beautiful city. You're suddenly in another country. It's something that some people here are upset about. But then they think about how the progress in Dubai was made so fast. It was all built on the backs of laborers. Granted, they're paid better and treated better now than they used to be, but you and I would never accept this type of living environment. The saddest part of all, it's acceptable to them- because it's better in some cases than where they are from.
And that is what's wrong with the world today.
