"Slave" Revolt in the UAE

Huh, well this explains why the only people at the career fair with positions for humanities majors were UAE teacher recruiters...

Anyway, when's the last time the world saw a successful popular violent or semi-violent revolt in a country where the power structure is pretty stable? I think the answer might have some bearing on the likelihood of this occurring. Would Iran count? The 89 Revolutions don't strike me as similar.

In any case we're talking about class warfare here from a group of people with no real connection to the land they're in, no deep motivation to fight for its future. Certainly self-preservation kicks in, but in order to take it further they'd have to be convinced of some rather abstract notions of universal human rights. As a species I don't think we've really gotten a handle on this as well as we pretend.

For example someone dear to me, reasonable in most other matters, refuses to invest in anything but domestic companies because she doesn't trust international guarantees. Only at home can one find justice. And if one must leave home, one deserves what one gets. It's not a sentiment I agree with (as my handle might suggest I'm fond of living overseas) but I can see such a sentiment being mirrored in the workers of Dubai.

I can imagine a bitter worker's thought process: "They can treat me like this here, but when I'm home just let them try to come to my country and they'll see what happens."

It might be controversial, but I'm proposing that a person in this situation might accept their own status as a second-class citizen out of a kind of cloying nationalism (the "cloying" is just my opinion.)

And I'll go a step further, controversy-wise, and say perhaps in many cases a person forced to leave what they consider a "homeland" and take lowly work elsewhere might not have the self-esteem to rebel.

If international human rights were breathed in and out daily by these workers, they'd have demanded their rights already. Of course if we in the post-industrial world (UAE included) were flooded by that same breath, the workers would have nothing to rebel against.
 
Huh, well this explains why the only people at the career fair with positions for humanities majors were UAE teacher recruiters...

Anyway, when's the last time the world saw a successful popular violent or semi-violent revolt in a country where the power structure is pretty stable? I think the answer might have some bearing on the likelihood of this occurring. Would Iran count? The 89 Revolutions don't strike me as similar.

In any case we're talking about class warfare here from a group of people with no real connection to the land they're in, no deep motivation to fight for its future. Certainly self-preservation kicks in, but in order to take it further they'd have to be convinced of some rather abstract notions of universal human rights. As a species I don't think we've really gotten a handle on this as well as we pretend.

For example someone dear to me, reasonable in most other matters, refuses to invest in anything but domestic companies because she doesn't trust international guarantees. Only at home can one find justice. And if one must leave home, one deserves what one gets. It's not a sentiment I agree with (as my handle might suggest I'm fond of living overseas) but I can see such a sentiment being mirrored in the workers of Dubai.

I can imagine a bitter worker's thought process: "They can treat me like this here, but when I'm home just let them try to come to my country and they'll see what happens."

It might be controversial, but I'm proposing that a person in this situation might accept their own status as a second-class citizen out of a kind of cloying nationalism (the "cloying" is just my opinion.)

And I'll go a step further, controversy-wise, and say perhaps in many cases a person forced to leave what they consider a "homeland" and take lowly work elsewhere might not have the self-esteem to rebel.

If international human rights were breathed in and out daily by these workers, they'd have demanded their rights already. Of course if we in the post-industrial world (UAE included) were flooded by that same breath, the workers would have nothing to rebel against.

Hmmm. Interesting point.

On the flip-side, there's always the idea that an atrocity is an atrocity until your side commits it. So that the migrant workers say that they may've come from their homes for work, but found conditions that, while at home where commonplace, in this new "land of plenty" are disgusting. Combine that with being treated like shit by people who are nothing like you, a riot seems...possible.
 
The Gulf countries make enough money off their oil to set up a cradle-to-grave welfare state that goes beyond anything in Europe. Everyone gets free medical care, free college, and a free government job (whether the government actually needs more workers or not). Most unskilled manual labor is done by contract workers from South and East Asia, most skilled work is done by non-Gulf Arabs or Westerners. In UAE, something like 83% of the population is guest workers, and several other Gulf countries have majority-foreign populations (Saudi Arabia, I believe, is the only one that doesn't).

Of course, the real question is what happens to this wonderful system when the oil runs out...I expect the guest workers will all to back to their home countries, and most of the citizens will immigrate to Europe or the US. By 2100, I wouldn't be surprised if Dubai is a largely depopulated minor port.

The way things are going by the time the oil dries up, getting into Europe as an Arab in general will probably be a lot harder than today, for millions of "young, angry formerly rich but poorly educated" ones it'll probably be almost impossible.

I'm guessing Pakistan, and perhaps India, Indonesia/Bangladesh would have access to a lot of cheap labor in the decades following the oil crisis.
 
Of course, considering she's Indian herself, the Emiratis might actually consider HER the help, even though IIRC she's got some kind of white-collar job.
Ah... ya. Actually, someone like that might get it from both ends - being 'help' to the Arabs and 'management' to the grunts.

Floc pointed out that her pay isn't great, that only WHITE management is paid well. Bleah! Those places almost deserve to fall. ('almost', if only because the disaster would hit even the oppressed.)

Edit: by 'deserve to fall' I mean some poetic justice - NOT that all the local arabs or even the nobles be taken out and shot or anything.
 
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Floc pointed out that her pay isn't great, that only WHITE management is paid well. Bleah! Those places almost deserve to fall. ('almost', if only because the disaster would hit even the oppressed.)

Someone asked what would happen in a "Dies the Fire" scenario in one of those places and I said it'd probably turn into a race war between the Emiratis and the imported laborers until everyone died of thirst.

(I assume you know about DTF.)

Spartacus's revolt took place in Italy, where human survival in large numbers was not dependent on modern infrastructure. A similar revolt in one the Emirates, no matter how much the decadent, abusive ruling class deserves it, could lead to the total breakdown of everything.
 
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Although the odds are now (sadly) building against an open revoly, I found this interesing. Courtesy of Wikipedia (or whatever alias for the sight you may prefer)...

"On 21 March 2006, tensions boiled over at the construction site of the Burj Khalifa as workers upset over low wages and poor working conditions rioted, damaging cars, offices, computers, and construction tools. A Dubai Interior Ministry official said the rioters caused approximately US$1 million in damage. On 22 March most workers returned to the construction site but refused to work. Workers building a new terminal at Dubai International Airportwent on strike in sympathy.
Another strike took place in October 2007. Over 4,000 strikers were arrested. Most of them were released some days later and were then to be expelled and deported from Dubai."

Could this be a potential spark? Or something like this? Granted, in 2008, the UAE government added more worker-friendly reforms. But if the above incident, or something like it was the spark...
 
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