Crisis! What Crisis??

Interest rates at record lows. Personal bankrupcies at all time high. Unemployment, job losses, "no business" means "out-of-business". Home foreclosures. Consumer spending halted.
I'm not sure what the problem is!? In this country, Arab women are coming out of the malls with several bags in each hand and more in their maid's hand! It's all smiles and cheer and if you didn't know better, you would think that somehow overnight, Dubai turned into Shangri La. Maybe the real issue is that many citizens here are burying their heads in the sandbox, hoping reality will bypass them.

With Dubai Shopping Festival on just around the corner, I look forward to see how many people actually show up to take advantage of the 25-70 % discount deals. This event started in 1996 by the Sheikh and is normally a month-long shopping celebration, aimed at attracting tourists with tax free buying. This year the retailers have been asked to pony up several thousand Dirhams to participate in the festival and they aren't happy - as we all know tourism is down. Hotels are advertising half-off room rates and visitors just aren't flying in like they did in previous years.

The newspapers are writing articles about young Emiratis are buying cars, jewelry, clothes and electronics more than ever. Somehow it doesn't add up. Perhaps the papers are lying (no surprise there). Perhaps the youth is unaware that their very existence and economy is based on oil which is running out - and tourism which is dwindling - or perhaps their parents forgot to tell them the allowance has been turned down slightly due to Global Financial Meltdown? Whatever the case - you aren't seeing expats out jazzing around the malls buying bling-bling. They are busy packing what few items they can bring with them, now that many jobs have been cut and contracts are ending. When people here lose their job, the residence visa is cancelled and they have 30 days to vacate the country. Many are walking away from a home and debt. I would expect headlines to reflect doom and gloom but in fact, here is how Dubai deals with the crisis: The planned project to build the world's tallest building (one kilometer tall) has been stalled (and may end up a few stories shorter, who knows?). The planned 74 km long Arabian Creek with properties along it, has been reduced to 7.4 km "Let's just move the comma and change the decimals...surely no-one will notice".

We feel very fortunate to have our jobs and it looks as if that will continue to be a sure thing for some time. But we cannot help but feel the despair when we chase things for our home at garage sales. The families who have items for sale typically aren't leaving of their own free will. They share the bad news with us and we haul their unwanted belongings such as plants away to the car. I'm not sure this financial crisis has hit home yet among many of the local Emirates residents. This author found some fun time away in UK last weekend. Took a break from the despair, with horsing around - despite the minus 3 degrees and enjoyed a Thai dinner with the stable girls, plus got the chance to see lots of good friends (Donna: I know you are reading this! - Tell Alyson it was an Oscar winning spread of a lunch!!) We have to keep our good sense of humor and remember to smell the roses (and horse manure)!