Among social media claims of Iran bombing the United Arab Emirates, some users on X posted messages celebrating the fact that Dubai had been bombed. It had nothing to do with their geopolitical leaning; they just don’t like the “vibes” of the city.
For those who source their information primarily from X, Dubai is a city for tax-evading Europeans, vapid influencers, and the uber-rich living in a “slave-built, soulless paradise”.
In the “woke” Olympics leaderboard, the UAE is near the bottom of the list. But nothing justifies bombing a city, not even someone’s warped understanding of the world.
The Dubai that some are wishing bombs on is a city of migrants — mostly South Asians, who are living from paycheck to paycheck.
They didn’t move there because it’s a tax haven that would allow them to hoard wealth; they moved there for better opportunities. No taxes meant more money to send home. Just look at the remittances that flow out of the UAE.
There is no denying the existence of a vapid uber-rich. Videos of extravagant celebrations even as bombs fall would quickly prove it if someone doubted it. But they’re a minority. Contrary to what Netflix’s Dubai Bling or Desi Bling would have you believe, influencers don’t rule the city.
As for being “slave-built”, show me one modern city that was not built on the backs of enslaved or bonded labourers. Not to excuse the UAE, but if this were a criterion to be bombed, no one should be spared. Glass houses and whatnot.
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The people of Dubai
But the tweets also hit a personal chord. My parents and my in-laws live in Dubai. I grew up in Dubai. I have friends in Dubai. And seeing their stories, sharing safety guidelines and videos of debris falling, juxtaposed with these edgy takes on X, was jarring to say the least.
My cousin, who is in Dubai looking for a job, is waking up to the sound of missiles being intercepted, while someone hiding behind an anonymous username is rejoicing that Dubai is finally being bombed.
People are using war to dunk on those who live in Dubai. Or rather, their perception of people who live in Dubai.
But when you wish death on a city, it’s the migrants who suffer. In fact, the three who have died so far are Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi.
And the 58 injured involve citizens and residents of multiple nationalities, “including Emirati, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Filipino, Pakistani, Iranian, Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Azerbaijani, Yemeni, Ugandan, Eritrean, Lebanese, and Afghan,” read a statement.
Wanting Dubai to be bombed because you don’t like the lifestyle of a highly visible minority says more about you than about Dubai. Don’t forget that those who will, and are, dying are the people you’ve so easily termed “slaves”.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)