# Expats hit out at Dubai police chief’s anti foreign remarks



## Editor (Aug 20, 2009)

The chief of police in Dubai has called for a quota system to be introduced to keep the size of the emirate’s expat population in check and preserve its national identity. In what is regarded as an outspoken remark, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim said that a check on the number of non-Arab foreign workers [...]

Click to read the full news article: Expats hit out at Dubai police chief’s anti foreign remarks...
Please come back to discuss the story here in this thread.


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## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

LOL @ "son of the soil"!

They treat most Arabs here just a little better than Indians and a lot worse than Westerners. He knows it which is why he recommends it not because they have similar cultures but because that would mean they would have to pay their Expats less.


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

"Sometimes it seems like I am in Los Angeles, London or Manila, not an Arab country at all,’ said Khalid Sudaam who sits behind a desk on his Blackberry all day"


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

"He believes that expats should only be allowed to reside in the UAE if they are filling a specific skills shortage. "

I agree, send all the unskilled manual workers, gas station workers, cleaners, security guards, gardeners and maids/human-punch-bags back home and let the Arabs do all of that instead.


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## Dozza (Feb 17, 2009)

Gavtek said:


> "He believes that expats should only be allowed to reside in the UAE if they are filling a specific skills shortage. "
> 
> I agree, send all the unskilled manual workers, gas station workers, cleaners, security guards, gardeners and maids/human-punch-bags back home and let the Arabs do all of that instead.


:clap2: - Agreed

I work in the security industry, having locals patrolling the shopping malls & conducting traffic duties would make things very interesting for me.


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## Iron Horse (Apr 10, 2008)

From my view his words are accurate. They should be welcome news to anyone working or wanting to work there as it should increase wages. What would they do without some of the expat workers? While those in the expat community can be upset with his words, if anyone should be upset it should be the Emirati's and other Arabs. He's telling them that they don't have the skills or experience to fill the positions the expats hold. His comment about being able to relate and communicate with others like him is perfectly understandable, which is why when we make friends there or at home it's with people of a similar background and interests.

So all in all, I'm well in favor of quotas for expats. It will only help to raise the wages for all there.


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

Gavtek said:


> "He believes that expats should only be allowed to reside in the UAE if they are filling a specific skills shortage. "
> 
> I agree, send all the unskilled manual workers, gas station workers, cleaners, security guards, gardeners and maids/human-punch-bags back home and let the Arabs do all of that instead.


Agree.
Then most of the pretend to be rich expats will leave to when they have to pay humane wage rates..........!!!!!!!!!


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## xpatusa (May 8, 2010)

I don't think Sheikh Mohammed shares the police chief's opinion.
Let them complain.
When all is said and done we will still be here helping to make the whole thing work.
Everyone in the community plays an integral part in what makes Dubai such a great city.


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

xpatusa said:


> I don't think Sheikh Mohammed shares the police chief's opinion.
> .



Not sure what he thinks, I have not spoken to him recently


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## xpatusa (May 8, 2010)

stewart said:


> Not sure what he thinks, I have not spoken to him recently


I bet we can ask. 
I'll let you know next time I run into him at Spinneys!


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## cami (Aug 11, 2010)

oh, just give it three days, a week max. everything will be forgotten, whatever news this is will go up in a smoke of shisha, and the expats will carry on doing what they do every day: wake up to get to work on time, connecting the uae with the rest of the world for credibility, multiply the local gdp manifold so that the 15% minority who have all the rights here could enjoy their 10 am -1 pm working hours and a peaceful and prosperous life under the western security umbrella.


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

It is not simply a matter of the Emirati`s not having the skills or experience, they simply don`t want to work. For them a job is all about status, i remember reading last year that out of a poll of Emirati School leavers 85% of them said that they wanted to work for the Govt. because of the status that infered in comparison to working for a private company. As we all know working for any govt department here involves a lot of tea drinking, sitting about chatting, texting, playing computer games and surfing the web. 
Could this country run without expats? Of course not!


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## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

Gavtek said:


> I agree, send all the unskilled manual workers, gas station workers, cleaners, security guards, gardeners and maids/human-punch-bags back home and let the Arabs do all of that instead.


It would be hard press to find any local Emirati who would qualify to work in those jobs... 

I always believe that the locals would starve to death if all of the maids / cooks leave the country tomorrow, IMHO.


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## Huzzah Barking-Hatstand (Jul 16, 2010)

What, without us migrant hordes sullying up the place, there would be no need for the grand Emerati employment scheme, that is the UAE civil service, administration and fee collection agencies. That would then mean proper jobs like mechanicking, street sweeping and the like. 

No more 5 day public holiday weekends once a month, no half day closing during Ramadan, no more impressing the expats the the power of your "Wasta!"

Has nobody thought of the consequences!

It'll never catch on.

Yours ex-patriotically,

Huzzah Barking-Hatstand Esq.


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

Huzzah Barking-Hatstand said:


> What, without us migrant hordes sullying up the place, there would be no need for the grand Emerati employment scheme, that is the UAE civil service, administration and fee collection agencies. That would then mean proper jobs like mechanicking, street sweeping and the like.
> 
> No more 5 day public holiday weekends once a month, no half day closing during Ramadan, no more impressing the expats the the power of your "Wasta!"
> 
> ...


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

Gavtek said:


> "He believes that expats should only be allowed to reside in the UAE if they are filling a specific skills shortage. "
> 
> I agree, send all the unskilled manual workers, gas station workers, cleaners, security guards, gardeners and maids/human-punch-bags back home and let the Arabs do all of that instead.


 Gavtek, maybe things are different in your home country.

In Canada, we have shortage of skilled workers. Skilled workers are not only related to occupations that require a degree; for example, we need truck drivers and they can make up to 90K USD year. The problem is that who wants to become a truck driver? 

Same thing in UK. UK had a shortage of unskilled workers because British citizens simply refused to do these unskilled jobs; once UK relaxed the rules, a massive number of people from Europe went to UK to become maids, guards...the so called manual workers you refer to.

The good thing about having tons of unskilled manual workers in a country is that the price for these services go down. There is a huge supply. Countries like Canada where we lack these people who are greatly needed it becomes expensive and are well paid.

I agree that UAE should follow a similar system like Australia and be more strict when assessing candidates specially those with higher education. For unskilled labour, I dont see a need. There are plenty available and they are good.


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

Canuck_Sens said:


> Gavtek, maybe things are different in your home country.
> 
> In Canada, we have shortage of skilled workers. Skilled workers are not only related to occupations that require a degree; for example, we need truck drivers and they can make up to 90K USD year. The problem is that who wants to become a truck driver?
> 
> ...


Well said. 

:clap2::cheer2::cheer2::clap2::behindsofa:


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Canuck_Sens said:


> Gavtek, maybe things are different in your home country.
> 
> In Canada, we have shortage of skilled workers. Skilled workers are not only related to occupations that require a degree; for example, we need truck drivers and they can make up to 90K USD year. The problem is that who wants to become a truck driver?
> 
> ...


I guess they don't have sarcasm in your home country...


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

Gavtek said:


> I guess they don't have sarcasm in your home country...


nope we do...but we don't do that when it comes across as being offensive


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Who do you think I was being offensive towards?


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## cami (Aug 11, 2010)

Canuck_Sens said:


> I agree that UAE should follow a similar system like Australia and be more strict when assessing candidates specially those with higher education. For unskilled labour, I dont see a need. There are plenty available and they are good.


two observations here:

1. any analogy between the uae and any country where skilled or unskilled workers have the right to become citizens after a number of years is void. also, australia, as any other country where higher education institutions have been in function and deliver indigenous skilled workforce to the job market darn well, cannot be compared with any of the gulf countries where universities are considered old if they were established in the 80s. 

2. when you say that unskilled labour is good at what they do, do you have some examples in mind? moreover, even the "skilled" workers that come with fake documents through slave trafficking job agencies in their countries do work at sub-standard levels. 

this doesn't rule out "skilled" employees whose only merrit is that they are from the "privileged countries," have the correct colour of skin, and can (allegedly) speak and write english as their native language. i've seen office managers who can't use commas correctly in business letters, marketing managers who think the word "niche" refers to a german composer (you may laugh here, as i did at the time...), pr account managers who cannot write a press release, insurance agents who cannot read their own company contracts, procurement directors who take two weeks to proofread and write a final reply letter to a tender that was needed yesterday, and so on. maybe this is what pissed off the local gentleman whose comments generated this thread, but we'll never know 

but isn't this what makes this place so interesting?...


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

Canuck_Sens said:


> The good thing about having tons of unskilled manual workers in a country is that the price for these services go down.


This is not a good thing, it's why we have maids and labourers earning less in a month than the average Madinat bar bill now.


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## stewart (Jun 21, 2009)

Mr Rossi said:


> This is not a good thing, it's why we have maids and labourers earning less in a month than the average Madinat bar bill now.


What do you mean NOW it has always been that way unfortunately....!!!!!!!!!


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

stewart said:


> What do you mean NOW it has always been that way unfortunately....!!!!!!!!!


The timescale is irrelevant, I'm just pointing out the downsides to free market capitalism which Canuck_Sens was advocating.


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## glezhia (Dec 8, 2010)

We are concerned about losing our identity, heritage and language. The new generation of Emiratis feels increasingly isolated,’

While all cultures evolve and change over time, the process of turning this once small trading port into an International Business hub was bound to have casualties. The beautiful culture of Dubai was not mentioned on the business plan when the area first welcomed in foreign business on this grand scale.

The foreign nationals were invited in—almost lured in by the wonderful incentives that were designed to be attractive to people from different cultures in all walks of life.Clubs are open all over the city. An atmosphere positively encouraging excess with massive centres of entertainment which is far beyond their culture.Skimpy clothes are sold in the shopping malls. How can the Emiratis offer all of this then expect the expats to behave any differently?


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

From the way the expats talk, an emirati never works. I have met many an emirati now that is western educated and working. And from what they say, they are working and enjoying it. From pretty much every expat I have talked to, any emirati that is working is not really working and just there for show. No one it seems, at least the people I have spoken to, ever says anything nice about the locals. This completely lack of mutual respect, would probly left me a whole lot ruder to expats (if I was in their shoes) then what I have found locals are!


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## Andy Capp (Oct 5, 2008)

Jynxgirl said:


> From the way the expats talk, an emirati never works. I have met many an emirati now that is western educated and working. And from what they say, they are working and enjoying it. From pretty much every expat I have talked to, any emirati that is working is not really working and just there for show. No one it seems, at least the people I have spoken to, ever says anything nice about the locals. This completely lack of mutual respect, would probly left me a whole lot ruder to expats (if I was in their shoes) then what I have found locals are!


I agree.

However I have seen both sides of this, from the totally inept local at Emirates to the smart, switched on one who works for a games company in Media City.

Unfortunately, perception is reality, and most expats only see the bad workers, they don't see the hard-working guys who (in effect) are:

a) in the private sector, get other's to do most of the work for them and take a huge percentage of profits (the entrepreneurs we would call them in the west), 

or

b) the ones who are in customer facing positions or above them in the pecking order of the company they work for, they either treat them like crap or co-toe to them.

Whilst I understand your feelings about the stereotype Emirati, like all stereotypes, it's wrong.


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## samfurah (Jan 7, 2011)

these people are confused somtimes!..........
-they need expat and they hate us for beign more smart.
-their children not much qualified and they want best from their people.
-they cannot survive without us and they make rules not in our favour.

lol!...... skilled Arabs, wonder where they are?


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2011)

I see no reason why the unskilled labor force in Dubai need to be from non-Arab countries. If this blow hard cop wants to be with "people of the soil" let a Syrian, Egyptian, Saudi, Turk, Lebanese, or Pakistani clean up his city. 

If he's angry he can't meet a local when at the bank, tell his people to get a clue and learn the job instead of playing on their blackberries and drinking tea all workday while a westerner does the job.


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## Andy Capp (Oct 5, 2008)

jpippy68 said:


> I see no reason why the unskilled labor force in Dubai need to be from non-Arab countries. If this blow hard cop wants to be with "people of the soil" let a Syrian, Egyptian, Saudi, Turk, Lebanese, or Pakistani clean up his city.
> 
> If he's angry he can't meet a local when at the bank, tell his people to get a clue and learn the job instead of playing on their blackberries and drinking tea all workday while a westerner does the job.


Such stereotypes....


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

Andy Capp said:


> Such stereotypes....


A cliché is full of truth, otherwise it wouldn't be a cliché....


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

What does "people of the soil" mean anyway? And how did a Pakistani become a person of the soil if this term is only used for the Arabs?


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

Maybe it was just a typo and what he really said was "people of the oil".


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