Fearing jail, thousands of laid-off migrants flee Dubai

2. Fearing
jail, thousands of laid-off migrants flee Dubai

Sofia, a 34-year-old
Frenchwoman, moved here a year ago to take a job in advertising. Confident about
Dubai’s fast-growing economy, she bought an apartment for $ 300,000 with a
15-year mortgage. Now, like many of the foreign workers who make up 90% of the
population here, she has been laid off and faces the prospect of being forced to
leave this Persian Gulf city — or worse. “I’m really scared of what could
happen, because I bought property here,” said Sofia. “If I can’t pay it off, I
was told I could end up in debtors’ prison.”

With Dubai’s economy in free
fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the
parking lot at the Dubai airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who
could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to
have maxedout credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.

Some things are clear : real
estate prices, which rose dramatically during Dubai’s six-year boom, have
dropped 30% or more over the past two or three months. Last week, Moody’s
Investor’s Service announced that it might downgrade its ratings on six of
Dubai’s most prominent state-owned companies, citing a deterioration in the
economic outlook. So many used luxury cars are for sale, they are sometimes sold
for 40% less than the asking price two months ago, car dealers say.

But Dubai, unlike Abu Dhabi,
Qatar and Saudi Arabia, does not have its own oil, and has built its reputation
on real estate, finance and tourism. Now, many expats here talk about Dubai as
though it were a con game all along.

(Source : The Times of India,
16-2-2009)