"I assumed if all these big companies come here, it must be pretty like (sic) Canada's or any other liberal democracy's," she says. Nobody told her there is no concept of bankruptcy. If you get into debt and you can't pay, you go to prison.Karen's living in a car now, hiding out in various Dubai car parks. Just like many other trapped expats who can't escape the country.
Question: Since Sheikh Mo is the biggest Dubai deadbeat of them all, how come he's not in prison?Update: Bob says I am being too harsh towards Karen. Like many of us I have seen (and am currently seeing) some tough times. I am the last person to kick an honest person when they are down and out. But Karen's story doesn't pass the smell test.
The "facts" conflict. She says her hubby is in prison for 6 months. Then it's 9. The "brain cancer made my husband make bad financial decisions" thing sounds a lot like "the dog ate my homework." They are from Canada. Dunno about you, but if I was diagnosed with brain cancer I'd be on the first flight back to Canada for treatment. Instead, he stayed on the job in Dubai and then resigned. Why didn't they fly back home for immediate treatment and make their escape while he was still employed, before Dubai's draconian debt laws would take hold?
The odds that a writer would just happen to stumble across a couple who made stupid financial decisions because of "brain cancer" are pretty remote. In fact, this is the first time I've seen this used as an excuse. In the hundreds (if not thousands) of stories we've all seen over the past few years regarding the US housing bubble, not once have I seen "brain cancer" being used to explain the stupid decisions of a real estate speculator.
Face it: Karen and her hubby got greedy in a foreign country which has drastically different laws. They rolled the dice, failed, then ginned up a desperate excuse.
11 comments:
Why isn't he in prison, uh, lex deminutus rex?
The sheik shall inherit the earth. :-p
I have a friend who told me that the exodus will grow greatly once the school year is over. No idea if this is true or not but it makes sense to try not to disrupt your kid's lives more than is necessary.
Enlarge that violin a bit, Lou, regardless. Her boyfriend's got brain cancer and she lives in a car, for God's sake. That sort of schadenfraude attracts bad karma.
The sheik isn't in prison because, so far, he's making his payments. He can also sell some of his holdings to Abu Dhabi, or ask Abu Dhabi for help. Abu Dhabi has actual income from oil and gas, so the slump hasn't hit as hard. Abu Dhabi also didn't go nuts building things.
Anyone who lives, or has lived, in the Middle East, knows that if you don't think you can pay your bills, you take a vacation, and don't go back. You lose whatever you have in your house or apartment, but that's not that big a deal in the overall scheme of things. It's a nice gesture to call the bank and let them know where the car is.
She's waiting for her husband to get out of prison.
Then they'll both take a powder.
Bob, see my reply.
Maybe so, Lou. Maybe so, and if so, then I concur with you. I've got a biased view on these sorts of things. You point out, correctly, that the chances of the writer stumbling across this down and out woman with a brain cancer patient boyfriend are remote, and you're probably right. I'm a lawyer, though, and I see this sort of stuff - very true, very verifiable, really happening - all the freaking time. because I work in a profession where people tend to look for help after some catastrophe has already befallen them, I am, statistically speaking, a lot more likely to have to deal with these sorts of scenarios. Having seen this, I am very hesitant to assume it is not true. And I don't find it that much of a stretch that once the writer started poking around the local foreign population, everyone pointed him to the worst-case scenario that they knew of.
That's the long-winded version of why I have bleeding heart and tend to suspend diseblief when I hear cray stories like this.
A fairly short drive and she could hitch a ride with the Somali pirates.
Something is ODD about many aspects of that story, including her.
The story seems fake - too much like Gone With the Wind. Next she'll be attending a party at the sheik's house wearing a gown she made from Range Rover upholstery.
I agree with FCB, there are many oddities in this story.
For instance, it took the author an hour to get out to the slave labor camp, yet on the return trip he was transported in 10 minutes from that horror to the plush malls of downtown Dubai? Huh?
I googled the author and while he's a very respected journo, he is also, politically, extremely leftist.
Also, I could not find any English attributions to his "most hated" Dubai citizen other than his own article. I tried several variations on the name and still came up empty.
I don't doubt that Dubai is in trouble for one minute, nor do I doubt that the sheik is censoring news coming out of Dubai, but I do doubt the credulity of the author of this piece.
Seriously, this Canadian woman and her husband/boyfriend (the article jumps between the two) have NO family to help them? I'm not one to ask for help from my family in minor situations, but if I was looking at jail time in a backward nation? I'd be calling everyone I knew, including anyone I knew from high school for help.
Don't let your desire for something to be true cloud your ability to screen out propaganda. It's your most endearing quality.
; )
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