While many people are drawn to Dubai, splendid with its world-class shopping mall, ski slope and gaggle of Gentoo penguins, the scorching heat which inhibits you from stepping outside for more than a moment in the summer doesn’t appeal to me. I’d rather brave the initial stages of hypothermia on a beach in Ireland. Besides, how many marginally less expensive Tag Heuer watches can a person of regular wrist count really need?
Despite this perspective, it’s obvious that a large number of Irish individuals are captivated by the allure of Dubai. Data shows that in the first half of the previous year, over 37,000 Irish residents decided to vacation in this city known for its golden tapware and glass lifts. Around 10,000 Irish expatriates have made the city their residence.
Dubai’s tourism motto, “Live your story,” displays two starkly contrasting realities. The dominant narrative is an elaborate display of capitalistic extravagance that the city compulsively presents to the world. The other narrative is the dystopian life experienced by migrant labourers from South East Asia who transformed the city from barren desert into a metropolis in just four decades. These individuals, attracted by the promise of large salaries and low taxes, frequently find out that their expected earnings evaporate on arrival along with their liberty and identification.
Dubai does offer the choice to ‘live your story’ for tourists or expats who abide by the law, or the rich, male, Arab elite. However, this freedom doesn’t apply to their wives, who under the new, supposedly ‘revolutionary’ domestic violence laws enacted with a lot of ado four years back, can’t deny their husband’s sexual requests without a ‘valid reason’, and are subjected to his form of ‘discipline’ as he deems appropriate.
Living out your personal narrative does not extend to members of the LGBTQ society who face potential jail time over mutual sexual conduct. People who fall into irreparable debt, which can easily happen in a location where the expensive cost of living is offset by frequent “zero interest” credit card propositions, face the same predicament. If indictments are made against consenting adults for engaging in sexual relations with someone who isn’t their spouse (usually termed “spouse”, but in actuality referring to “husband”, as only husbands or male guardians have the right to report), they can get locked up.
Tori Towey approached the authorities for aid concerning the continuous and savage domestic violence and abuse that Mary Lou McDonald highlighted she had been enduring. Rather than receiving help, she was dismissed and sent back home with her supposed tormentor, her husband.
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs alerts individuals planning to travel to Dubai that they could inadvertently violate the region’s “laws and customs” by doing something that might not be illegal in Ireland. They use this roundabout way of indicating that some local laws would fit right into The Handmaid’s Tale. A female resident was restricted from exiting Dubai due to her being reported for using foul language in a message to her flatmate following an argument over rights to the dining table as a workspace during the global pandemic.
In 2016, a male citizen of both Britain and Australia was held in custody for several weeks for publicising a charity on his Facebook that assisted Afghan refugees; UAE legislation only approves the advertisement of locally registered charities. Additionally, a British woman, Laleh Shahravesh, along with her teenage daughter were detained following a comment she made on a Facebook photo of her ex-husband with his new wife. She had posted the comment while in England, three years before coming to Dubai to attend his funeral.
The arbitrary regulations that may lead to criminalisation by Dubai’s law enforcement recently became a harsh reality for Tori Towey. Tragic events unfolded after her move to the UAE in 2023 for employment with Emirates airline. She got married in March the following year, but as shared in the Dáil, Towey experienced an abusive relationship. When she approached the officials seeking aid for what the Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald depicted as “intense and continuous domestic mistreatment and abuse” within the Dáil, she shockingly was returned to her husband, the suspect of the abuse.
“Her spouse confiscated her passport, limiting her ability to travel or work,” McDonald communicated. After another alleged violent episode, which was graphically recounted in the Dáil, she attempted suicide and was subsequently hauled to a police station. Instead of receiving medical attention, she found herself on trial for attempted suicide – a crime that could lead to six months in prison and/or an AED 5,000 fine (€1,250), in addition to being charged for alcohol abuse. Only when the Irish Government intervened her case was speedily resolved, making the situation unique.
This is the same Dubai that bans not only suicidal individuals but also public swearing while allowing the suspected deadly global drug cartel operator Daniel Kinahan, who is currently under US sanctions, to establish a life and businesses. He has been accused of such charges by both the US and Irish authorities. The city, famed for managing to sustain the life of penguins within its arid desert climate, evidently has a high threshold for double standards. This is also reflected in the millions of its visitors who overlook this illusion, wowed by the spectacular skyline and tax policy.
“Only in Dubai”, the city’s recently revealed tourism catchphrase for 2025, couldn’t be a more fitting description.