Attention heating up... but for how long?

Dubai's Sheikh Mohammed's announcement on 7 November of increased efforts to improve conditions for laborers quickly garnered local media attention and perhaps some puzzlement from the public as to why now when conditions have been as they are for so long?

The answer to the "why now" became apparent on 12 November with the highly publicized release of a report by the activist non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch. In its press release HRW explains,

On October 27, Human Rights Watch communicated its findings and recommendations to the UAE government in a letter. Shortly thereafter, on November 7, the prime minister ordered the labor minister to immediately institute reforms based on Human Rights Watch’s recommendations.

The question is, will the effect of the current directives have a fate any different from earlier pronouncements of similar nature, if not as comprehensive? One key difference may be the considerable amount of attention the HRW report has brought on Dubai and the UAE, this time around.

America's prominent ABC network is to feature Dubai in its upcoming 20/20 news documentary program:

In an exclusive 20/20 story to air this Friday, Nov. 17, the ABC News investigative team went inside Dubai to learn how the emirate has grown so far so fast.

Presumably the laborer issues will come up. On its blogsite ABC discusses several of the issues brought out by HRW in the article, Dark Side of Dubai's Boomtown.

This will mark the second time in less than a year that Dubai has come under close scrutiny in the international media. In the DP World controversy, which blew up in mid-February, the questions were about whether or not a Dubai governmental entity could be trusted to oversee sensitive port operations in the United States. The apparent consensus was "No." Now the questions center on Dubai's human rights record.

The effect of both stories has been to cast Dubai in a negative light. The latter issue could tarnish Dubai's image more than the former, which was clearly motivated by an American domestic political agenda. This time there are moral issues at stake and fingers being pointed come not only from the United States, but from more politically liberal Europe.

The Proper Perspective

The focus, however, ought not be on protecting the image of Dubai as much as on resolving the serious human rights issues, that few could deny with credulity. Once it is clear that real effort is being made to resolve this issue, the image problem will take care of itself. Should the UAE and Dubai attempt to minimize the importance of the human rights issue, then the problem will fester, leaving a more indelible stain on Dubai's reputation.

The attention span of the international media is short. Within a month this issue will largely disappear from the radar screen. At that point, Dubai could return to business as usual. That, however, would be a mistake. The local media have been paying significant attention to this issue for the past few years. They will continue to put pressure on the government.

Restlessness among the work force will also begin to exert pressure once again, as it did through the waning months of summer last year and into spring. What's more, with all certainty, Dubai will once again arise to the forefront of international media attention, for one reason or another, and it won't be for anything good. If progress is not made on the labor front by then, it could be strike three for Dubai.

Go to this blog's latest post or In the News for news and analysis.
See also a compedendium of links at Labour News from the UAE, compiled by LabourStart.org--where trade unionists start their day on the net.

Postscript

Posted on 6 November, just before Sheikh Mohammed's newsmaking pronouncement, one blogger seems to have had his finger right on the pulse with The Great Divide; the post features excellent B&W photography and has generated a lively discussion on the topic.

See most recent post or go to In the News.