This new hotel in Dubai

[Mrs.Sippy]

I'm not one who generally comments on the way people spend their money but on this occasion I'll treat myself.

I think the money invested in, the amount it will take to run and the cost to the guests (who in my opinion have much more money than sense) is on a scale that's obscene. Just the firwork display cost �20m.

They have only to look a little more south east into Somalia to see the complete diametrically antonym.

Just a small proportion of this money could've made so much difference to so many people, both in Somalia and the rest of Africa generally.

[keyplus90]

You are spot on Mrs Sippy. And I have all the feelings that next Tsunami is due in Dubai and surrounded areas. In this same world few are eating to much and are obese. They are feeding so much to their pets like cats & dogs that even they are obese. And within the same world same areas and same streets sometimes people sleep (or can not sleep) because they have nothing to feed their kids. Shame.

[jake-the-peg]

And the UK spends half a billion pounds a year snacking on peanuts.

What could you do with �500 Million there?

[Octavius]

The $20m was for a launch party to promote Sol Kerzner�s new development, to the rich and famous. Just a marketing event. In contrast with his wealth, the $20m would be equivalent to someone earning �100k per year spending �1,000 on a house-warming party.

Aside form all this, the Kerzners have provided cash for school building in Johannesburg and created a joint venture with another developer (Matemeku) to provide access and work opportunities for dynamic and enterprising young black professionals in SA to pursue the dream of establishing a youthful cutting edge black investment house.

Nelson Mandela declared that Kerzner was "by far the greatest entrepreneur in the tourism industry", and that he and his brother came from "a family not only interested in their own enrichment, but willing to give back to their country.�

You don�t get to be rich and at the top by just being nice though, so this is all on the backdrop of corruption scandals with government officials, and the destruction of poor peoples houses to make way for his super casinos.

[Rosetta]

I've been to Dubai a couple of times and tasteful and under stated it aint.

What bugs me more is the sight of the immigrant labourers having to work in scorching conditions, slumped over with exhaustion tn there cattle wagon on the way out to their accomodation well out of the sights of the tourists at the end of the day. If they fall sick, even if its due to an industrial injury, they are deported. As far as I am aware without any thought or compensation. I have heard them described as slaves and that doesn't seem much short of the mark

[Octavius]

Of course that may well be true Rosetta. Having worked in the Middle East, I can say it is partly true, insofar as the immigrants are treated as very low class and with very little, if any, respect and are paid the minimum wage possible. There are always going to be the mistreated �slaves� who earn next to nothing and are worth nothing to their task masters. This even goes on in the UK.

But the bigger picture is that they are working and they are able to sustain themselves on what they earn, whilst also sending money back home to their families. For them this is a life, a far better prospect than what is available at home, a job, opportunity to earn an honest living and the �nobility� of sending money home.

[keyplus90]

I will second what Octavius said in regard to Rosetta�s remarks. Of course life and working conditions are not ideal when we compare with few other countries but majority of these people are from the areas of mainly Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and so on where there life is even tougher than what they get there in Dubai or any where in middle east. Tougher in a sense that even if they do find work still they are unable to meet two ends together. Whereas by working in middle east they are not only able to send money back home but are also capable to save for the future of their children and fulfill their little dreams as I still have my first watch with inbuilt calculator which my brother brought from Saudi Arabia when I was about 13. So yes people sacrifice a lot to gain something for their children.

[Mrs.Sippy]

I can't disagree with any of these comments; this situation must be the absolute worst example (to date) of the gap between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' and those who attended its opening should be ashamed of themselves.

[Octavius]

I'm sure Kylie and Wesley Snipes are feeling it.

[Rosetta]

I accept Octavius's and Keyplus's points about the economic advantages for many of the immigrant workers in Dubai and I have met employees that are well treated and (comparitively) well paid.
I suppose I am looking for an ideal where all the workers get such treatment, but I am not so naive that I know this is a long way to being achieved. It irks me, however, that so much money was wasted on such an ephemeral thing when basics are ignored.

[BillySugger]

People in the U.K. spent $1.5 billion on vets bills last year . Sorry but that's just the way of the world .

[adrenochrome]

Somalia is not Dubais problem. Just look at the UK or USA funding of the banking system! The UK will owe 1 trillion (US) or 1 billion (UK) (a UK billion is a million million, the US billion is a thousand million). Just think what that could do for Darfur, Rwanda, Congo and Somalia. But will you be willing to live in a second world economy, lose your job and see your family go without fridges/playstations/computers, to fund these improvements? I think not.
The hotel in Dubai is part of a successful economy investing in the future. Something President Bush and Gordon Brown didn't do, instead squandering billions of dollars on invading foreign countries and building the Millenium Dome in London.
Give me Dubais prosperity anyday.

[Hypognosis]

@Mrs.Sippy (I like the pun, btw)

I could be mean and say "isn't it strange how many Africans follow an Arabic religion, yet Arabs help them so little when there's a famine or a disease outbreak to clear up (alledgedly only 5 million (£ equivalent) to fight Ebola, for example).

Or I could be more honest and say that only the USA (and Canada?) and Russia have the kind of grain surpluses (alleged to have been dumped at sea in past decades, to keep prices at the right level) needed to fix nation-sized food shortages, across the world. The last thing the Arabs would want (you'd be forgiven for thinking) is to be spending the money they'd earnt, by selling oil to the western world, on buying grain from those same countries and then giving it away to (mainly non-Arab) Africans.

Sidebar: why does anyone give away money or things to anyone who isn't closely related to them? For show? To ease feelings of guilt? To curry favour with a deity?

Back on topic: money spent on extravagance goes out to the manufacturer, its raw material providers and their workforces' wages feed it back into the local economy.

Provide food to a struggling population and they will respond by raising more children. Once started, you cannot stop assisting without triggering full-blown famine. Live Aid was a great and good thing but it was about fixing a one-off war-caused crisis and getting them strong enough to look after themselves again. I need to check the facts but I think it did morph into year-on-year aid (much of which falls into army/rebel hands but it's better than nothing).

[Hypognosis]

This thread isn't showing on 'latest posts' ticker. Any special reason why, Auntie Mod?