Expat influencers sold Dubai to the world and were paid to look the other way. Now the dream is crumbling

‘The whole social contract of Dubai involves a wilful blindness to the proximity of suffering and violence,’ writes Brigid Delaney. Pictured: villas on the fronds of Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai. Photograph: Horizons WWP/TRVL/Alamy

For people living in close proximity to a war zone, the lack of sympathy for Australian and British expats and influencers in Dubai has been, on the face of it, curious.

Since their adopted home was bombed in the initial days of the war, they have faced mostly ridicule and contempt in their home countries.