Jonathan Liew is to be congratulated for his incisive views about Dubai and its attraction for the right (The populist right wants to remake the UK in the image of Dubai. We should all be careful what they wish for, 23 September). I fled the place after two years of a three-year contract because of the horrible way the emirate treats guest workers. I’ve returned three times on brief trips because of my work as a journalist or consultant (plus once because a storm cancelled my flight). On all those trips, the place appeared glitzy, but the nasty underbelly persisted.
I’ve watched as bored local men bought heroin as the electric windows of their car slid open to permit an exchange on the roads. I’ve visited hospitals where the babies of maids raped by their employers waited for adoption. I’ve seen the stables where the locals house thoroughbreds in palatial conditions that the labourers who work on constructions in 45C heat would consider a paradise.
