For thousands of sun-seeking Brits and an army of influencers, the Dubai dream appears to be over.
Selfies on spotless beaches have been swapped for stints in bomb shelters in underground parking garages as tax-avoiding expats face the threat of prison for posting pictures of damage.
Iranian suicide drones have lit up the night sky, replacing the bright lights of the glitzy skyscrapers and glamorous five-star hotels – and shattering the illusion that it was an untouchable emirate a world away from the conflicts that have engulfed its war-torn neighbours.
Celebrities such as Rio and Kate Ferdinand have fled to their luxury Portugal holiday home, while Luisa Zissman has moaned about being in her ‘refugee era, displaced from my home’, before offering her followers a free private jet flight to bring her dog from Dubai.
Despite Trump announcing on Tuesday night that Iran has agreed to a two-week ceasefire and will re-open the Strait of Hormuz, the war has already had a much more sinister impact on Dubai’s migrant workers, who have borne the brunt of Iran’s attacks.
Of the six civilians killed in the United Arab Emirates, three are from Pakistan, with one victim from Bangladesh, Palestine and Nepal.
And while influencers cry about their dogs, some labourers face death as they are forced to continue working in areas under attack while being denied access to bomb shelters or refused emergency leave by employers.
The UAE’s oppressive Kafala System, which binds migrant workers to their employers, has long restricted them to the will of their bosses.
While influencers cry about their dogs, some labourers face death as they are forced to continue working in areas under attack (Pictured: Migrant workers in Dubai on March 11)
Celebrities such as Rio and Kate Ferdinand have fled Dubai for their luxury Portugal holiday home
Branded as a modern form of slavery by critics, employers have control of their workers’ residency and legal status.
Human Rights Watch has documented how it enables employers to routinely confiscate workers’ passports.
While workers who leave their employers, including to escape abuse, are faced with deportation and detention.
It means many of the poverty-stricken workers mostly from South Asia and Africa, who form around 90 per cent of the UAE’s workforce, are unable to leave the country or change jobs even as missiles fly down.
Worse still, they have been turned away from shelters during Iranian attacks.
Testimony shared with the Daily Mail reveals how some workers have been forced to continue working on site as barrages of missiles fly down, while others have had their passports confiscated to stop them leaving.
The workers, who have opted to remain anonymous to preserve their safety, describe a chilling reality, where their lives are viewed as cheaper than those they serve.
One construction worker from Nepal said he was told by his site manager that he had to continue labouring as normal despite missile alerts in the area.
He was told anyone who left without authorisation would have their visa cancelled and face deportation.
‘I have a wife and two children at home,’ he said. ‘I cannot lose this job. I cannot lose my visa. I have no choice.’
The UAE’s oppressive Kafala System, which binds migrant workers to their employers, has long restricted them to the will of their bosses. (Pictured: Workers queueing to receive charity meals)
An Iranian drone hit a fuel tank near Dubai Airport which sparked a massive fire on March 16
Smoke pours from a fuel tank near Dubai Airport on March 16 after it was hit by a drone
A domestic worker from the Philippines, who has been living with her employer in the Jumeirah district, said she has not been allowed to leave the property unsupervised or contact her family abroad without someone present amid fears she would leave.
While a warehouse supervisor from Pakistan saw his request for emergency unpaid leave to return home declined.
His employer refused the request, claiming his contract made no provision for emergency leave.
‘What can I do?’ he said. ‘If I leave, I lose everything I have worked for. Twelve years of my life are in this job.’
Others have been forced out of their overcrowded accommodation and told to return home.
One hotel worker from Karachi told the Mail he was being forced to take what little ‘paid leave’ he had now, whether he wanted to or not.
While some workers who remain in the country have seen their pay cut, forcing them to get by on subsistence wages with nothing left over to send to their relatives – which is, after all, the main motivation propelling them to Dubai in the first place.
Saad Kassis-Mohamed, Chairman of Human Rights Association, a charity which advocates for migrant worker rights across the Middle East, accused employers of ‘failing in their basic duty of care towards the workers in their charge.’
He said: ‘These failures include the denial of access to emergency shelter during active conflict alerts, the refusal of emergency leave, and the compulsion of workers to continue operating in environments that have been designated as unsafe by the relevant authorities.
‘The human cost of these decisions is already apparent. Civilians killed since the outbreak of hostilities include a Pakistani taxi driver, a Nepali security guard, and a Bangladeshi water tanker.
Mugshots of people arrested for sharing ‘war footage’ in the UAE
Videos posted to social media showed a huge plume of smoke rising from the building on March 3, which local authorities said was hit by a missile
‘The Association notes with grave concern that these individuals, like many of their peers had no practical means of withdrawing themselves from harm. Under the terms of the Kafala sponsorship system, a worker’s continued lawful residence in the country is contingent upon the consent of their employer.
‘The decision to remain at work in dangerous conditions is, in many cases, not a choice freely made but one imposed by circumstance and contractual constraint.’
As well as the Kafala system, Dubai has come under scrutiny for its draconian social media laws which have seen more than 100 people arrested for sharing pictures of damage from Iranian missiles.
A British flight attendant and a tourist are just two of around 70 Brits in prison in prison facing serious charges in the UAE for ‘cyber crimes’ relating to photographing, filming or sharing drone or missile strikes.
The air steward, a 25-year-old man who works as cabin crew for a local airline, was arrested for simply posting a photo of a drone strike at Dubai Airport and asking colleagues on a private WhatsApp group: ‘Is it safe to walk through the airport?’
Another of the British detainees is a 60-year-old holidaymaker from London, who took a photo of an air strike, and despite deleting it when asked to by a policeman in the street, was still arrested.
The news adds to a ‘climate of fear’ among those expats nervously remaining in Dubai, fearful not only of arrest, but also what the future holds for them as the glittering malls fall silent and foreign businesses pack up and leave.
Socialite Petra Ecclestone cried as she described explosions before, describing how ‘grateful’ she was for ‘how much Dubai puts safety first’ and how ‘welcomed and safe it has made us feel’
The cabin crew member, who is a resident of Dubai, but originally from Thamesmead, south-east London, has been held in a crowded, stinking jail cell for more than 20 days since his arrest on March 7, the day the airport first came under attack.
Emirati laws prohibit anyone from taking or publishing photos that could ‘disturb public security’.
When there is an Iranian strike, those nearby are sent a text message in both Arabic and English saying: ‘Photographing or sharing security or critical sites, or reposting unreliable information, may result in legal action and compromise national security and stability.’
Police also reportedly approach those in the area and demand to see their phones. Anyone caught with photos of attack sites is arrested, while those who receive such photos through apps like WhatsApp are also tracked down and arrested.
David Haigh of Dubai Watch, which is representing eight arrested Britons, said: ‘Dubai is a corporation, a gleaming global brand desperate to keep the facade intact.
‘So, once tourists and expats take photos of a missile intercept, or a drone strike, they become the enemy.
‘They are arrested, vanished, threatened, charged, forced to report friends, and face years in jail.’
