I agree with Maryam totally!

I am also surprised with Dr. Lamees refering to the Hijab (head cover) as tradition and not religion!!

Hi Oprah,

I have lived and worked here for the past 11 years, and yes for the locals they are highly priveledged, HOWEVER for the rest of us, we PAY taxes indirectly.

Locals dont have to pay for water, but all expats do! healthcare is mainly private, and we all have to pay for that. Taxes are paid indirectly , for us expats through trade lisence fees, and over inflated living costs. ( before the crisis hit Dubai, we were having to pay one years rent in advance, comparable to living in the city of London/NYNY)

I am a british expat, and have been relatively happy here, however the word best described Dubai, is Smoked Glass and Mirrors. What you see is a great front, but, from the greed of this system, we have been left badly damaged, and are still here being left to pay for others greedy mistakes.

Billions of US$ have been misappropraited through real estate investments here, and living on the ICONIC island of Jumeirah Palm Island, where developers have left us with no follow through, a 5 year delivery of off -plan investments have left 1000's of people highly distrusting of the system, where we were over promised and underdelivered on our investments. there is little or NO maintenance, No land registry ( Even though they have taken our fees) no owners associations, and a massive lack of what was promised.

The government have placed locals( and expats) in high ranking jobs who were badly educated, and fell foul of greed, by pocketing massive amounts in commissions, even though they were paid salaries.

All the publicity machines have taken their focus off Dubai, due to law suits against many large entities here. Construction companies have been left in Millions of US$ owing to them, and many, many companies have now left with a bad taste of the middle east due to non payment of bills outstanding.

Dubai has a lot to learn, and a lot to make up on for its greed, and damage to many peoples lives..this is not the end, but you have no idea how most of us live here in Dubai.....You should interview us expats for a real side of whats life is really like...we do afterall make up the majority of the population!!!

Kind Regards from Dubai, Xo

Dear Oprah,

I totaly agree with Maryam, i my self is a citizen living in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (AbuDhabi). The UAE locals pay 5% for the electricity and the non locals pay 15% and about the water we don¿t pay for water but the non local pay 3% . Regarding covering our selves with the shaila its a must according to our religion . However, Dr.lamees isn¿t a pure local from the UAE she is Originally from Syria, sadly if you chose a Local we would of shown you a better picture.. You have to come and visit our country it would be a pleasure to meet you and show you around. We all love you show ..

Many regards,

Afra

Dear Xo,

In reality our country has taken care of British and Americans more than the other foreigners, The whole world was affected with the crisis not only Dubai and this was expected. I'm sure if i was an foreigner in the United Kigdoms i would have the same care from there than you get from our country. Thats a fact..

Sorry..

Dear All,

I have lived in Dubai for 2 years, I'm from the Netherlands and what I heard Dr. Lamees talking on the show I felt like I must have lived in a different Dubai !!!!!

Water and Electricity are very expensive and on top of it you pay 5% of your annual rent to the Municipality, if that's not taxes then somebody explain me what it is.

No need to make Dubai looks beautifull and wonderfull, it's not ! Ask the poor guy from Bangladesh who live by 100 in 20 sq meter and are fed with dry rice day after day. Some die from diseas nobody ever hear about in the past.

Dubai is artificial, you have to live there to believe it, fake publicity about it is not fair to the outside world !

Badia

Dear All,
i would like to take this opportunity and make a brief comment about the Dubai on Oprah Show.

The woman representing Dubai, Dr.lamees has said that head cover is a cultural rather than religious issue for Muslim women .. that is not true.

Our religion does impose the Hijab ( head-cover ) on us.

=D

Dr,Lamees didnt lie about the water and electricity in Dubai.

Locals in Dubai DO NOT PAY. non-locals do as well as locals of other emirates do =)

yes afaary i agree with what you are saying =)

and i need to verify that wearing hijab is imposed on us by religion and is not something cultural as Dr.Lamees has FALSELY stated !

Dear Oprah,

I totally agree with Maryam & Afrah, I am a pure Emaraty living in Abu Dhabi the capital of the UAE. we are very disappointed of what Dr. Lamees said. As Maryam & Afra mentioned we locals pay for the electricity and we dont pay for water. Another point to add is that we wear Sheila for religious purposes first, and traditional ofcourse, not ONLY traditional! this is to proove that Dr. Lamees isn't a pure Emaraty as Afra mentioned! we are all pissed at her cause she gave the whole world a wrong idea about the United Arab Emirates.

We all love you Oprah =D

Lots of love to you

Hessa

Hello Oprah

im Ayesha, a local girl from Dubai, i dont know why some people said that Dubai is the unhappiest place on earth! if it was then why every body from all over the world lives here rather than their own country? .. as an Emirati girl, living in UAE, im glad to say that WE ARE THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH, first of all, happiness is a gift from God, Lamees said that the head cover is a cultural thing but its not, its more of a religion thing and if she dont wear a head cover its ok FOR HER but she shouldnt common it on everybody, and we do pay for Electrisity.. not everyone is rich in Dubai, there is no country in the world were everyone is rich! it will be heaven.. sure there is poor people but the government take good care of them, because we are muslims and its a muslim country, its part of our religion to take care of poor people in our society, Muslims believes that poor people have a right in rich people's money, so im 100% sure if any ANY poor man stands up and says he needs a house, money or medical help, he will get it as soon as the government and our leadership hears about him, and its sooooooo easy to reach our leadership in UAE, our voice is heard.. we are very safe and secure, this is the truth, no matter what rumors people spread about Dubai, im an Emirati girl and no one knows Dubai better than an Emiraties themselves.

we have the best leadership, who cares about their people and provide them with the best living and make sure they have a proper living standard, i cant count how many times his Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Ruler of Dubai, have givin a FREE VILLA to anyone who needs a PROPER home not only a "home".. who does that? only the man who realy care about his people

i really wished if u Oprah have researced and interviewed a well-known person who can tell u the truth about Dubai, yes we are very happy but lamees didnt cleared WHY we are happy, she talked mostly about herself not about Emiraties in General.

if i had the choice to choose what country i want to live in, sure i will choose Dubai

ur fan,

ayesha

Well said ayesha, mariam, mona and afary, as a local women living in dubai, i couldn't have said it any better. in this muslim country we value our muslim religion, all of our daily activities are influced by that. we cover up our head and body because we are muslims, like the other women in other muslim countries. we help the poor because it's one of our islamic values, we respect others who live in our country although they don't respect our islamic values or our culture!

in a reply to mr. XO, i would have to say that if you are a british person living in Dubai and "sufferring" as you said, why did you move to Dubai? why are you still living in Dubai? we're no different than you, the financial crisis has affected all of us, even when it comes to the Realestate business, we've lost money in investments, we pay for rent, we pay for electricity, we pay for schools, we pay for trade licences and many others. Dubai is well known all over the world for being a very expensive city to live in. When expacts come to dubai, people like you, they are paid for their kids' schools, health care through their health insurance in their jobs, they are even given transportation means! they are very well taken care of in Dubai! plus i bet your salary as an expatriate is triple the salary of a local person working in a government department with the same years of experience, this so called "greedy system" you're talking about has provided you with a way of living that no local person on average can afford and took away jobs from well educated, smart and well capable local people who are struggling to find jobs because of expacts like you, even though locals are only around 15% of the total population of the whole United Arab Emirats not only Dubai! We are considered a minority in our own country!

i have one more thing to add to OPRAH, we respect you very much in this country and as local people in the United Arab Emirates, we were all very disappointed with the interview, this show about dubai was the most anticipated show so far. Dr. Lamees wasn't the best person to represent the women in the emirate of Dubai, she's not even a pure emaraty! and the facts in the interview and the introduction to Dubai were not accurate. this wasn't what we expected at all.

yours,
Heba

Dear Ayesha,

What you're mentionning might be correct, but what we would like you to understand is that in Europe, for example in Danemark or in Belgium or France, the government takes care of everyone living in that country. What you are mentioning in Dubai is only applicabnle for Emiratis, not for foreigners.

Let's be honest and franc on this point, yes, the Ruler might be easy to reach but not for foreigners. In Europe the Government is reachable to ALL !

We're not saying that people are unhappy in Dubai, we say that our experience as foreigners was not pleasant. In countries like European country, whatever your nationality is, as long as you have a residency card in that country the law is the same for all, and the support is the same for all, and punishment is the same for all. That's not the case in Dubai.

You, as an Emirati may not have the chance to experience this, so, for us who lived in both words, you have to trust us on this.

And one more point, Dubai server alcohool in restaurants, pork meat is available everywhere, bars and disco's are making the state's economy growing, I'm sorry, but this is not a Muslim country. Depending on which part of Dubai you live, but visit the Jumeirah and Marina area's on weekend and you will understand. Prostitute are delivered by dozen in 5 stars hotel.....and of course Police are not allowed to enter in those hotels, cause if you stop prostitution in 5 stars hotels, they might not be that full as they are.

Ayesha, I like Dubai for its technology, its fast growing, its amazing airports, bridges and roads, .....but not for the way they treat their guests.

with kind regards,

Badia

I would like to comment as well.

Ofcourse the United Arab Emirates is a huge success first of all, at least materialistic speaking. Because the country is very rich and has relatively not a lot of locals, the Emiratis have a good life, their leaders take good care of them without a doubt, and so they should.

On the other hand you do see a lot of unjustice, and you notice because the contrast is just so big! Yes, the labourers can be happy that they have a job, but don't you think the working and living conditions, salaries etc could be just a bit more fair, after all this is a very rich country based on islamic law!?

I am an expat from the Netherlands and our life is good. We have a better salary than back home, the schools and a big chunk of our housing is being paid for, but we do have to pay if we visit a doctor or hospital and we do have to pay for water and electricity, and I do not mind, I can afford it, the thing that is bothering me is that you missed out on projecting the 'total picture' of life in Dubai. Yes, life is good, if you have money, if you don't life is hell here. Nobody will care, if you are Emirati they will but not if you're not.

The thing I would have liked to see is the contrast. I will say it again, the UAE is a big success but not in all things and we don't have to lie about it or hide it. We should try to improve and make it an even bigger success.

Meryem

Dear Oprah,

First would like to thank you for this show because it bring light to alot of issues that we face in todays world. Thanks You. However was deeply dissapointed with regards to your Dubai show: yes Dubai is a great place for some, for those who are fortunate, there is a different Dubai that was not portrayed in that show. The Dubai that forces people to work more than 12 hour shifts with not overtime pay or compensatory offs, the Dubai that has no human rights council or strict labor governance, the Dubai that allows people to live more that 10 in a small room, the Dubai that still has housing refered to as labor camps where conditions are pathetic and these are just to name a few.

I agree that if life is so hard here why do we stay, i would also like to point out that its not a matter of choice.. when we are recruited we are promised proper housing and good pay and we calculate the same with the standards of living in our own country, when most of these people reach Dubai they find those were empty promises. To make things worse they cannot quit in the first year as otherwise you will be required to pay the expenses of brining you to Dubai, and others dont quit even after that as they still have to pay for the agency fees that are used to bring people to Dubai. Most people have realised the hardships faced and leave to go back home even though they face bleak futures but than its better to suffer in your own country rather than someone elses. besides what would Dubai do without the expats?? they need us as much as we need them hence i dont see why only on should be on the recieving end.

anyways the issues faced here and the stories that can be told are endless. So i urge you if you can, please do another show consisting of the real Dubai... behind the concrete!!!

Love your show Oprah !

I absolutely love the UAE it is so safe here compared to many other countries but I have to say Dr. Lamees was not representative of the majority of UAE women. Women in the Muslim world cover themselves due to religious reasons not cultural. The "burqah" facial mask is a cultural thing but the head cover is part of our religion. Dr. Lamees, if you don't want to cover your head it is your personal choice no need to justify yourself by classifying it as "cultural" . All Muslim women know that the head cover is mandatory so if you don't cover it is up to you and your personal choice of whether to follow all of Islamic teachings or not. We all have our weaknesses.

Also the glamorous and gleaming buildings with fancy names to attract rich people are plentiful over here but in reality the majority of us live in a totally different UAE. We are not all rich, and I for one have to work to help support the family but a local would get paid three times as much as I earn for doing the exact, same job. It's true that many locals are struggling as Dr. Lamees said. Medical care is free for locals but tax free?? NOT. We may not have formal taxes as you know them in other countries such as income tax, road tax,VAT, etc, but we pay exorbitant amounts for every service from licence renewal, visa application, tolls, etc. The tiniest traffic violation is likely to get you fined over $150 . Parking is deplorable in the city due to poor planning.

Women married to local men are entitled to get the UAE nationality after 3 years of marriage but some have been waiting for ten years or more and there is no way to follow up. This has been my home for over 25 years yet I cannot call myself an Emirati although i am married to Emirati and the mother of an Emirati son. Our leaders are great and they really want the best for all the people living here, but sadly, some of us just fall through the cracks in this wonderful country due to nepotism. No place is perfect but Dubai/UAE would certainly be close to it if these issues would be addressed and there was accountability in the services that they claim to provide.

Love ya Oprah!

Cant agree more and for those who are complaining why are they still leaving in uae