Foreigners in Dubai hit by downturn

Foreigners in Dubai hit by downturn

By Danna Harman, Special for USA TODAY

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Last year, Jesse accepted a job with what promised to be one of biggest amusement parks in the world. He would make almost triple his $80,000 after-tax salary and wouldn't have to pay any income tax. That would help with the couple's medical bills from Denay's unsuccessful attempts to get pregnant.

The catch: It was in Dubai.

The plan: stay a year, maybe two, and make enough money to go home in style.

"We were searching for opportunities. We wanted to move up quickly. We wanted to buy a house and pay off debts," Denay Vargas says. "We figured we could live anywhere for a year."

Now, she admits, they are not sure it was a good idea.

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An increasing number of newcomers like the Vargases are losing their jobs as projects are canceled or put on hold. Once that happens, people can quickly lose their residency visas and the right to stay here.

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"Everyone knew that one day Dubai would be in trouble, but no one thought it would come this soon," he says.

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The famous megamalls now seem empty: No one was waiting in line one recent afternoon to slalom down the Mall of the Emirates' indoor ski run.

A local animal charity called Feline Friends says 20 to 30 cats and dogs are abandoned every day because of the exodus of people who can't afford to send their pets back home.

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Nonetheless, there could be an ever bigger exodus come June, when schools let out and before the unbearably scorching summer arrives.

The Jumeirah English Speaking School sent a notice asking whether parents are planning to re-enroll their children next year.

The Dubai British School and the American School of Dubai have been calling parents to ask their plans, says one parent, Anna Charters. "It's like a game of dominoes," she says. "One thing is affecting the next, and everything is about to fall apart."


http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2009-05-06-dubai_N.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno