Prostitution in Dubai
Ending the Cold War Accelerated Human Trafficking in the UAE
The fall of the Soviet Union & the opening of China has allowed a flood of young women, looking for the elusive gold at the end of the rainbow, to fall victim to greed.
The Flesh Trade has existed for millennium, but now wealth, liberal laws and a surplus of young attractive mobile women have seen Dubai “…become…the ‘Center for Prostitution’ in the Middle East,” according to Traveler Buzz reporter Conor Knighton. Thoughts of gold lined streets have women, mainly from small towns in the Former Soviet Union and China, rush to the Middle Eastern flesh capital. With large numbers of expatriate workers from the East and the West, the government turns a blind eye to the desires of both parties and the unscrupulous controllers.
In the video report by Knighton he states “the US State Department report on human trafficking: estimated 10,000 women from sub Sahara Africa, Eastern Europe, South and East Asia, Iran, Iraq and Morocco may be victims of sex trafficking in the UAE.” Conor goes on to say: “The ability to buy sex so easily, while the government looks the other way, has certainly kept many of the tourist and businessmen who visit Dubai coming back.”
According to the official government census the population of the Emirate of Dubai is 1,517,186 and the CIA World Fact book states the UAE has an estimated population of 4,444,011. The citizens comprise 19% of the population nationally however only 16% in the Emirate of Dubai. Westerners and Asians comprise 59% of the population (76% in Dubai) with other Arab nationals from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, etc. making up the remaining 22% (8 % in Dubai.) With such a diverse expatriate population yet a small number of local citizens; Dubai is called the “Las Vegas of the Middle East…an Islamic Vegas.”
Dubai/UAE has a 2006/2007 GDP PPP of $49,700. With this large expatriate population and the abundance of wealth, there is a natural tendency for prostitutes to flock to the UAE. Most are lured into the area by unscrupulous agents but become trapped due to high demand. After the fall of the former Soviet Union and the opening of China to tourist these agents have become attracted by this Dubai wealth and find the easiest method of obtaining it through the use of women.
J.C. Butler, an American entrepreneur living in Dubai, explains the opportunities best. Starting his business Dubizzle.com he talks with IBO event manager Shaz Sheibani who says; “Dubai…because its so new and developing it lets you go out and experiment and take risks, where as everywhere else in the world is so saturated, a thousand other people are doing the same thing.”
It is new to the sex trade as well and these immoral individuals find the financial attraction the same as any software engineer or business idealist. The female victims are lured by this knowledge of great opportunities too but quickly fall victim. Due to the closure of their respective societies for so many decades, the women are truly unaware of the traps being laid.
Recently the government has made some very public closures but arguably for cosmetic reasons. The most flamboyant, in your face locations like Cyclones have been closed after years of impunity but hundreds of other hotels, nightclubs and bars remain open. Armed with an ever increasing number of unsuspecting women from China, Russia and Eastern Europe and a growing population the nightly encounters increase throughout Dubai.
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