Dubai in the eye of the storm

I woke up late today and was extremely annoyed by the fact that I wasted 4-5 good hours because of my laziness! And so, adamant on not wasting more I jumped into my jeans and left home in a rush. The outside world welcomed me with nice breeze, and I thought this is going be a good day! At least what is left of it.

As it turned out, that breeze was merely a strained gesture of hospitality from the city, because as I got into the car, I felt like I was put in a time machine and airborned to kuwaiti desert with sands attacking me from all directions! I gazed at the sky with a frown, and there were armies of black clouds masking the sun! I thought to myself, this doesn't look like dubai at all! And the sentence was vindicated by the absence of Burj Dubai from the horizon! Eclipsed by the sand crunch! This is not good for those beach goers!

However, for some reason my mind almost immediately fetched another crunch from my memories' database. I have to say that this word wasn't so popular with me, and I barely remember using it. The Credit Crunch Effect on Dubai feels almost similar to that of the sand storm! Sudden, unexpected, and without a timetable or a set of actions on the agenda! Just chaotic. More importantly both of them are creepy. Although an expact, you can not help but to be afraid that something wrong is going to happen for this city. A lot of things have been eclipsed, but there is nothing to confirm it. Recently, a company CAME OUT!. Yes, I'm using the same term because it is a similar TABOO! Damac fired 200 employees! And this is the first bite. Some rumors are circulating about Nakheel doing the same.

Dubai is a wonderful city, no matter our complains about traffic and prices and artificiality! Seriously, what did egyptians get from Cairo's authenticity?? The matter of the fact is that this city offers endless opportunities and experiences to its residents. Granted, it's not perfect. But so is every other city.

I expect other developers like Nakheel and Emaar to follow suit and start downsizing. We'll feel the heat for awhile. But I have a feeling this city is going to bounce back again. We will see the benefits of the diversified economy.

Who knows, maybe all of this is gentle reminder for Dubai that she needs to take it easy, and give herself time to grow. Afterall, God created Heaven and Earth in seven days.