World

The Two Way Street

by Paul Conneally | October 5, 2008 at 01:57 am

262 views | 7 Recommendations | 5 comments

Lured by high tax free salaries westerners move to work in Dubai and similar locations.

Such moves are not a one-way deal. The attractive pay and luxury home require that you agree to live by the cultural mores and legal system of the host country. These are not always what some expect and it can be easy to fall foul of the law.

The same applies to visitors to our lands. Economic migrant, asylum seeker, tourist.

Headlines scream 'an immigration crisis' whilst governments bailout financial institutions.

Can we expect to have our cake and eat it?

Freedom's a two way street. Room for accommodation on both sides.

citizenship test

the difference between devon

and cornish cream teas

The Meadows is a gated enclave with a uniformed security guard and lush green landscaping, and Clare is a British expatriate wife whose husband is a contractor. To all intents, they're living what looks very much like the good life: there's a pool in the back garden, year-round sun, and in the living room Sky News is on.

'Oh yes, it looks good, doesn't it? But we've all made a pact with the devil to be here. You get the tax-free salary, but in return you have to give up all your rights. There's no accountability, no transparency, no rule of law. There's no legislative body. Very few employment rights. It looks like a modern country, but it takes more than a few skyscrapers to create one of those. Scratch the surface and it's a different story. And if you're a silly young girlie who gets into trouble, then forget it.'

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Alex Arthur (not verified)

at 04:09 on October 5th, 2008

Can you be more specific about rule of law and accountability...they must have policemen and "councillors" of some sort who administrate the business of daily life there?

duo

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:15 on October 5th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Thanks for this story.

Mary Neal
Website: http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

Paul Conneally

at 06:01 on October 5th, 2008

Mary - I have similar concerns about the treatment of mental health patients when it comes to the criminal justice system / health system interface. The two operate almost independent of each other at times - it's as though you are a criminal even though your actions might be symptoms of a mental health problem that needs treating in hospital. Here we have the national health system which I think makes things a little better as there is no notion of 'cost' via private hospitals/ambulances etc. The video - I only see it on YouTube and it downloads to REAL as a format that won't upload at NP - try rediting your video by saving it a lower resolution - maybe as avi or wmv file but smaller file - i think you should be able to uplaod it then.

Yes - Freedom is a two way street!