It’s the great escape by Indians who’ve hit the dead-end in Dubai .
Local police have found at least 3,000 automobiles — sedans, SUVs, regulars — abandoned outside Dubai International Airport in the last four months. Police say most of the vehicles had keys in the ignition, a clear sign they were left behind by owners in a hurry to take flight.
The global economic crisis has brought Dubai ’s economic progress, mirrored by its soaring towers and luxurious resorts, to a stuttering halt. Several people have been laid off in the past months after the realty boom started unraveling.
On the night of December 31, 2008 alone more than 80 vehicles were found at the airport. “Sixty cars were seized on the first day of this year,” director general of Airport Security, Mohammed Bin Thani, told DNA over the phone. On the same day, deputy director of traffic, colonel Saif Mohair Al Mazroui, said they seized 22 cars abandoned at a prohibited area in the airport.
Faced with a cash crunch and a bleak future ahead, there were no goodbyes for the migrants — overwhelmingly South Asians, mostly Indians - just a quiet abandoning of the family car at the airport and other places.
While 2,500 vehicles have been found dumped in the past four months outside Terminal III, which caters to all global airlines, Terminal II, which is only used by Emirates Airlines, had 160 cars during the same period.
“The construction and real estate industry has been hit following the global slowdown and the direct fallout is that professionals working in the realty industry are rapidly losing their jobs,” said a senior media professional, in-charge of a realty supplement in Dubai . “In fact, my weekly real estate supplement usually had 60% advertisement and ran into 300-odd pages. In the last seven weeks, it’s down to 80 pages and with fewer advertisments,” he added.
Mumbai resident D Nair (name changed) had been living in a plush highrise in Sharjah for the past four years. However, the script went horribly wrong when his contract was terminated. Nair used all his credit cards to their maximum limit, shopping for people back home. He then discarded his Honda Accord before returning to India for good. Nair, who stays in a rented apartment in Navi Mumbai today, has a Rs15 lakh loan with a Dubai bank.
Another such victim of the meltdown said he bid goodbye to his car in a small bylane near the airport and hailed a cab. “I was scared because a number of us were doing the same and did not want to be questioned by the police. There was no way I could afford to pay the EMI of 1100 Dhirams for my Ford Focus,” he told DNA on condition of anonymity.
When contacted, the dealer for Asgar Ali cars in Sharjah said, “We are helpless and do not know how to tackle this issue. A large number of such owners are from Indian, Sri Lanka , Bangladesh and other South Asian countries.”
Source: N Raghuraman / DNA
All that's sad, however I didn't like reading about the one man in the story who maxed out his credit cards and then ran out on his debts. It's neither the merchants' nor the banks' fault that he lost his job. It was very bad for him to do this (a crime, in effect) and that makes it more difficult for other expatriates to obtain credit.
May God have mercy on these migrant people. But its true the story of the guy who used up his credit cards was so repulsive; he used it to shop for his people back home. Does he think the banks must pay just coz he's contract was terminated? He is thief! I hope this economic crisis end soon.
well sheikh Mo said the other day Dubai is basically out of the crisis, right?
How did so many people succeed in leaving the country... without paying their car loana? and were the Banks sleeping or what?
I think the only possible way is to ask for emergency leave, then drive to the airport, park your car, take a flight and then never ever get back again
Resident Permit holders in the UAE do not need an exit permit, so it's not a problem to leave the counntry at any time.
demmers, look at the date on the article!! it old news, man! so yes, what Sheikh Mohammed, may God protect him, said a fewe days ago is true! Thigns can only get better from now in Dubai
yes, the story is old. we have been assured today by Dubai Police CID Mr. Al Mansouri that " Those who say that expatriates are leaving the country because they can’t take care of their financial liabilities are wrong."
You can read it yourself in the Xpress: http://www.xpress4me.com/news/uae/dubai/20013055.html