An excellent and accurate article. I have been to the region on layovers during the past 15 years. Never felt totally secure there. I interviewed with FlyDubai last October. The company HR person was originally from Australia, the simulator evaluator a retired 777 UAL captain, and another person from Europe were present at the interview. I felt that I never got straight answers to my questions, nor would these people look you in the eye when responding to questions. There were many inconsistencies concerning terms and conditions between information e-mailed to me and the formal contract given to me upon my arrival at the hotel.

Some expats are very happy there, and some… well you can guess the rest. Before one goes there, notwithstanding the cultural differences, terms and conditions can be changed at the whim of the owners of the company without recourse… and you are always being monitored. Westerners will be tolerated at best, but not accepted.