The UAE’s global image as an oasis of dreams in the desert ignores the reality

I accidentally started watching Inside Dubai: Playground of the Rich the other night. It is one of those hypnotic TV programmes, which features a number of uninteresting, forgettable characters but somehow is still watchable.

The BBC show features several people chasing their dreams in the UAE, brunching in 5-star hotels, sunning on gorgeous beaches, and everywhere Instagramming their beautiful, gilded lives. “Dubai is the place where everybody wants to be,” says one of those interviewed.

Whether or not that is true, what it does show is the astonishing success Dubai – and the country it is part of, United Arab Emirates – has had in projecting itself to the world as an ultra-modern, welcoming, country – a high-rise, societal and political oasis in the desert. It is the place to go if you have dreams, and want a great all-year-round tan while doing so. UAE has built its global image in no small part by fostering a reputation as the most peaceful part of a troubled region.

Every now and then though, that reputation is put under risk.

While watching, I absent-mindedly flicked through news on my phone (bad habit, I know) and saw a story about how Houthis in Yemen had claimed responsibility for a drone attack on the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, which neighbours Dubai, and left three dead. The attack was apparently carried out for the UAE’s integral part in Yemen’s eight-year ruinous war which has left 130,000 dead and had huge humanitarian repercussions.

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It’s not the first attack to take place outside Yemen linked to the ongoing conflict but a drone attack on Abu Dhabi is something quite different. It shows the capabilities the Houthis have to bring the war closer to the UAE. It was also only one attack, but potentially one which, if repeated, could threaten the image the UAE has carefully cultivated over decades.

Monday’s attack was an intrusion of reality in the slightly unreal world that is the UAE. It was as much an attack against the country’s carefully constructed reputation, as a physical attack on Abu Dhabi. Despite the extravagantly-priced huge and expensive towers, the luxury marinas and even, according to the programme, real gold bathrooms, it showed the emirate, far from being a separate part of a turbulent region, is actually an integral part of it.

Yours,

David Harding

International editor