I've been living in Dubai for a while now, and there's something I've increasingly noticed that genuinely bothers me: the casual prejudice towards South Asians and how normalised it seems to have become.

Whether it's scrolling through TikTok and seeing some Arabs mock each other by calling someone "Indian," as though it's an insult, or witnessing subtle stereotypes in everyday interactions, it makes me wonder why certain nationalities are treated as inherently less sophisticated than others.

Today, I experienced something similar at Barry's, a well-known premium fitness studio. While a trainer was explaining how the workouts operate, he randomly asked where I was from. When I told him Pakistan, he responded with a smirk, "Your accent doesn't sound Pakistani."

I immediately called him out and asked whether he would make the same comment to a white European. He apologised, but only after I called him out.

What bothered me wasn't the question about my nationality. It was the assumption behind his reaction. What exactly is a Pakistani supposed to sound like, and why should my accent surprise anyone?

It also made me question something broader: Why are South Asian accents so frequently stereotyped or ridiculed, while British, Italian, Spanish or other accents are often perceived as charming or sophisticated?

Everyone has an accent. English isn't the first language of many Europeans or GCC nationals either, so why are South Asians so often singled out?

I genuinely wonder why, in a city built on diversity, we still struggle to treat that diversity with equal respect.

What do you think of the coming days here is gonna be like? How do you plan to survive while expenses are skyrocketing but income ain't?

Source: Reuters.

I have been living here for 22 years. For some reason, nothing great/good came in my life living here.

Tried multiple things. From a blue collar job to a finance department in an MNC. Something never worked out well with me.
Everyone tells me this is home and blah blah . But never worked as home for me. Not for fortunate/unfortunate reason.
If you had a place to restart your life, where you could live without boundaries, without trying to explain how your life is moving ahead, where would it be ?
Maybe this country has potential in building a future, I don’t think I wanna wait any longer.

What would you do ? Where would you go next?

When did the price increase to 3 AED.

Things are getting so expensive, it’s becoming impossible to survive. Used to have it once in a while but looking at the prices it’s getting crazy.

I know a lot of people will say it’s just 1 AED, what’s the big deal. But these small numbers do add up.

Hi anyone working on binance as p2p merchant, i have been into forex trading so sometimes i have big chunk into my binance so i was thinking about to start p2p merchant business as well. Kindly guide me pros and cons of this business i am based in uae

Thanks

HELLO… everybody

Ugh i feel so embarrassed to be like this in reddit but i tried going to the shop and givibg out the survey but i was too shy. Would you guys be so kind to do this survey about VOX Cinema’s experiences… PLEASEEE like i know this no reddit abd studf PLEASEEEEEEEEEE HAVE MERCY ON A POOR SHY SOUL.

https://forms.gle/oNjwWmdRhVeiwcUe9

If you would be so kind

I am not from there and I’m browsing around UAE indeed for job

I think it’s not enough right?

How's the situation for transit visa for Pakistanis for Abu Dhabi these days? I'm travelling through Etihad and wanted to use their free stopover service.

Context: Student in South Korea travelling through a booked round trip from Seoul to Pakistan.

The foul odor has woken me up around 4 it was so pungent

Hey peeps!

I’m usually stressed out, and my coping mechanism is eating chips and stuff.

What do you guys do when you’re stressed? Give me some ideas because I can’t keep eating my way through life.

Please delete if not allowed.

I wanna buy watches and colognes. I hear there are great deals in Dubai, but I can't travel there right now.

Where do you recommend I shop? I don't mind fake watches as long as they're decent quality (I'm looking at budget brands like Fossil, Timex & Casio), but I want genuine Burberry and Gucci colognes.

Juicy deals. Thank you for the recommendations.

Bro, I just wanted to open a tiny battery pack, not unlock a secret military weapon. 😭

This packaging is tougher than a bank vault. I tried my nails, scissors, and every tool available, and this thing still refuses to surrender.

At this point, even Hulk would be standing there confused, looking at his hands and asking, “HULK SMASH… BUT HOW OPEN?” 💀

WHY DOES A BATTERY NEED MORE SECURITY THAN A NUCLEAR LAUNCH CODE? 😂

I swear, the battery will probably die of old age before I manage to get it out.

Has anyone else fought a battery package and lost their dignity in the process? 🤣

I want to share my experience with Talabat because this is not the first time I've had problems with incorrect orders and unresolved complaints.

My latest order was from Talabat Mart, Talabat's own store. I received the wrong item despite giving clear instructions. An agent called me at around 7 a.m. and agreed that the order would be cancelled. However, it was not cancelled, I received no refund or exchange, and nobody followed up with a call.

I've spoken to three agents and spent almost 90 minutes trying to get this resolved. Instead of fixing the problem, Talabat repeatedly closes my complaint tickets without checking with me or confirming that anything has been resolved. I have to reopen the case and explain everything again.

They also issued an unsolicited AED 15 voucher, which does not cover the amount in question. A voucher is not a refund.

I pay a monthly fee for Talabat Pro, yet I see no meaningful benefit when something goes wrong. I'm losing money and wasting hours dealing with ineffective customer service over an order from Talabat's own store.

Has anyone else experienced repeated ticket closures and unresolved refunds with Talabat in the UAE? Were you able to get your money back, and did escalating the complaint to consumer protection help?

Im 21F Expat sponsored by my father's visa. He's threatening/abusing and forcing me for marriage & not letting me study or even do a job. He's scared that if i do a job then I'll change my sponsor and he'll lose his controls.

So basically now i want to leave my home and go somewhere rent a partition and also cancel this visa so that in the grace period i can get a job.

He'll not letme do all this so can i complain to police or get their help? Can i take protection from police when I'll leave the home? Will they help in cancelling this visa?

Please give me advice.

Yesterday, a Pakistani guy approached me in Meena Bazaar, asking to use my phone because he was lost and wanted to contact his friend. I refused, saying I wasn't comfortable sharing my number. He then asked for my hotspot, which I also declined.
Next, he asked for AED 1 to buy water. Feeling bad for him, I opened my wallet and gave him AED 5. He started praying for me, we shook hands, and I left.
Later, I discovered that the AED 500 note I had folded and kept inside my wallet was missing. I clearly remember having it, and I can't recall anything suspicious happening. I also felt there was enough distance between us for him not to reach my wallet.
I've replayed the whole encounter in my head, but | still can't figure out what happened.
Has anyone experienced something similar in Dubai?
Could this have been a distraction scam, or did I simply misplace the note?

I am looking to buy good quality honey that is natural and not sweetened directly or indirectly. I would prefer it to be from smaller farms rather than large chains/names. I don’t mind sourcing it from outside. Any suggestions?

Has anyone ever used pet insurance in the uae? And is it worth getting?

Dear Gymnation,

Thank you for all the support that you have shown towards my subscription of your membership. I am not justifying my action here but there has to be some rules and laws to protect the users right ? While joining i was offered a package to good to be true and I simply put my apple pay. Due to some reasons I had to shift to a much more farther location but still I was paying because the amount was not that big but after 3 months suddenly the fees doubled. I was still paying again but I tried to cancel and everytime they asked me to pay the upcoming month then some weird account team will contact me for my cancellation and they would ask 100s of questions along with justifications. Fast forward to 9 months of payments I cancelled my card because I lost my job due to war situations and could not afford another extra dime. Explained the situation to gymnation team again and same robotic answer pay the upcoming month then we will transfer to cancellation team. OK another 2 month paid. So now its 11 months paid out of 12 months contract and mind you I have used their facility only for 2 months and since I did not read the offer conditions I am paying extra for last 8 months. Since offer was valid for only 3 months.

Now my message to gymnation i will not pay the last month and never going to cancel my membership please continue to charge me until I am alive and if ever you decide to goto court because I am seriously not afraid of your internal threats, lets fight this in court of law. And I will make sure you loose not the case but definitely your reputation as a subscription based provider in UAE.

Hi fam,

My wife is onto something and needs some first hand data for a research. Basic questions and will take about a minute.

Appreciate it if you could fill this anonymous survey🙏

https://forms.gle/p4x9g8ucxeUCeP9v6

Cheers