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When talking to flat-earthers giving them logical arguments and more information is pointless as they will keep brushing off info that contradicts their world-v

• apohn 4y ago
  >No one confiscates passports, it is a nonsense. Confiscate is probably too extreme a word, but when I lived in UAE many employers held onto (e.g. in the office safe) their employees passports. At some point I think the government realized this could be abused, and then there was an centralized office (at least in Jebel Ali, it was different in Abu Dhabi) where your employer asked you to have them hold your passport. To get your passport you had to get a letter from your employer saying it was okay for you to get it. Or, in my case, I left my job and got it back. Personally, I hated the fact that I had to ask my employer for my passport when I got accepted into Grad school in the US and had to tell my employer I needed it for a few days to get a visa. I never questioned the legality of it though, and according to this it's not legal for employers to force you to hand over your passport. https://gulfnews.com/uae/find-out-if-your-employer-is-authorised-to-withhold-your-passport-1.76097893 https://gulfnews.com/uae/find-out-if-your-employer-is-author... But like most legal things, when you are on a work visa you are scared of anything that might harm that. So you don't challenge or ask questions. It's pretty common for people on H1B to stay at an job they hate even though changing jobs on H1B is supposed to be easy. I certainly stayed at a bad job longer than I wanted to until my green card process hit a certain point. I think legally I could have changed earlier, but the company immigration attorney certainly gaslighted me on many things, and I was just too scared to take any risks with visa stuff. It's easy for a company to exploit that fear.
• lovich 4y ago
  I looked it up and found more than “the one case” where it occurred. Apparently it happened frequently enough the government took steps to explicitly outlaw it in 2002 which indicates it was a practice that affected more than the one case you’re downplaying it as. Admittedly this was 20 years ago and the government was taking steps to prevent it so I could believe the practice has mostly disappeared if given proof, but since we all know illegal behavior continues for a while after laws are enacted and enforced I’d still need to see that proof. You’re argument about this not being real sounds a lot like when my countrymen claim our legal system doesn’t enslave people despite it being explicitly carved out in the constitution to allow it and prisoners being forced to work. It’s uncomfortable to face the truths but just claiming it’s the same in the face of evidence doesn’t help
  • Aspos 4y ago
    Look, I spent a decade there, as an employee and as an employer. I know what UAE ministry of labor will do to a company in case if they get a single complaint but, hey, what arguments can I possibly find to change your mind? You will keep finding facts that support your point of view. Somebody with an agenda told you "Dubai slavery" long time ago and it is now easier for you to follow the narrative formed in your head. I get it, but the reality is different.
    • lovich 4y ago
      I looked up cases of the event, found multiple instances of it happening, and found evidence that the UAE government responded to the existence of the event happening which confirms from the government sources that it existed. I keep finding facts that support this view because the facts are still there. Why are you acting like this isn’t real at all? I even asked for some evidence that this is no longer occurring which I could believe given the UAE government has taken steps to combat it, but you just want to call people flat earthers. At this point the only one who seems to have an agenda is you and your attempts to shut down any conversation around the topic
      • Aspos 4y ago