Capital of the Superficial

Nothing is as it seems. Illusion is their means, and façade is their power. Humans are first and foremost storytellers, and expatriates tend to be the best at it. The ones in this book have colourful experiences, complex personalities, real struggles, astonishing resilience, big dreams, and in many cases, a remarkable grasp of reality. There is the German who came to the Middle East to hide from her past, the French housewife whose husband left her for a younger woman, but she managed to turn it all around and emerge stronger and happier than ever, the Slovak who traded herself for big promises that proved to be lies, the Filipina who wanted to kill herself after her nude pictures were posted online, the European man who has several wives, and the Pole who made a home in Arabia. Then, there are the locals who fight against corruption and the renowned intellectuals who resigned themselves to servitude and duplicity. Alongside these true stories, the book provides facts and analysis that should provoke cause for concern, because what happened in this oil rich state is being imitated in different countries worldwide. The book debunks the theory of rentier states, demonstrating that the oil wealth did not impede development or democracy in Gulf states. It provides an alternative perspective on human rights reports about Middle Eastern countries, suggesting that they are often misleading and, as a result, fail to resonate with local populations. This is a story of how a small, impoverished country was transformed almost overnight into a rich, powerful welfare state controlled by a few shrewd families. We see what happened to the people who found themselves wealthy all of a sudden. We also see how foreigners flocked from all corners of the world to work hard there, or to exploit others. How a system was created to serve the few at the expense of the many. How a society was brainwashed into accepting a thinly veiled caste system and a Big Brother rule.