Gen Z, the TikTok tacticians who once turned “OK boomer” into a cultural coup, are now remixing their activism playlist with a sultry slogan twist: “Habibi, boycott Dubai!”—flipping UAE tourism jingles into a scathing diss track against the Gulf glam that’s allegedly bankrolling Sudan’s savage soundtrack. It all ignited when UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stormed el-Fasher in North Darfur last month, unleashing what Yale’s do-gooder lab calls a “Rwanda-style hyper-violence” fiesta, sending 36,000 souls scrambling like it’s Black Friday at a war zone outlet mall. Social media’s erupting faster than a Dubai fountain show: Greta Thunberg and Macklemore (who once axed his own UAE gig for solidarity) are retweeting rallying cries like, “Swap your sheikh selfies for Sudanese justice—there’s beaches elsewhere that don’t come with blood money baggage!” Emirates Airlines caught strays when a podcaster slapped back at their “This is how we do business” flex with a gut-punch pic of a terrified mom and kid under RSF shadows, racking up 18K shares and proving X is the new protest picket line. It’s peak Zoomer: Boycotting Burj Khalifa brunches not just for the vibes, but to spotlight how glitzy getaways might fund forgotten genocides. Macklemore nailed it last year—your concert cash could be concertina wire in Congo or Sudan. So, next vacay inspo? Ditch the desert dunes for destinations that don’t double as geopolitical plot devices. Gen Z’s serving shade with a side of substance, reminding us that wanderlust without a conscience is just expensive escapism.
Gen Z are calling for a boycott on travel to Dubai and the UAE – here’s why