Anyone living in Dubai — thoughts on Sheikha Latifa documentary

[Brocade]

Having just watched the BBC documentary ‘Escape from Dubai’ (just now, BBC2), about Sheikha Latifa’s escape attempts, I wondered what, if anything, people were saying on the ground in Dubai.

Nothing from Sheikh Mo officially in response, and nothing I can see in the UAE newspapers, not surprisingly, but I remember the rumours about royal disappearances, house arrests and punishments when I lived there, and I followed the few stories in the UK press about the escape attempts of Shamsa subsequently.

I just wondered what the bush telegraph was saying locally these days.

I haven't watched this programme I am going to try and find it.
When I worked in a racing yard we had a lot of horses that belonged to his son Sheikh Rasheed.
There were always rumours about his bad behaviour and when he hadn't been seen for a long time I heard he was put on house arrest by his father for shooting one of his body guards.
He died of a heart attack when he was only about 33 I think.

UK infamously the playground for the oil brat sons in summer, supercars littering the roads of Mayfair and Knightsbridge being the least of it. There will be countless stories but it's very unlikely many will appear here.

Most people don't talk about it, but among the locals it is well known that mental illness runs in the Al Maktoum family. He already lost a son to the effects. So take everything you hear in the foreign press with a grain of salt. And that's all I will say about that.

There are maxi dresses and there are maxi dresses and anyone living in this part of the world has probably seen their fair share of women in maxi dresses who haven't understood the need to wear an underskirt with it if the fabric is thin or see through, especially if you have a thong on underneath.

Underskirt my arse. Archaic laws are the problem, not how women dress.

among the locals it is well known that mental illness runs in the Al Maktoum family.

Probably from marrying family members.

Yes, long, no reason why not.

It’s possible that those girls are unmarried because they are ‘rebellious’ — matches are family affairs, often to cousins or allied families. It’s possible they were resisting that, or were simply seen as a troublesome match by potential husbands’ families. Not that it’s really possible to get a clear sense of who is married to who, even with Sheikh Mohammed, who has a senior wife, his cousin, Sheikha Hind (12 children) , and a junior ‘public’ wife, the Jordanian Princess Haya (2children), but has been married to several other non-Emirati women and had children with them (23 in total) — It seems to be thought that he remains married also to Latifa and Shamsa’s mother, who is Algerian.

No wives but Haya ever appear in public with Sheikh Mo, or are photographed. The norm would be for the children of each wife to live in their mother’s household until they marry. Only Sheikha Hind and her children live in the official Za’abeel Palace, the others have separate households. So under normal circumstances, they would live with their mother, anyway.

None of the information or lack there of surprises me. I used to visit regularly, and now I ask why I ever did. I certainly would never visit again, nor do I understand why anyone would want to go for a holiday and especially want to live there from coming from a western society, the extra money really isnt worth the risk imho.

nor do I understand why anyone would want to go for a holiday

Obsolutely - never appealed to me on so many levels. I have been to some places in North Africa/Middle East but Dubai just leaves me cold. All those huge buildings built on basically slave labour and oh how modern we are (Though we think women are a sub human species).

So under normal circumstances, they would live with their mother, anyway.

Yes. Also, they are targets for kidnapping/extortion, etc. She complained about living in a gilded prison, but that is very much the norm for members of royal families everywhere. I can't imagine a member of the British Royal Family being able to just run away with no security or oversight.

Hulks I thought the same as you. For that reason the safety of Royal family members would come under the banner of national security. Imagine if a daughter of Sheikh Maktoum were to be kidnapped (there’s a lot going on in the region currently) it would place them in a weakened position nationally and politically putting aside personal feelings of family.

So take everything you hear in the foreign press with a grain of salt. And that's all I will say about that

I doubt you’d be believed anyway.

Given the sophisticated surveillance and intelligence methods available today, do you think mn could be hacked and posters email addresses discovered?
I know mn isn’t exactly the front page of a national newspaper but a ruthless and powerful family might object even to criticism on an Internet forum.
The Soviet surveillance was extremely sophisticated and that was before the internet and mobile phones etc.

Most people don't talk about it, but among the locals it is well known that mental illness runs in the Al Maktoum family. He already lost a son to the effects. So take everything you hear in the foreign press with a grain of salt. And that's all I will say about that.

Well, that's really why I was asking, Hulk -- I heard stuff locally when I was living in Dubai which never appeared in the media, and wondered what, if any, mutterings were doing the rounds now about the Latifa documentary, as I'm no longer much in touch with anyone still living there.

I wasn't aware of the MH rumours, for instance. Do you mean Rashid?

Imagine if a daughter of Sheikh Maktoum were to be kidnapped (there’s a lot going on in the region currently)

Well, when several lower members of the Qatari Royal family were kidnapped in 2011 it led to over $1billion in ransom (all of which went to pro-Assad terrorist groups in Syria) and was a major factor in the blockade against the country. I can't imagine the fall out of a daughter of Sheikh Mohammed's being kidnapped, probably raped and forcibly married, would be.

I wasn't aware of the MH rumours, for instance. Do you mean Rashid?

He's one. He self medicated quite a lot. I'm sure you heard about that.

Can’t believe she contacted her family before she was ..really .safe
Sealed her fate didn’t she.

My ex h went to live there when our marriage went pear shaped...what a relief for me...no more torture from him.

He loved it there.

He self medicated quite a lot. I'm sure you heard about that.

Indeed, but I tended to assume the episodes were the result of the drug addiction, rather than the other way around? Not that it's clear-cut, either way, I imagine.

Like Sheikh Issa in AD -- hard to imagine him someone who is generally stable and mentally well. Even before the torture tape was leaked, it was noticeable that he had no government position at all. I have no idea whether, since he was 'cleared', he's seen in public at all.

Well, when several lower members of the Qatari Royal family were kidnapped in 2011 it led to over $1billion in ransom (all of which went to pro-Assad terrorist groups in Syria) and was a major factor in the blockade against the country. I can't imagine the fall out of a daughter of Sheikh Mohammed's being kidnapped, probably raped and forcibly married, would be.

Agreed. I do think that none of the younger generation of Emirati royals has any real idea at all about the outside world and its risks -- they really have grown up in a bubble, with very limited experiences and education, and precious few practical skills. I was half-amused that apparently Sheika Shamsa spent some time living in Elephant and Castle while she was on the run.

It's not to think their current situations are fine to suggest that it's possible that 'freedom' with no money, and without the practical skills r ability to take instruction to hold down even the most undemanding minimum wage job, might have palled on the princesses.

Can’t believe she contacted her family before she was ..really .safe
Sealed her fate didn’t she

It was doomed to failure from the start. One stupid move after another and if it wasn’t so serious it would make a good film starring Mr Bean in the role of Herve.

I agree, Polly. No, obviously it's not funny, but it says a lot about how sheltered and clueless Latifa was that contacting a fairly dubious French absconder who ran away from the wreck of his recreational submarine company in diving gear and an abaya seemed to her the best way to try to escape. He did not seem a credible figure on the documentary, whereas I thought her Finnish friend seemed far too savvy to have gone along with such an unlikely plan.

I did wonder too how they crossed the Omani border to put to sea, as they would have needed passports to cross at a border post, unless they crossed in the desert, but even then the UAE put up a lot of walls across the remoter bits to clamp down on immigrants and smuggling.

No one has mentioned money, either -- I assume Latifa offered HJ money to help her, given the risks and expenses involved.

I watched it last night. She said she and 400,000 to use to get away.

I'm sure she will likely live a life drugged like her sister now. Her version of the beatings she got then locked up for three years when previously attempting to escape was horrifying. What seems evident is he doesn't really care much for the safety and well being of them at all and it's the National security risk her running away would cause with the risk of her being kidnapped and him bribed is more important. She knew she'd end up like her sister drugged and locked up and that's why she wanted to die on the boat instead.

I did wonder too how they crossed the Omani border to put to sea, as they would have needed passports to cross at a border post, unless they crossed in the desert, but even then the UAE put up a lot of walls across the remoter bits to clamp down on immigrants and smuggling

They made the normal border crossing and were picked up by someone who’s name I won’t mention as he’s now in his home country and getting his life back on track. It’s assume locally, perhaps wrongly, that he’s no longer with his longterm partner because of the fallout from their involvement in the plan.

I watched this today & felt so sad for her & her sister. To have taken such risks to escape shows how desperately unhappy they are

I've just watched this and found it so sad.
Why did she take her phone with her?
The crew obviously didn't know they were so at risk, I found that very uncomfortable.
And I can't understand why she didn't contact the Charities before paying the French guy.
She was doomed from the start, those poor women.

I've just watched this on catch up, having forgotten to record it.

Very sad. I don't suppose we will ever find out what happened to her.

I wouldn't go to Dubai if you paid me.