Dubai/UAE - where did you think you were?

[WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing]

I’ll preface this by saying I wish the best for anyone out there, working or holidaying. I hope you are and remain safe.

but do people go there with next to no concern for where in the world it’s located? Do they pay no attention to news or the general geopolitical situation, it’s hnot exactly a secret.

are we really that dense that most people don’t look past the bling, the weather, the tax perks, the bloody influencers?

When it comes to Dubai, I don't think many people "think" at all.

I agree with you, do they research the culture, the politics, the treatment of women before they go?

I have heard (so this is anecdotal) that the drug dealers of Liverpool are making their home there now. Way to go!

Bored of the 'how they treat women' rhetoric. I personally don't like the bling etc but it's much safer than the UK.

Have you read the news today

How far do you go then? Plenty of people go to Turkey and that’s next to Syria, Egypt is next to Israel. Canada is next to America. The list goes on and on!

I’m pretty well informed generally but I have to admit my geography is fairly shit (all those years of doing V shaped valleys and cumulonimbus clouds at school but we never once looked at a bloody map!) so when I looked at Dubai on the map I said to DH “I didn’t realise it was THAT close to Iran”! It’s just not knowledge I had, even buried away somewhere because I’d never had cause to learn it

Agreed. It’s not anywhere near as binary as some people are making out.

I was there for three hours on a hub flight to somewhere MUCH more interesting

do not blame all of those affected by this

especially the indenturered labourers who build the place

I wouldn't travel to Turkey either, no. I would have serious safely concerns with Egypt and having traveled there as a child a month before the explosion in the Egyptian museum I sure as heck wouldn't take my kids there. My husband wanted to go to Cyprus last year until I made him look where it was on a map. I couldn't in good faith sot there drinking a cocktail whilst just over the water Gazans were being anilihated.

So yes, people do think about where in the world they holiday and if they don't id seriously worry about their cognitive abilities

Dubai, UAE in general, is very very safe. It is one of the draws for most people, not just the tax regime. The region in general is developing quickly and has an optimistic business environment. Moving there because you failed to anticipate Trump kicking off is hardly stupidity. Iran is hitting Cyprus - are you being similarly geopolitically smug about that?

What about the people passing through on connecting flights, the military, embassy staff, health workers.

Those on connecting flights I have even more sympathy for.

Iran has been an issue way longer than Trumps been in politics. Would I have booked a trip to Cyprus? No.

Yawn. Another Dubai bashing thread.

Rape and domestic violenceDomestic violence is legal in the UAE because Islam allows a husband to chastise or discipline his wife and minor children. Sadly, when women go to the police to report violence the police don’t always take claims seriously, because they are considered a private domestic matter. Wives are obligated to obey their husbands. Rape victims seeking support can be, and have been, charged with illicit sex – which is illegal and criminalized in the UAE. In this respect, women’s rights in the United Arab Emirates fall short of other cultures around the world.

https://www.expatica.com/ae/living/gov-law-admin/womens-rights-in-the-united-arab-emirates-71118/

Yes really boring .....

I went to Dubai a couple of years ago, spent half of it with my sister on our own (the rest with the rest of family) felt perfectly safe on our own walking around at night and getting the metro and taxis. A man got on the woman only carriage and was immediately told to move to the other carriage.

Felt much safer there than I do in some places in the UK.

What utter rubbish!

Genuine question - do people who think Dubai is safer than the UK know about their laws?

For example, I remember reading about a woman who was raped in Dubai who went to the police and was arrested and put in prison for three years for having "extra-marital sex" which is a crime there. Her attacker walked free because by the law there rape is not a crime unless it is witnessed by another man who testifies - it doesn't matter what the woman says.

How on earth do you feel safe somewhere with laws like that for women?

Oh look another Dubai bashing thread! 🙄

There was a thread on here earlier started by someone who is in the process of moving to Dubai but only today realised it's close to Iran.

I had been planning to go to uae end of the month, one of the reasons I chose it as I felt so safe there last time I went alone with my son. And the sunshine of course. I never thought Iran would bomb uae I assumed all Muslim countries would be safe. Naive I see now! Gutted I won’t be there spending time with my best friend who has his moved there

There's a thread on here where someone who is about to move to Dubai (not just for a holiday) says she didn't realise how close to Iran it was! Do people not look at a map before moving country?

but do people go there with next to no concern for where in the world it’s located? Do they pay no attention to news or the general geopolitical situation, it’s hnot exactly a secret.

They still wouldn’t have expected this though.

Yep. Tedious AF.

Unless you decide to snog your boyfriend in public then you’re thrown in jail!