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?

British immigrants to Dubai must be used to "bad taste", they have it in spades!

Well UK is directly responsible for many of these conflicts because of its colonial policies and divisions like Balfour line or India/Pakistan partition, let alone things like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria…

And crucially the 1953 overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh, democratically elected leader of Iran which DIRECTLY led to Khomeini and present situation.

so can’t stay in the UK either. UK and US actually caused what’s happening.

Bottom line is and you ve said this before, Trump promised no more wars (one reason you voted for him) and Iran is of no direct threat to the US.

Perhaps this war is to divert from the Epstein files? where he seems to be very heavily implicated.

He cannot deflect into Ukraine because he is in thrall to Putin, again Epstein related?

Not if you're gay!

English translation from the Quoran - elsewhere it also allows the husband’s brother to “maintain” the wife if he dies. So not utter rubbish at all.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an(1934):
Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) strike them; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all)

It’s got everything to do with it. So many posts across so very many threads bleating “they don’t pay tax here in the UK so they shouldn’t get public funds to bring them back!”

Many people seem to simply not give much thought to where they are going.

There is another thread with someone who is moving her family to Dubai in four weeks so presumably it's been in the planning for a while - she's only just looked at a map and realised how close it is to Iran.

And there was a recent thread from someone who had booked a last-minute holiday to Qatar at the start of Ramadan, and was wondering why the waterparks were closed.

Ukraine has less strategic value than Iran (to
the US anyway). Of course I’d rather not have the US engage, but I can understand why you’d choose Iran over Russia—Russia can actually hit the US mainland. It’s much, much higher risk.

So Europe needs to take care of it, not that you will.

It's a country full of normal human beings, mostly there because there are opportunities far beyond those of their home countries. The whole glitzy influencer thing is a tiny tiny aspect of the overall population, and even they don't deserve to be bombed.
The UAE is also the victim of the aggression.

https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/2028375773845893427

Ireland is cool 😎

If true, this honestly baffles me. I get people have different areas of knowledge but how can you visit somewhere, and have no idea what country you're in?!
It's like someone visiting say Paris and going " I didn't know I was in France."
Or London - "didn't know it was the UK."
I mean, what?!

Slightly side topic - but where have you read this quote about child marriage in the US? I'm not doubting you, I just can't find anything on this.

I wouldn't really know the names of the other Emirates, but I sure as hell would want to know what country I was in!
Why would someone book Umm Al Quwain for a holiday and not find out what country it's in?
It's in a country, it's not a random theme park 😕

There's a big difference between knowing the name of the place you are going to and knowing what country it's in, what the laws are there, what the political situation is, human rights record, dominant religion, history, geography etc etc. It's not exactly breaking news that many people know next to nothing about any of that when they book a holiday because it's not what they're interested in. They look at what's available for the dates they can travel and what they can pay and their essential criteria are things like sun, sand, pool, AI or self-catering, kids' club, sports and leisure facilities, nice food, everybody speaks English, length of flight. They could end up anywhere. From time to time that's going to lead to nasty surprises. It's usually breaking a law the tourist never knew existed because it's different from home. At the moment it's finding themselves on the fringes of all out war in the Middle East.

I had a 2 day stopover each way in Dubai a couple of years ago and was very pleasantly surprised, loved it. Felt very safe.

Seoul is a great place to visit - but yes, there are cabinets with gas masks in the city's major metro stations (just in case something nasty crosses the border). But to be really honest, if the North ever makes such a move, I think we'd all be pretty screwed as it would be much worse than China taking over Taiwan.

Yep, I have a fairly decent broad knowledge of the world and politics but I in no way claim expertise unlike everyone else on this thread, apparently.
I will also admit to engaging with geopolitics and world events in a way that protects my mental health first and foremost, I’m amazed by how many people seem to sustain such high levels of outrage about everything in the world without burning themselves out

Cyprus has nothing to do with the bloody Gaza conflict. Did people stop going to Greece or Italy during the Yugoslav war? No.

I'm with you OP. I think we're forgotten or lost our caution/healthy fear response/instinct. My DS is big into EDM. Israel is a big player in EDM and hosts some of the biggest names for raves etc. She was saying that she was going to head over there with our cousin to some event and they were looking into logistics etc. I was like are you fucking insane? This one event in particular was really close to the border and I effectively banned her from going! (Not really, but I did pull them back from solidifying their plans). 5 weeks later Oct 7th happened - it wasn't the event they were planning on attending (they weren't in reality going to be able to get out there for another year) but it drove home my point. This part of the world is not stable. Open your eyes. It's like the kids in the Swiss ski resort fire filming instead of running - we're so removed from danger behind our screens and Hollywood and Disney, we've lost natural survival instincts. Me too, by the way.

Sold to us by whom and for what reason? If you’re going to travel, be an adult and always make your own assessment of the risks.

Seems fair

I think people freak out due to proximity and the UK bases making it feel more like a target (also think many people don't realise how many UK or American bases there are across Europe!)

Agree its a different country but think Cyprus will see a downturn. They also have a lot of tourists from Israel with airspace shut think they will feel it unfortunately.

We will probably try and get a deal in October there as a result though and have loved visiting it. Its way too hot in summer for us.

But Dubai is an emirate, with a city in said emirate also called Dubai. It's not the same as someone not knowing that Paris is in France at all. I can see how someone might think that Dubai is a country, especially considering that five of the seven emirates are places the vast majority will never have heard of. Abu Dhabi is the other emirate that's well-known, but I can totally see how some people think that Abu Dhabi and Dubai are two countries. Maybe some people even take it that emirate is the local word for country.

I know Akrotiri is a possible target but to be fair the comment I picked up on didn’t even reference safety concerns. I went last June on my own and I felt safe at all times.

Let's face it, the majority of people who enjoy Dubai most probably couldn't point it out on a map or Paris or Rome or Vienna etc