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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To wonder if these anti Dubai story's are real

55 replies

Ieatcake · 10/01/2018 08:21

Like www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5252417/Estate-agent-jailed-Dubai-sending-WhatsApp-message.html#article-5252417

You can tell the story from the address. They come regularly but there always seems to be a bit more to them that isn't mentioned. Is there a anti Dubai agenda?

OP posts:

Leilaniiii · 10/01/2018 08:26

There are lots of weird and not so wonderful rules in Dubai that don’t make sense to the outside world. You are right, there is often a backstory, however it is well-known that you can be prosecuted for criticizing somebody in a text, FB Post, etc. And the penalties are severe.

I love Dubai and lived there for years. You get used to the rules very quickly or learn the hard way.

Idontdowindows · 10/01/2018 08:27

I lived in a country where saying " isn't a looker, is he?" could get you arrested and thrown in jail, so I can totally believe it :)

cricketqueen · 10/01/2018 08:32

I wouldn't say they were made up although I could imagine they are embellished. A lot of people don't seem to realise that Dubai is a place with rules that are a lot different to the UK for example. They seem to see Dubai as a wonderful place where they can live a life of luxury etc. They don't observe the laws and then moan that they are arrested etc. I don't agree with some of the laws but you have to obey the laws even if they do seem wacky.
I wouldn't personally live in Dubai and know a few people that have moved back from there as they didn't like it. I don't think the papers necessarily have an agenda just they like a good story that seems shocking to UK residents.

NotBadConsidering · 10/01/2018 08:38

This is why I am anti-Alexa as I posted yesterday. We are so lucky we have freedoms such as freedom of speech and privacy, many other countries don't. At the moment Alexa gives your personal information to a company that doesn't pay tax and people seem to be ok with that, but history and other countries' practices show it could easily be abused by others such as government.

OuaisMaisBon · 10/01/2018 08:52

Some people who go to live in Dubai, or even just visit it, seem to think it's just like home but in the desert. They don't appear to be aware of, or understand the meaning of, the old adage: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

KenAdams · 10/01/2018 08:55

I don't want to comply with their rules and don't agree with their treatment of women and extensive use of slave labour so I just won't go.

UnitedKungdom · 10/01/2018 08:58

I think with tech progress the compromise is personal information. I'm okay with that trade off. But you should hear my mum and her friends ranting about google stealing their info and sending them (relevant) content, they're terrified! 😂

Original poster

Ieatcake · 10/01/2018 09:04

But you should hear my mum and her friends ranting about google stealing their info and sending them (relevant) content, they're terrified!

Because worrying about a private company with a lack of ethics compiling detailed information on people is just fine?

OP posts:

CrazyExIngenue · 10/01/2018 09:10

Hmmm, I live in Dubai and I'm very aware of the cyber laws, I find it hard to believe that that WhatsApp is what sent him to jail. I suspect there were a couple of others with copious amounts of curse words.

Leilaniiii · 10/01/2018 09:15

I don't want to comply with their rules and don't agree with their treatment of women and extensive use of slave labour so I just won't go.

Oh gawd, here we go again. Another ignorant person who knows nothing about Dubai expecting us to give a fuck that they never want to go there.

Aeroflotgirl · 10/01/2018 09:19

I have heard so many scary stories in the media about Dubai, even though its very beautiful country from what I have seen, I would not want to go there. A guy was arrested and thrown in jail, for brushing past a man. On a Watchdog programme, a guy was thrown in jail for using a Scottish £20 note, which is legal tender in the UK. The way he was treated was totally unacceptable and heavy handed, that has put me right off.

Aeroflotgirl · 10/01/2018 09:19

This is really going to damage their tourism as people will not want to go there.

HamishBamish · 10/01/2018 09:19

It certainly makes sense to be aware of the local laws whichever country you visit. I know a lot of people who love Dubai and holiday there regularly with no issues. It's not somewhere I would want to move to work (mostly because of the heat), but I can see the attraction.

Original poster

Ieatcake · 10/01/2018 09:24

That Scottish guy did alot more than just brush a guy...

I do wonder if the duabi tourism industry cut ads and this is a good way to get back at them and do tabloid stories with key information missing

OP posts:

CrazyExIngenue · 10/01/2018 09:26

A guy was arrested and thrown in jail, for brushing past a man.

According to the guy he "brushed past" (whose story, funny enough, was never told in UK papers), he actually knocked his drink and then proceeded to flip him off, which is illegal in Dubai and EVERYONE knows it.

Skadespelerskorna · 10/01/2018 09:29

I've looked up their rules etc and dont think its somewhere I would feel comfortable. What I've read seems to suggest that it's illegal for unmarried couples of opposite sex to share rooms/private space together etc, however that hotels etc are unlikely to enforce this and plenty of unmarried couples are in Dubai. But I can't find anything black/white that states whether it's fine for non-residents or only applies if xyz? It just seems like a bit of a potential minefield.

Totally ready to be told I'm ignorant but I'm not willingly ignorant, just confused by seemingly conflicting info. Anybody help who knows the place better?

Thankfully, it's too hot for me there anyway. I'd prefer Norway

SilverySurfer · 10/01/2018 09:32

Leilaniiii
I don't want to comply with their rules and don't agree with their treatment of women and extensive use of slave labour so I just wont go.

Oh gawd, here we go again. Another ignorant person who knows nothing about Dubai expecting us to give a fuck that they never want to go there.

So are you suggesting that neither of these issues exist in Dubai? KenAdams sounds far from ignorant to me.

Leilaniiii · 10/01/2018 09:36

There is inequality everywhere, all over the world. 'Slaves' who work in Dubai for a few years go home and build a house and are set up for life. And women are treated well in Dubai, it's not Saudi FFS.

Leilaniiii · 10/01/2018 09:37

Skadespelerskorna, it is illegal for couples to cohabit and illegal for non-related males and females to live together. However, different rules seem to apply for tourists.

MozzchopsThirty · 10/01/2018 09:42

I love Dubai

But like anywhere else in the world you need to be respectful of local custom and act accordingly.
I stayed there with ex boyf, we weren't affectionate in public or by the pool etc
I dressed moderately to go to the pool so as not to offend anyone in the elevator.

Also been there as women travelling alone, again no problems and actually felt very safe.

I don't believe stories where people 'are thrown in jail for using a Scottish £20 note' 🙄 I imagine there was much more to it than that!

It's a lot more tolerant than Abu Dhabi, Oman etc where rules are more enforced

CrazyExIngenue · 10/01/2018 09:42

It's illegal to live or co-habit outside of marriage. However, it's rarely enforced against Non-Muslim couples unless you do something incredibly stupid.

VileyRose · 10/01/2018 09:43

I believe them. I think we live in a bubble that forget what goes on and what others live by is like. I wouldn't go to anywhere in the middle East personally.

Fionne · 10/01/2018 09:44

*oday 09:10 CrazyExIngenue

I also suspect The kind of insult we know won’t be tolerated.

And I think the car dealer will also be under investigation and his business under scrutiny.

I think what people don’t realise is that if you want someone prosecuted and you’ve also broken the law you have to agree to also being prosecuted.

SandLand · 10/01/2018 09:44

Aeroflotgirl I believe the issue was it was a counterfeit note, not the fact it was Scottish.
I think the stories are based on truth, but have some facts omitted which make the story more scandalous than the reality.

Fionne · 10/01/2018 09:45

Oman etc where rules are more enforced

That’s not true

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