Would you go to the UAE?

[Sleepdeprivedbadger23]

I’ve always had zero interest in a holiday in Dubai because it’s not my scene - I am more a European villa or active holiday person and not into designer gear so politely nod along if friends tell me about their Dubai holidays.

I also know the human and women’s rights etc are generally very poor. I’ve heard from relatives who have lived there for periods and they also found migrant workers in the hotels they were working in were treated really badly.

My in laws have now moved there. I’m not keen on visiting, but obviously DP wants to see his family.

Would you go for a visit to family? There’s lots of places I would rather not spend loads of time in (the US at the moment to be honest!) but if someone bought me a trip to NYC I would probably go…!

People often compromise where family (or friends) is concerned. Nothing new or unusual in that. “Let’s agree to disagree” kind of thing.

Those poor girls.

This is very much the exception, I know this because my husband worked for an international engineering company and although we have left there now, he continues to do work visits and works alongside / has ex-colleagues at most (if not all) of the multinationals. Things like this only really happen on "The Real Housewives of Dubai". It's a tiny, tiny corner of hideous expat life that includes a tiny, tiny proportion of the expat population. I can absolutely guarantee you that it is NOT normal. What you describe is highly illegal, definitely seen as immoral and your friend and her husband WILL be thrown out of the UAE, if they are lucky, more likely he will be thrown into jail and then out of the UAE if they are caught at one of these events. I would advise them to extricate themselves from those kind of people. Your friends are absolute horrors and the worst of humanity to even attend such a "party" and I would have nothing more to do with someone who attended an event where they were bringing in trafficed prostitutes. Serving alcohol at a private party is neither here nor there though and is allowed anyway. And whilst Muslims are not supposed to drink, I'm not religious and have several Muslim friends who do drink and I do not judge.

Also, "Wasta" really isn't a thing anymore and even their influential friends might find themselves falling foul of the law.

And if her husband were to hit her and she reported it to the police, they would arrest him. The police, despite myths and some anecdotal stories are, for the most part, absolutely excellent.

On holiday, no. I dont even like changing planes there. Visiting family - it would be as infrequent as I could manage.

I find it strange that a lot of people are so against holidaying in the UAE but will happily go to Turkey, who also has horrendous human rights / treatment of women, slave labour ect

Yes.
Whether I visit or not is not going to change their cultural beliefs.

Never been to Turkey either and no intention of ever visiting.

Not in this weather..only when the weather is comfortable for me to go.

dubai is extremely safe and a great place for a family holiday it’s so family friendly. There is lots for kids of all ages to do and it’s not just the glam designer shallow people who live or holiday there. All sorts of sports to try, water park, aquarium, desert safari. I felt so safe there alone with a baby compared to how I felt (pre baby) travelling on other Middle East and Asian counties

I agree and feels much less safe

Not true at all. Many Nepalis and Fillipinas are held in virtual slavery having been promised better conditions but basically enslaved after getting there.

Turkey is so much more interesting and beautiful and has lots to offer other than shopping malls and beaches though. Ditto Thailand.
I won't visit Dubai because it doesn't seem interesting to me. Have felt perfectly safe travelling solo in Turkey. I am not white.

That’s the same in most countries - money talks.

Dubai is just one Emirate in the UAE, if you do your research, and go to the right places (even in Dubai), the UAE is a beautiful, interesting and welcoming place. It's so very sad that it's only ever seen as malls and beaches, it is so much more! It really doesn't matter what colour or nationality you are.

No. Even if family there I wouldn’t feel safe and would not want to risk going there / being locked up or not coming back. Let alone what we know around human rights / women’s rights / LGBTQ+ rights. Never.

Just obey the law there.

Although I would go on holiday there and have done, I disagree with this comment. The workers are misold a dream and get into debts, then have their passports taken and live in hellish conditions and can be trapped there. Don’t misinform people.

I’m really pleased its so welcoming, if me and my family were to move there what welcome would we get as a two dad married couple with two children?

Given that you're in an relationship that wouldn't be considered legal/islamic in the UAE, it would probably be best out of respect for the customs of the UAE to not move there.

You can’t assume. Turkey’s on my shit list as well. (It’s quite long.)

I guess ' ethical travel' deserves its own thread, but then you would end up travelling only in Europe, Singapore and Japan, which seems quite restrictive and dull.

No I wouldn’t for all the reasons you’ve stated 🤷‍♀️

I’m not going to say that there are no abuses. But it’s actually illegal to take employee passports FYI

Probably the riskiest positions are domestics that are sponsored by families, as you can’t easily know what’s going on in a private household. But you are now required to give them a standard contract and register it with the government, so domestics should know their rights and can advocate for themselves through their embassy if a problem arises. This has been a positive move to address the above issue, and trying to get awareness about these contracts among domestic help is something to build toward

It is ofc far from perfect BUT it’s much better than it used to be. There’s a reason why most of Dubai is made up of migrant workers: the money is good and jobs are easily found through relatives or friends already there. So most are not going in blind.

If you want to go cruising it’s not an issue but you’ll not be welcomed as a family with children, that’s for sure. This gray area is more for single men or married men on the down low (sadly common)

If I visited a Muslim country. I'd follow their customs and act with modesty and refrain from PDA etc.