Escape from Dubai: The mystery of the missing princess

[SoulSaver]

I've just watched this on BBC 2 and it is shocking. It looks into the disappearance of Sheikha Latifa, daughter of Sheikh Mohammed, who hasn't been seen or heard of since March this year.

Even though we're aware of the human rights abuses carried out in the Gulf countries, especially against women, to see it demonstrated on a personal level like this really hits it home. The worst thing is that nothing can or will be done about it.

Very depressing for a Thursday night!

[IPromiseIWontBeNaughty]

They probably just don’t care Called

Everyone I know who’s been says oh it’s fine for the westerners - but that’s not really the point, is it?

[IPromiseIWontBeNaughty]

Apparently she’s been ‘found’

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/06/dubai-says-missing-princess-safe-home-attempted-escape/amp/

[BlueBertie]

Or this poor student that they tortured into confessing. Bloody awful country that won't be getting my holiday money.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/matthew-hedges-uae-uk-student-spying-dubai-prison-solitary-durham-univeristy-abu-dhabi-a8585891.html%3famp

[deepwatersolo]

Probably permanently knocked out by drugs the same way she has described happened to her sister for the past decade or more - as Latifa described in her youtube vid.

But, of course, the West will go along, as we always do, when it serves Western economic or geopolitical interests. Western values my arse. Our dear leaders should just fess up and publically acknowledge that our western values are profits, profits and profits. And the only beef they have with Putin is that he got in their way making profits by renationalizing Russian fossile fuels. They don’t give a shit about human rights in Russia, just like they don’t in Ukraine, the UAE, Saudi Arabia or anywhere else for that matter. This is all so absurd.

[BeanBagLady]

I don't know how anyone can live there, work for them, enable them.
It has been a major influence in my decision to go for an electric car.

We are always told on MN that we don't know what we are talking about by expats who live there.

And what a great experience it is, quality of life, living in the compounds, glitzy Dubai, beautiful desert.

I won't even change planes there.

[deepwatersolo]

Bean, I also avoid changing planes there, just like I avoid the Emirate airline, no matter how allegedly awesome the service.
No interest in a country that might lock me up for getting raped. None.

[MinesaBottle]

We stayed there overnight last year on the way back from Australia. I’ve never seen my husband so ill at ease as when we were walking around Jumeirah. He said last night while watching this programme that this would never have happened to a son of the sheikh and I reckon he’s right. Plus the way migrant workers are treated - the film of the royal beating and shooting towards an Afghan worker who was probably on about £1 a day was shocking.

We agreed we’re avoiding the UAE as a stopover in future (we go to Aus/NZ every couple of years).

I hope Latifa, and Shamsa, are ok but it doesn’t sound good.

[ScipioAfricanus]

I would never go on holiday there because of the abuse of women and exploitation of workers, but luckily I’ve never had any interest in it as a place anyway and tend silently to judge those who go there both for their ignorance of the way people are treated and for their boring holiday destination.

I had to stop there on a long haul flight a few years back and felt I was chosen for a body search as a single woman travelling with a child (though I am married). It was upsetting and I hated being in the gilded and even-soulless-for-an-airport airport. I will never choose a route which takes me through there again.

I had no idea about how the princesses had been treated until this was in the news this week. Absolutely appalling.

[Theswaggyotter]

Totally agree with the sentiments on this thread, the human rights abuses have been known of for years and I can’t understand why anyone would holiday there in knowledge of that. Plus it’s all so fake anyway. Built on lies, and the blood of the workers.
Their treatment of women is possibly the worst in the world. Horrific

[HestiaParthenos]

No interest in a country that might lock me up for getting raped. None.

My thoughts exactly.

I don't understand why any woman would support a country like that.

[Katvonblackdeath]

Just watched it

Disgusting

[Brocade]

Minesabottle, I don’t think that’s entirely true. There have long been rumours about disappearances, punishments, house arrests etc of male royals, too.

Sheikh Rashid (Latifa’s half-brother, I think — there are a lot of wives, so I get confused), who died, supposedly of a heart attack, a couple of years ago, but was apparently a drug addict who was removed from being Crown Prince for (leaked via Wikileaks) killing an assistant in a fit of steroid rage — not handed over to the authorities, but was not seen in public again for the last seven years of his life, references to him removed from the internet etc.

Obviously the big difference is that more latitude is allowed to sons in terms of bad behaviour, often outside the UAE.

[MinesaBottle]

I didn’t know that about Rashid - that’s horrific. It’s bloody frightening that even royal status won’t protect you in the UAE if you step out of line and do something to pull back the curtain on the PR image.

[AngryAttackKittens]

There are many other places with sunshine and beaches to go on holiday. Pick one of them instead. The people who work there as expats arguably kind of have to be there (though could of course refuse and get a different job if they're the from a wealthy country sort of expat), but nobody actually needs to go there on holiday.

There was a Saudi princess who was publicly executed for having a (probably never consummated) affair with a man, so although I hope Latifa is OK I'm not feeling very optimistic.

[BeanBagLady]

“The people who work there as expats arguably kind of have to be there “

Sorry, which European expats have to be there?

There is a big difference between them and the migrant labour used as domestic servants, construction workers, manual labourers etc.

[juneau]

It was horrific to watch wasn't it? Her older sister has been drugged and imprisoned by her father since 2000 as well!!! I have zero faith that anything can or will be done though. Human rights abuses are tolerated left and right by western governments in favour of keeping these despots on side. No one is prepared to sanction Saudi over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, the British govt has been aware of the older sister's plight for almost two decades and can't/won't actually do anything about it. Latifa was right that her only hope was to get out of Dubai, but now she's back there, even if she is still alive, no one can do anything to help.

[AngryAttackKittens]

In the sense that if the company you work for transfers you then your choices might be say OK or quit. Which although not much of an excuse is a better one than "it looked very shiny and there were big hotels with poolside drinks service".

[juneau]

I would never set foot in any of the UAE and cannot understand anyone who blithely goes there on holiday. Fucking horrible place, built with the blood of slaves, where woman are chattels and tourists can be locked up for years for kissing in public, wearing or saying the wrong thing.

[MrsGollach]

Thanks for highlighting this documentary. I watched it last night on catch-up. So much evilness and so unbelievably sad in this day and age.

Her father has a "good" reputation in Dubai so obviously has a great PR team working for him.

[Brocade]

MrsGrollach, it’s less that he’s got good PR than that there isn’t press freedom, and huge fines can be imposed on material that disparages the UAE, its president or its government. No one can publish anything critical of the Al Makhtoums inside Dubai.

[MrsGollach]

@Brocade, I lived and worked there for a short time so I sort of know how it works. I still have contacts there and they have/had no idea the evil-ness. He has incredible PR because of his wealth. He can do anything.

He can make his daughters disappear.

I had no idea. My friends in Dubai in good jobs (so intelligent people) had no idea.

I left Dubai and don't ever want to return. Nothing bad happened to me apart from an arab (in full gear) wanking infront of me, exposing his tiny dick.

In Europe I would have reported that to the police. I knew I couldn't in Dubai as I would have, probably, been arrested.

[Procne]

MrsGrollach, the only time I encountered such dubiousness tended to be construction workers on public beaches. I was feeling sorry for one guy standing by himself and apparently staring out to sea God knows, you would need a heart of stone not to feel sorry for construction workers in Dubai until I realised that he was wanking while staring at an oblivious sunbathing tourist in a bikini, after which I felt less sorry for him.

I still have contacts there and they have/had no idea the evil-ness.

Honestly, I find that hard to believe. I only lived there for less than two years myself, and wasn't particularly political, or remotely well-connected -- I had no Emirati friends, and DH was working in Abu Dhabi. But my sense was that even the thoroughly settled professional expat Brits I met socially, who had committed to a country that was paying them well and weren't the types to look a gift horse in the mouth, knew that there was a lot going on that didn't get reported, even if they dismissed it as 'not my circus, not my monkeys'.

[Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow]

I think that people who work and holiday in these places just don’t give a rats arse.

They are the same people who drink from take away cups without a moments thought and but mountains of plastic shite for their kids at Xmas.

[TableDesk]

Just really bumping this thread on the back of the BBC Panorama programme aired tonight. I remember following this case way back in 2018. Cannot believe there is still no resolution on freeing Latifa even with all the human rights progressions in 2021

Shocking

[BigSkyLife]

The missed the start, did they not mention that he had another daughter, Princess Shamsa, snatched off the streets of Cambridge in 2000, and hasn’t been seen in public in the last 21 years?