Job Discussion Forums

[Daveyboy]

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[nomad soul]

Stressed about Dubai? Seriously? The UAE is definitely not like Saudi Arabia, yet many of us are managing just fine in the ultra-conservative kingdom. Yes, some expats (usually Brits, for some reason) and visitors do stupid stuff in public in Dubai and elsewhere. But if you use basic common sense and are sensitive to the laws and culture of the country, you and your wife (and your parents) have nothing to worry about. Do an Internet search on expat forum dubai for interactive forum boards on what it's like to live and work in the emirate. An Internet search on uae culture etiquette will also yield some useful information.

If you're ever unsure about classroom protocol/management issues, seek the advice of your supervisor. This keeps them apprised of what's happening in your classroom as well. Also, you might ask your employer if there will be orientation for new hires.

[spicegirl]

Hi, Daveyboy - they weren't kissing each other on the cheek ... we all do that when we greet friends here, just like in your own country.

There's really absolutely no need for you or your parents to worry. You can live your life just as you would back home - with a little bit of common sense, as nomad soul says.

[boyscout]

Don't believe everything you read on the net Daveyboy. Some websites are simply scare-mongering you!

Just keep your head low and do what you're told. Stay focused.

You would have to be damn unlucky to be thrown into prison here, or just plain silly.

Still, it can happen, but it ain't likely.

Come on! Be a man! Take a risk and head on over here! You might be pleasantly surprised.

[Daveyboy]

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[nomad soul]

[Daveyboy]

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[Desert Camper]

Daveyboy, your parents are quite right to be concerned for, when it comes to 'the law', the UAE � including Dubai (the worst part of the UAE, in my opinion) � can often be a confusing place in which to live. When I say confusing, I mean of Alice in Wonderland proportions.

Nomad Soul and Spicegirl give the impression that there exists a law, and that if the law is broken, then people often find themselves in trouble. If only it were as simple as that!

In reality, it is actually quite difficult to ascertain what the law is here, especially since laws seem to be applied on a purely ad hoc basis. One often finds oneself quite literally surrounded by people 'breaking the law', and yet nothing ever seems to happen to them. Then, one day, one poor unfortunate soul is charged with doing what everyone around him is doing on a daily basis with impunity and has the book thrown at them.

The couple kissing on the beach, for example, can be imprisoned, fined, and deported for displaying affection in public (shock, horror!), yet prostitutes and their burly pimps can openly and freely operate in and outside blatant meat markets such as The York Hotel and the infamous Rattlesnake club.

The UAE is also one of very few countries that, somewhat bizarrely, now imposes its own law(s) on foreigners who break such laws even if outside of the UAE. Take, for example, a look at the story below from The National, which relates the story of an Indian woman who got pregnant whilst on holiday outside of the UAE but who was charged with having sex outside of wedlock upon her return to the country:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/expat-who-got-pregnant-on-trip-home-faces-sex-outside-of-marriage-charge

Oh, and do not attempt to 'do your bit for the environment' whilst in Dubai, at least not when it comes to driving. For whilst in the West office workers may give each other lifts to work, perhaps on alternate days or weeks, that is forbidden in Dubai as it smacks of an illegal taxi service. That is, carpooling (or 'passenger smuggling' as it is termed in Dubai) is highly illegal:

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/dubai-drives-to-stop-illegal-private-car-lift-services-2012-01-30-1.440115

Please note that this is not only for blatant cases of unlicensed taxis, but also, as I say, for what would simply be considered as giving a colleague a lift to work:

http://www.arabnews.com/node/302848

As stated in the article above, "Another widely used form of transportation, which is also punishable by law [in Dubai], is the car pool. It is a system in which office workers with cars pick up their colleagues from their homes and drop them at work [�]"

It seems perfectly acceptable to attempt to rape a ten-year-old child, however, as evinced by the three-year sentence � reduced to a mere one year in prison on appeal (!) � handed down to the labourer who did just that:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/sentence-cut-for-man-who-tried-to-rape-child

Note also that the criminal is only referred to as "AB" in that report (newspapers and other media are not permitted to publish the names of criminals in the UAE lest they are offended).

A British couple get imprisoned and deported for kissing but you only get three years in prison for kidnap and rape:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/man-convicted-for-dubai-car-park-rape-has-sentence-reduced

If men (including policemen) rape a girl then they will often claim that, since she is older than 14 in hijri (Islamic calendar) years, it should be considered consensual:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/hijri-age-claim-in-uae-gang-rape-trial

And even if they are found guilty of rape they will only get six months or at most a year in prison:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/jail-for-five-men-who-raped-14-year-old-girl

My advice is not go to Dubai without first reading 'Hello Dubai' by Joe Bennett, 'City of Gold' by Jim Krane, and, most importantly of all, 'Escape from Dubai' by Herve Jaubert, whose website you should also take a look at (blocked in the UAE):

http://www.escapefromdubai.com/

Also take a look at his story in some of the popular British tabloids, if only to see pictures of a man wearing a wetsuit under a burka:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208471/French-007-tells-great-escape-Dubai-wearing-wetsuit-burka.html

And, to top it all, read 'Layover in Dubai' by Dan Fesperman, which although a work of fiction contains themes and events which are anything by fictitious (again, blocked in the UAE):

www.danfesperman.com/layover-in-dubai.php

[nomad soul]

[veiledsentiments]

Basically... don't start your own carpool or neck on the beach or anywhere else in public... and you'll be fine Daveyboy.

Should be easy enough...

VS