|
Job Discussion Forums "The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
johnslat

Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:52 pm Post subject: Sun of a beach |
|
|
Dubai detains 79 for indecent behavior on beaches:
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Westerners were getting too racy on the beaches of this Persian Gulf tourist haven, and a police crackdown on topless sunbathing, nudity and other indecent behavior has resulted in 79 arrests in recent days.
Undercover officers are strolling the sand while others stand guard in new watchtowers to enforce the social mores of this Muslim city-state, which is a booming business center that is attracting growing hordes of foreign tourists.
Authorities said they began the decency campaign after police detained a British man and a woman who were allegedly having sex on one of Dubai's sprawling beaches earlier this month.
Over the past two weeks, police have detained a total of 79 people whose behavior was "disturbing families enjoying the beach," Zuhair Haroun, a spokesman for Dubai's Criminal Investigation Department, said Monday.
First-time offenders may be issued a warning, but if caught twice, tourists could be referred to the public prosecutor for possible criminal charges, authorities said.
Thousands of European and Asian expatriates live and work in Dubai, where native Emiratis make up only about 20 percent of the estimated 1.2 million residents. Shopping malls and fast food restaurants have replaced traditional Arab houses, and English has overtaken Arabic as the emirate's lingua franca.
Many Emiratis and Arabs visiting from other Persian Gulf countries increasingly feel Dubai's ambition to become a cosmopolitan metropolis and tourist destination is overrunning their own traditions and contradict what they feel is culturally acceptable.
Unlike elsewhere in the conservative Persian Gulf, tourists in Dubai are often seen wearing skimpy bikinis on public beaches and walk the city's streets in shorts. Alcohol is freely available in hotel bars and restaurants in this regional businesses and entertainment hub.
While pursuing the police crackdown, Dubai has embarked on a public awareness campaign to remind its Western visitors and foreign residents that the city may have flashy hotels and glitzy skyscrapers but it also is a Muslim country with traditionally conservative values.
The city is installing signs warning tourists in Arabic, English and several other languages not to sunbathe topless or change clothes in public, said Abdullah Mohammed Rafia, an official with the Dubai Municipality whose office is overseeing the public awareness campaign.
Authorities are "taking action in response to numerous complaints" filed by people who visit the city's beaches, Rafia said. Complaints have ranged from families "offended by displays of nudity" to women sunbathers who say groups of men stare at them while at the beach.
The police campaign also will target people who harass beachgoers with acts "deemed offensive, immoral or disrespectful," including loitering and voyeurism, said Dubai's acting police chief, Maj. Gen. Khamis Mattar al-Mazeina.
Some tourists who were enjoying Dubai's simmering sun Monday said the new campaign left them confused about what is considered appropriate in Dubai.
"I understand that I have to respect the rules of the country," said John MacLean, a British tourist on holiday with his girlfriend. But, he added, "I am not sure if I can kiss her or touch her in public."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080714/ap_on_re_mi_ea/dubai_indecent_behavior |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
veiledsentiments

Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
|
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:48 am Post subject: Re: Sun of a beach |
|
|
johnslat wrote: |
"I understand that I have to respect the rules of the country," said John MacLean, a British tourist on holiday with his girlfriend. But, he added, "I am not sure if I can kiss her or touch her in public." |
I think they need a handout at the airport. Middle East customs for dummies...
VS |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
johnslat

Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
|
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
To continue in my punnish ways - to punnish you, so to speak - I guess we could say that Dubai is no Bikini Atoll. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
tmac-100
Joined: 23 Nov 2006 Posts: 137
|
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
johnslat wrote: |
To continue in my punnish ways - to punnish you, so to speak - I guess we could say that Dubai is no Bikini Atoll. |
Nor is it Club Med.
Then of course, while drinking is allowed in Bars, public drunkedness is NOT allowed.
Yes, folks definitely need to understand their boundaries in terms of behavious and "exposure" when they come to the Emirates. It is still more liberal than Saudi from what I have heard, but then I have not been to Saudi.. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Ragingfatfreak
Joined: 12 Jul 2008 Posts: 1
|
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:15 am Post subject: |
|
|
Sounds like a pretty wild time. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
ntropy

Joined: 11 Oct 2003 Posts: 671 Location: ghurba
|
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:48 am Post subject: Re: Sun of a beach |
|
|
deleted double posting
Last edited by ntropy on Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:50 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
ntropy

Joined: 11 Oct 2003 Posts: 671 Location: ghurba
|
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:49 am Post subject: Re: Sun of a beach |
|
|
ntropy wrote: |
"I think they need a handout at the airport. Middle East customs for dummies... VS |
That is exactly what the Qatari Parliament recently decided to do to try and discourage the Western women from dressing so indecently (tongue firmly in cheek)in the malls |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|