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Safety for American Teachers in Abu Dhabi
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peripatetic_soul



Joined: 20 Oct 2013
Posts: 303

PostPosted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 8:29 pm    Post subject: Safety for American Teachers in Abu Dhabi Reply with quote

Is this media hype? Haven't heard anything stateside to confirm this potential threat.
FYI:
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/us-embassy-in-the-uae-warns-of-threats-on-american-schools?utm_source=Communicator&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=&utm_campaign=UN%20sounds%20warning%20over%20foreigners%20fighting%20in%20Iraq%20and%20Syria

PS
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 3:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Note that it is a very general warning about "The Middle East" which covers a lot of geography and political situations. I'd say that one is still is the most danger from the traffic...

The embassy has been sending off these warnings since I was in the Gulf in the 90s. The reality is that nowhere is completely safe anymore, but I'd probably feel less fear in Abu Dhabi that most of Washington DC. (where I worked for many years)

VS
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tmac-100



Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 137

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

veiledsentiments wrote:
....... The reality is that nowhere is completely safe anymore, but I'd probably feel less fear in Abu Dhabi that most of Washington DC. (where I worked for many years)

VS


Ditto. My friends in the USA, Canada, and Australia keep asking why I am in "such a dangerous place" ATM - aka the Gulf region. I tell them that the GCC is quite safe and then point out the obituary columns with all the killings in Toronto, Las Vegas, etc where some of them live. They still choose to believe CNN and Fox News, dismissing the obits I mentioned with an offhanded "Yes! But!"

Driving OTOH can be dangerous in the GCC Sad
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2014 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/american-woman-stabbed-to-death-inside-abu-dhabi-mall-toilet-1.1421232
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2014 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wonder if we will ever know the full story on this one. For sure they won't catch the killer unless s/he turns herself in..

VS
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Geronimo



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 498

PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2014 7:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"...Another witness who works at a restaurant close to where the stabbing took place said the incident occurred in the disabled toilet while she was using the adjacent toilet.
She said she could hear the two women arguing.
“Women go to the bathroom together and gossip, talk and argue all the time,” said Vithi Cuc, a Vietnamese who has been working in the mall for over a year.
“But then I heard one of them threatening the other saying ‘Sit down or I’ll kill you’.”
The restaurant employee said she then heard banging sounds from the stall.
“I heard one of them try to call out for help. By this time there were three of us outside the toilet and one of us ran to get security. When the female security guard arrived they told us to leave the bathroom. I was so scared and frightened for her,” she said.
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/woman-stabbed-outside-of-waitrose-on-reem-island

Also..
"A source close to the investigation told Gulf News that the argument is an indication of the suspect’s prior acquaintance with the victim."
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/police-launch-massive-hunt-for-mall-murder-suspect-1.1421719

Geronimo
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 2:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And if they were right outside the door, why did the killer just walk out the door of the mall?

As usual... the versions in the papers don't make much sense.

VS
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jargonscott



Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 47

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/abu-dhabi-police-release-cctv-video-of-boutik-mall-murder-suspect

It happened across the street from my friend's apt.

I can't get over the fact that the AD Police decided to put a video together of the surveillance footage and ADDED DRAMATIC MUSIC TO IT!!! WTF?! They show the whole crime scene, weapon, blood. I really hope the victim's friends/family don't wind up seeing this. The police even gave the suspect a catchy name "The Reem Island Ghost". It all seems so wrong.

So many people saw the blood-covered assailant (who was unarmed at the time), including security guards and no one stopped them! The footage shows the suspect was in the bathroom for 90 mins. Witnesses heard yelling. Blood everywhere. Suspect drops the weapon and a bunch of people watch as they stroll on out of the building.

The building manager was quoted:
Quote:

“We want to reassure our residents that their safety and well-being are our priority, and although this incident has caused shocked and disbelief throughout the community, there is no cause to be concerned for the safety of yourselves and families.”


Yeah, right... except the security guards don't secure ANYTHING.
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Sydney2002



Joined: 10 Apr 2012
Posts: 55

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Naturally the western news outlets (American sources in particular) will want to call this an attack on Americans… probably trying to establish a link between this and ISIS.

I suppose it could be. But if that is the case, the subject of this thread should read - "Safety of expatriate teachers in Abu Dhabi". These people are not only after Americans for pete's sake…

Anyhow- I also don't think this was any kind of terrorist attack. I think the woman and the suspect had some sort of prior relationship or acquaintance. I do find the whole scenario odd though… nobody was able to stop this person from leaving the building after she stabbed someone? Really…?

Praying for the American woman's family now…Sad

Thanks to CNN's creative coverage of this, my parents have just phoned from home and told me they want me home NOW. And I'm not even in Abu Dhabi… or the UAE for that matter...
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jargonscott



Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 47

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/woman-held-abu-dhabi-killing-u-s-teacher-ibolya-ryan-n261356

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/how-the-abu-dhabi-mall-murder-was-solved-in-48-hours-1.1422407

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/unitedarabemirates/11272886/Abu-Dhabi-police-arrest-Reem-Island-Ghost-behind-murder-of-American-teacher.html


Story still unfolding. Looks like they just arrested an Emirati woman who was also accused of leaving a makeshift bomb in front of an American doctor's home.

1st part of the video is the footage from the other day (warning: graphic)
2nd part was just added on, showing CCTV of the person allegedly planting the bomb, blood on the steering wheel, bomb materials in the vehicle & at home, and her villa getting raided:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSefyJ0U04E&list=UUwp0VxIWELDtUXkyYA9ksrQ
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 4:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The music was very strange. I still don't see how she was allowed to just waltz out of the mall to go and plant a bomb. It did look in the video as if one woman - security officer? - tried to stop her at one point.

She certainly looks much older than 30... more like mid-40s at that size. I hope they arrest everyone in the villa as it was surely a family "business." One odd detail is that they went after an Arab American doctor...

VS
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jargonscott



Joined: 19 Sep 2011
Posts: 47

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 4:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, she was definitely confronted... but then allowed to get in the elevator while everyone just watched the doors close and off she went.

My friend in AD said she thinks everyone was probably just flabbergasted, since most people out here never witness this kind of thing.

Definitely a lot more of the story to be told. I mean... 90 minutes in a bathroom?!


Last edited by jargonscott on Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:09 pm; edited 1 time in total
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jargonscott wrote:
My friend in AD said she thinks everyone was probably just flabbergasted, since most people out here never witness this kind of thing.

Ditto that---even the security personnel seemed to not know what to do amidst the chaos. That's definitely a major training issue. Regardless, the reaction from those present is an example of the bystander effect in which witnessing a traumatic event causes individuals to become confused and/or shocked. Additionally, when someone doesn't see others react, he/she tends to not react as well.
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Geronimo



Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 498

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"ABU DHABI // Police have arrested a woman suspected of killing an American teacher and also thwarted an attempt by the suspect to explode a nail bomb outside the home of an Egyptian-American doctor – both in less than 48 hours.
At a press conference given by Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Minister of Interior and Deputy Prime Minister, it was announced that an Emirati woman, in her late thirties, had been taken into custody.
Sheikh Saif said the suspect was identified in less than 24 hours and arrested in less than 48 hours..."
Col Khalid Al Shamsi, head of security support, said security forces co-operated in setting an arrest plan based on the information delivered to CID and other security forces.
Sheikh Saif presented CCTV footage of the suspected killer fleeing the scene of the killing, where she was seen concealing her car number plate with a UAE flag before driving away.
“Today, we are before a heinous crime the likes of which are unprecedented in our safe country,” Sheikh Saif said.
“It is a crime that goes against all human values and norms. It was a blatant attack on innocent people who had committed no wrongdoing, killing a teacher that worked with future generations and whom everyone recognised as a hard-working and devoted teacher and mother of three.”
Investigations are still ongoing as to her exact motives, to identify any possible accomplices and whether she has connections with foreign parties.
“Your brothers at the Interior Ministry and the security agencies worked non-stop, day and night, to find the suspect and determine her identity despite her attempts to conceal it,” Sheikh Saif said. “During the late hours of the night, following search and investigation efforts, a team of security officers went to arrest the suspect and ... she is now in police custody.”
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/crime/reem-island-murder-suspect-in-abu-dhabi-police-custody


Geronimo
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mitsui



Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki

PostPosted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I heard that the attacker is an English teacher, so knew the victim.
Is that true?
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