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The Dubai Dilemma Marie Nammour (mary@khaleejtimes.com) / 8 October 2013 Dubai, a cosmopolitan city where people from around 180 to 200 different nationalities converge, reflects an interesting image of a modern city that lives up to the expectation of any western tourist. At the same time the country has succeeded in keeping its conservative and traditional beliefs very much alive and takes pride in them. However, in the past few years Dubai has been the scene of several criminal cases related to sex and alcohol abuse, involving European, American and other foreign expatriates who have found themselves caught in the web of legal trouble. This is mainly due to the lack of knowledge about the laws and the fine line between a luxurious lifestyle and the violation of laws due to abuse of personal liberties. And, these foreigners would most probably continue to face the same trouble unless certain misconceptions are corrected. Counsel Hani Hammouda believes the culture of every society takes decades and even centuries to become firmly rooted. It is like a huge tree that needs space of its own to grow and flourish so that it can provide a shadow that covers everyone who lives in it. For Hammouda, who works for Kefah Al Zaabi Firm for Advocacy and Legal Consultancy, the solution would start by distributing leaflets at airports and by airline companies to newcomers to Dubai, introducing them to the basic facts and principles about life and code of conduct in Dubai. That would help tourists and visitors seeking jobs keep out of legal trouble. “Embassies and consulates can play a key role in guiding their community here and foreigners could make use of the advisory information and abide by them fully realising that the laws could be different from their own country. For example, the use of drugs is strictly prohibited in the UAE while it could be allowed in some European countries. The installation of information boards in malls and public places could also prove beneficial. Holding seminars and lectures are also necessary to raise the foreigners’ awareness about the traditions and norms. “While it is said that ‘when in Rome do as the Romans do’, learning about the host country’s laws and rules upon arrival is a basic need as the ignorance about laws is no excuse to spare law violators the legal accountability,” Hammouda stressed. Misconceptions about cultures This intriguing mosaic of the 180 to 200 nationalities certainly needs a clear set of rules which should be made available to foreigners. The culture of any society takes hundreds of years to be rooted and instilled in generations. However, even if this culture as a whole cannot reach all outsiders, at least the basic minimum components of that culture should be respected, stressed Hammouda. “A simple example of this is that some European countries banned the veil and subjected every woman, who was spotted wearing a veil in public, to fines simply because it did not go well with the cultures of those countries. However, here we still see expats walking along the streets in shorts and in other outfits which could quite hurt the feelings of the conservative local Arab and Muslim families,” said Hammouda. Scantily dressed women and men are often seen walking in malls he said and wondered why every mall does not have information boards with the dress code placed at the entrance itself. “The mall’s owner must be strolling around very often so why doesn’t he pay attention to the excesses of taste and value? At the end of the day, a certain culture would shape up from this combination of cultures. How would we expect it to be? “There is no room here for a reverse thinking that the society here is open to all cultures and that it would be wrong to interfere in other’s liberties. Even in European and American states, one would be punished for an indecent and obscene public act.” According to Adel Awad Jr, a lawyer with over 18 years of experience in law and practising in New York, the image about Dubai abroad is deceiving. “The media projects Dubai as a modern city, which is a fact. But according to that image, there is an unlimited exercise of freedom with no restrictions. So to begin with, westerners head to Dubai with a different picture,” he pointed out. Referring to Dalelv’s case (Norwegian Marte Deborah Dalelv, who was accused of illicit consensual sex after reporting rape), Awad Jr. said: “It is her fault. Even in Europe, a woman should be careful not to stay in the same room with a stranger at night. The alcohol was also a circumstantial element. She lost her sobriety and will.” Proving that a woman was raped is complicated. “Injury marks resulting from struggle with the rapist should be there. If there are no such marks then she would be thought of as a consenting party. If it is proven that she was drunk at the incident time then she will be thought of as an unwilling party and that the sex was forced upon her.” Awad Jr suggested that an introductory code of conduct be enclosed to the employment contract when sent to an expatriate. That way, he (she) would be advised on what would await him in the country he would become a resident of. “Tourists could as well make use of the same information so it would be recommendable that airline and travel agencies enclose it to the travel package they offer to their customers. This code of conduct will give a list of the Dos and the Don’ts in the host country. This code of conduct will help reduce the crimes as it will clear everything out all along.” In July this year, Norwegian Marte Deborah Dalelv who was jailed for having illicit sex and giving false reports to the authorities about being raped, was granted pardon. The 42-year-old Dalelv, who works as an interior design executive, was at first sentenced by the Court of Misdemeanours to 16 months in jail, followed by deportation, for falsely reporting a rape, having sex-out-of-wedlock and consuming alcohol. She claimed to the police and prosecutors that her Sudanese boss raped her in his hotel room in Bur Dubai in March, taking advantage of the fact that she was under the influence of alcohol. The man was sentenced to 13 months in jail and deportation. She was on a business trip with him when the incident happened. Marte’s case created media frenzy in the west after she told her story to the press recounting her ordeal and shock over being held in custody for reporting a rape. She claimed that during the interrogation, she changed her testimony and falsely confessed she had consensual sex in a desperate bid to get a reduced sentence. In February, the Court of Appeals reduced the jail terms of an expatriate couple (an Irish man and a British woman, who had sex mary@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading →