Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011
Gulf News
Poll shows 40% of respondents unaware of sensitivities
Dubai: Holidaymakers are in the dark about some of the UAEs laws when they come to visit the Emirates, which can put them at greater risk of arrest.
Gulf News asked both visitors and residents if they knew the laws stipulated in a new advice booklet published by the British Embassies in the UAE. Residents also expressed a need for laws to be displayed/published clearly.
According to Foreign and Commonwealth statistics, British citizens are most likely to be arrested in Thailand, followed by the UAE. The UAE is also third highest for drug-related arrests.
A Gulf News spot-poll showed that 60 per cent of respondents were aware of local sensitivities, while 40 per cent were not.
Kenneth McCormack is on holiday in Dubai from Glasgow, Scotland. He was surprised at some of the laws described in the leaflet. The holding hands is certainly a question, its something that youre used to doing in your own area, he said.
He continued that he had been taking holiday pictures, but wasnt aware of the rules governing photographing particular members of society. Randomly addressing women in public or taking their photos without permission... Were on holiday here and weve been taking photographs and obviously people pass by and its quite innocent, he said.
He also was unaware of the law against hand gestures: I cant see the reasoning behind that to be perfectly truthful, I just cant. The British Embassy in Dubai held an inaugural awareness session on Monday, aimed at educating Britons on the laws, rules and regulations of the UAE.
Regulations
In one case that the Consular Assistance Team dealt with, a 16-year-old British Muslim boy was sentenced to and received lashes for consuming alcohol.
Residents of other nationalities said that UAE laws are known about by word-of-mouth.
Pratap, a 25-year-old Indian resident, said: All these laws we are aware of, but mouth-to-mouth communication we have come to know about these laws, but we havent received anything written.
He continued that other regulations such as rules governing Metro use and RTA travel restrictions are vague.
So far the basic laws we actually are not aware of are basically some Metro laws even basic traffic laws, we dont know that too. OK we know that you have to cross the road when there is a green signal or something of that sort, but there are some other things which we are certainly not aware of, and police can fine us at any time, he said.
He greeted publication of the leaflets and suggested they should be distributed to tourists. It would be very advisable if such things are available at the airports themselves, then if international tourists are coming down here they should hand it over when theyre doing eye scanning for example, he said.
His colleague Rohit Khatril, 27, also Indian, added: We know the laws, but not very specifically.
By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
