Dubai After 1 Year :)

[Telo]

Originally Posted by funkyant

Compared to Sydney, Dubai feels like a safe place. There is an absence of drug fuelled crime. Theft is rare. Streets are safe. I have no fears letting a female friend walk 3 blocks home alone at 4am.

Good post overall, but I felt the need to comment on this part.

Violent crime does exist. Someone tried to rape my mom back in the late 80s (or early 90s, can't remember), and that was when Dubai was much safer than it is now. I know of two rape attempts (within the last 2 years I believe) in the Springs, which is a "gated community". I don't think any of these made it to the news. I know what happened to my mom certainly didn't- she wasn't even walking home alone in the early morning either, just waiting for my dad to pick her up outside a mall. If my dad hasn't got there in time, who knows what would've happened. The guy saw him pulling up and ran away. We called the cops and provided a description, but he was never caught. From what I heard, the guy who tried to rape the women in the Springs wasn't deported until the second attempt.

While the numbers are certainly lower than cities back home, crime is not non-existent. It is just mostly unreported, and the illusion of safety or the lower rates are no reason to to ignore common sense.

Please don't let your friends walk home alone at 4am. It's the worst advice to give newcomers to Dubai too.

[funkyant]

Originally Posted by Telo

Good post overall, but I felt the need to comment on this part.

Violent crime does exist. Someone tried to rape my mom back in the late 80s (or early 90s, can't remember), and that was when Dubai was much safer than it is now. I know of two rape attempts (within the last 2 years I believe) in the Springs, which is a "gated community". I don't think any of these made it to the news. I know what happened to my mom certainly didn't- she wasn't even walking home alone in the early morning either, just waiting for my dad to pick her up outside a mall. If my dad hasn't got there in time, who knows what would've happened. The guy saw him pulling up and ran away. We called the cops and provided a description, but he was never caught. From what I heard, the guy who tried to rape the women in the Springs wasn't deported until the second attempt.

While the numbers are certainly lower than cities back home, crime is not non-existent. It is just mostly unreported, and the illusion of safety or the lower rates are no reason to to ignore common sense.

Please don't let your friends walk home alone at 4am. It's the worst advice to give newcomers to Dubai too.

Thanks for your feedback.

I feel I must point out that I didn't ever state that crime was non-existant. I said that Dubai seems a far safer place than Sydney.

You have my condolences with regards to your families personal experiences, and I am sympathetic that your view would be less appreciative of these facts due to your own first hand experience, but considering that Sydney alone had 8104 rapes reported between July 2009 to June 2010, I'd respectfully say that your 3 examples since 'the 80's' are no comparison.

It further supports my point that the girls are more than happy to walk home in the early hours, and actually would never let me drive them home because they feel safe.

[Telo]

Originally Posted by funkyant

Thanks for your feedback.

I feel I must point out that I didn't ever state that crime was non-existant. I said that Dubai seems a far safer place than Sydney.

You have my condolences with regards to your families personal experiences, and I am sympathetic that your view would be less appreciative of these facts due to your own first hand experience, but considering that Sydney alone had 8104 rapes reported between July 2009 to June 2010, I'd respectfully say that your 3 examples since 'the 80's' are no comparison.

It further supports my point that the girls are more than happy to walk home in the early hours, and actually would never let me drive them home because they feel safe.

I did point out that the crime rate was lower, however it is foolish to behave as if doesn't happen at all. Especially since the crime rate is increasing with Dubai's growing pains, and being raped in here carries extra penalties for the victims- they can get charged with sex out of wedlock, punished, then deported after serving their sentences.

Since not all crime is reported, it's not exactly easy to know how many rapes happen. Though I will say that the three I wrote about weren't the only ones I know of.

You've done your year here and love it, I get that. You know women who'll happily walk home alone at 4am, I get that too. Does everyone who walk home at 4am get raped? Obviously not. I'm simply pointing out that just because there are girls who are lulled into a false sense of security because of lower incidents doesn't mean it's smart to ignore common sense, neither is it something wise to preach. A low rate doesn't equal zero.

[Telo]

ETA: Apparently one of the common things most victims of crimes here say is "I didn't know that could even happen". Because after all, we're constantly told that crime is practically unheard of. Unfortunately, like a game of Chinese whispers, the message becomes "can't happen at all" as it gets passed along.

[funkyant]

Originally Posted by Telo

I did point out that the crime rate was lower, however it is foolish to behave as if doesn't happen at all. Especially since the crime rate is increasing with Dubai's growing pains, and being raped in here carries extra penalties for the victims- they can get charged with sex out of wedlock, punished, then deported after serving their sentences.

Since not all crime is reported, it's not exactly easy to know how many rapes happen. Though I will say that the three I wrote about weren't the only ones I know of.

You've done your year here and love it, I get that. You know women who'll happily walk home alone at 4am, I get that too. Does everyone who walk home at 4am get raped? Obviously not. I'm simply pointing out that just because there are girls who are lulled into a false sense of security because of lower incidents doesn't mean it's smart to ignore common sense, neither is it something wise to preach. A low rate doesn't equal zero.

I'm sorry, but most people don't live their lives with that mentality. There are many road fatalities, but I still use cars, and I'm not scared of them. But this is off topic. The thread is about Dubai, not choices about personal safety.

[Telo]

Originally Posted by funkyant

I'm sorry, but most people don't live their lives with that mentality. There are many road fatalities, but I still use cars, and I'm not scared of them.

Right, and someone with common sense would drive carefully in light of the amount of fatalities. Going home at 4am alone is akin to still driving at 200 despite knowing the amount of speeding-related accidents. Are those out there who do it? Yes. Will all of them crash? Nope. But some of them will.

Neither you nor your friends have to listen to me. We're all free to make our own choices, after all. Just trying to point out some of the things that go unreported. A "thought you might like to know" kind of thing because it usually comes as a shock when some expats find out about crimes they think would never happen in Dubai.

[byfc33]

Originally Posted by Telo

Right, and someone with common sense would drive carefully in light of the amount of fatalities. Going home at 4am alone is akin to still driving at 200 despite knowing the amount of speeding-related accidents. Are those out there who do it? Yes. Will all of them crash? Nope. But some of them will.

Neither you nor your friends have to listen to me. We're all free to make our own choices, after all. Just trying to point out some of the things that go unreported. A "thought you might like to know" kind of thing because it usually comes as a shock when some expats find out about crimes they think would never happen in Dubai.

People back home also think "I never thought it'd happen to me". You never think it'll happen till it does. No reason to not enjoy Dubai or try to scare people into not enjoying it.

[Telo]

Originally Posted by byfc33

People back home also think "I never thought it'd happen to me". You never think it'll happen till it does. No reason to not enjoy Dubai or try to scare people into not enjoying it.

I fail to see how telling people walking home alone at 4am isn't as safe as they think is scaring them into not enjoying Dubai.

[INFAMOUS]

Oh the joy of forums! Enough guys, you have both voiced your opinions, and now people can make their own decisions. Let's keep the thread positive as it is one of few these days! It seems like all positive threads turns into people getting raped, pregnant women getting punched in the face at IKEA etc... Crime happens, get over it, use common sense!

[funkyant]

Originally Posted by INFAMOUS

Oh the joy of forums! Enough guys, you have both voiced your opinions, and now people can make their own decisions. Let's keep the thread positive as it is one of few these days! It seems like all positive threads turns into people getting raped, pregnant women getting punched in the face at IKEA etc... Crime happens, get over it, use common sense!

Thank you. Agreed