Proxy and Companies

There has been much press about the sacking or muzzling of employees who blog about their companies. Some of the blogs produced in the UAE have had other forms of censorship, mostly self – sections deleted and in one case proxy blocked. The power of the press and help from many admirers brought Secret Dubai back to the UAE.

I am now back in the UK, having been downsized from my job in Abu Dhabi. Tried to get into my blog at lunch time here and found it “access denied” and my attempted access would be reported to the powers that be. I will see if a couple of security guards escort me off the premises later.

Car crazy

A curious system of snobbery exists with many car buyers in Abu Dhabi. Because it is not possible to see how new a car is from the registration plate as in the UK there are other ways of achieving this:
1. Keep the plastic car seat covers on
2. Keep the original export stickers from the originating country and the import stickers from Abu Dhabi.

The first leads to very hot seats and the second leads to the sad sight of faded and torn pieces of paper with date of import of 2001 or before. I have even seen the stickers left on with dark tinted windows with a piece of tint missing where the sticker is.

But - where else would you be able to drive past a used car dealer and one day see two Ferrari Enzos and the next two Maybachs. Money no object - that's Abu Dhabi. I wonder if the future Maybach owner will put plastic over the exquisite leather seats?

Inscrewtable (sic) Orient

Many of the bars in Abu Dhabi have over friendly regular clientele. A little strange for a Muslim country, but interesting never the less. A mixture of ladies who are Chinese, Russian, Ethiopian and from the 'Stans. No bank accounts, no regular residences and shady "customers" leaves them vulnerable to being robbed, hurt and even gang raped. None of this ever reaches the police. Who is to blame? The hotels for getting them visas, the agents for getting them tickets, the landlords for having 10 women to a room or the women themselves for coming?

The dangers of pregnancy in the UAE for an unaccompanied woman whatever her profession who cannot prove she is married are also documented. A recent case with an airline stewardess has gone very quiet in the press. I expect she has done a runner like the Radio 1 DJ from a couple of years ago.

If you are Chinese, pregnant and single on a visit visa and have severe abdominal pain, what do you do? If you are lucky you have friends who take you to hospital and get you seen to and risk prison in Al Wathba rather than die. If you are not then you get acupuncture and a quick walk around a car park. Fear of arrest and the Government Hospital system can cause foolish decisions. Perhaps not this time, but the desert is a large place.