Do you feel safe in the UAE?

18 June 2008

1 minute read

Terrorists have so far largely left the United Arab Emirates alone, but this may be about to change.

The British Government has shattered the perception that the region is immune to terrorism by upping the threat level to "high".

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says: "We believe terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks in the UAE."

The UAE, and Dubai in particular, are fast-establishing themselves as a financial centre, which requires a mass influx of expat talent. This could well act as a deterrent, especially considering terrorists' history of attacking financial centres.

Another blow to Dubai's image is the allegation that a Pakistani banker was tortured as part of a fraud investigation at Dubai Islamic Bank.

So, does the terrorist threat make you fear for your personal safety and therefore make the UAE less attractive? Or will you live with it, much like most major cities these days?

AUTHOReFinancialCareers Gulf

Insider Comment

Up
Upendra
22 June 2008
There has not been a reasonable base as to why such an attack be made, this country though how much liberal in accepting different culture but still has very strong cultural and religious value, again target might not be the country but the people living in, varied culture and races does makes it a vulnerable target, but a difficult task for the attackers to decide. It is and will be safe always.
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Me
Me
20 June 2008
I do not feel safer here than in NYC and London, or elsewhere in North America and Europe. Remember, this country does not have the security measures that US or Europa have, plus UAE is full of people that hate Americans and Europeans, they are inside the country already, should they really want to attack, that would be the easiest task! God Forgive!
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Pa
Paul, editor, eFinancial Caree
20 June 2008
Metals Trader,
The story of the alleged DIB banker torture is linked within the article above. If you're interested in more news on this, here's something about the JPMorgan banker being detained and a bit more about the case from Gulf Daily News. Hope this helps.
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Me
Metals Trader
20 June 2008
@ CID : Would it be possible for you to post a link of the DIB story mentioned above. Relocating to the area and curious about what you're talking about.
Cheers,
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CI
CID
19 June 2008
it doesn't make sense to say there is zero crime in the UAE. There is some crime, including sexual crime (rape), road crime (more than anywhere else!), financial crime (see recent DIB story), etc. Certainly, there is less apparent violence than in some ther cities, but crime is definitely not absent from Dubai. And try to get a good lawyer here! Not even mentioning a sound legal system...
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