A Kiss is Just a Kiss (Not)

The case of the British couple tried and sentenced to prison for 30 days to be followed by deportation for the "crime" of kissing in public has been receiving an unbelievable amount of attention in the worldwide press. The current spate of public decency cases in Dubai, which I have mostly ignored, include the British couple having sex on the beach, the Indian couple exchanging sexy text messages, and most recently, another Brit arrested for giving the wrong person the finger.

It's too bad for Dubai's image, since it is an extremely tourist-friendly, family-friendly, safe and tolerant place, and the public decency laws do not intrude in any way on daily life. I find it amazing that the Brits, of all people, seem to get in trouble the most, despite having been here the longest! Is it ignorance or arrogance, neither of which is an excuse? Alcohol, of course, is often involved, which is another big issue locally with lots of gray areas. But I would expect that most tourists and expats would make the effort to determine the local rules and etiquette and try to behave accordingly, at least in public. What happened to "when in Rome"? The lady in the kissing case reportedly showed up in court for her appeal wearing a miniskirt, of all things!

There could, of course, be more explicit guidance and better public education about the rules. The notice posted in the malls calling for modest dress leaves plenty of room for interpretation. I myself wouldn't know that shorts are frowned upon, especially after having been to the malls and seen many people in shorts, unless I had read it myself in a guidebook. The radio commentary today suggested that a flyer be handed out to all airline passengers disembarking in Dubai, but noted that it would probably have to be written in 100 different languages!

In the occasional cases that are brought, the penalties do seem extreme to someone from a western culture. The same can be said of the penalties for traffic violations, some of which involve confiscation of the vehicle for up to 60 days on top of fines and "black points." (I was surprised to discover that for jumping a red light, the car could be confiscated for 15 days!). Dubai has a real problem with dangerous drivers so I guess an extremely punitive approach to traffic enforcement is necessary. I don't know that the problems with public decency require such an extreme approach, and many of the prison sentences seem to get reduced on appeal. But I have little sympathy for the offenders, who fail to respect the modest requirements of the region and cause so much undue attention with these cases of stupidity. I am much more worried about the dangerous drivers, and the horrific accidents receive almost no publicity.