Dar Al Atta'a - Muscat Confidential's Nominated charity. An interview with Lubna Al Kharusi

Muscat Confidential's advertising revenue all goes to charity. Our nominated charity of choice is an Omani NGO called Dar Al Atta'a.

Just to make sure, we asked Board Member Lubna Al Kharusi to answer a few questions about the charity; it's work, funding, problems, and the roles played by individuals, companies and the Government.

Even if you don't read the interview, go give money to Dar Al Atta'a. It's a good cause, and no public donations are used to administer the charity: all donations go 100% to help people. This is because Corporate donations fund all the admin costs. Neat model.

And of course, advertising on Muscat Confidential also goes 100% to those in need.


So here's the interview. I urge you to read what she has to say about demographic trends and unemployment at the end. And don't forget to enter the free Hi!FM giveaway to see Sir Tom Jones. It's not unusual, is it?

Muscat Confidential: Thanks for talking to us about the charity, Lubna. First up: What is Dar al Atta'a?

We are a non profit charity organisation that was formed in 2002. It started with a group of friends who wanted to help the poor in Oman by asking our family for donations to get things rolling. We formally registered the Charity in 2006 with the Ministry of Social Development so that we would be able to officially fundraise as well as organise events, hire staff and get properly set up to cater to the needs of the underprivileged. We cater to anyone who is poor in the Sultanate, of course our focus is on Omanis, however we have helped some expatriates as well.

Our main programs are:
1. The family care program: We provide aid to under-privileged families by helping them meet basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing.
2. The school program : This program provides uniforms, school supplies, books and nutritious meals to needy children as well as scholarships for higher education.
3. Hospital program : This program focuses on organizing entertainment activities for sick children at various hospitals. In addition to this, we also donate toys to the children’s wards at hospitals.

Other activities include the Let's Read! campaign, distribution of Zakat, Ramadan rations, Eid gifts, and distribution or sale of pre-used goods and clothing.

Something we are also looking at for the future is a micro-grant program for entrepeneurs, farmers etc whereby we will give grants to help people run or establish micro-businesses.


Muscat Confidential: What is your role at Dar al Atta'a?

I am a Board member, we are 8 on the Board. Mariam al Zadjali is the Chairperson (and the brainchild of Dar al Atta'a). As board members we pretty much do everything, though of course we each have specific responsibilities, like Eman Al Wahibi is the Vice Chair, Nada al Jamaly looks after the Family Care Program, Shatha Abass looks after Events, Sameera Sultan looks after the School Care Program, Rana Dabos looks after Membership & Volunteers, Ekhlaas Al Hashmi looks after Media and Promotions and i'm the Treasurer. We all help each other out. We also have some permanent staff and have just hired a new manager and accountant. Furthermore, the volunteers help out a lot when we have events or during peak times like Ramadan, Eid or before the school term begins.


MC: What are the challenges you face running Dar al Atta'a?

As any organisation we have some areas that require improvement, the first is our utilisation and communication with our members and volunteers and that is why we just elected Rana to be in charge of Membership and Volunteers. We would like to ensure full utilisation of volunteers and members and are therefore putting a program in place that will manage this.

The other issue we face is that charity organisations are a new concept to Oman, and therefore the mindsets need to be made ready for the idea of volunteering time, giving donations and trusting that their money will be utilised in the correct manner. It hasn't become 'fashionable' yet in Oman to be involved with community service, and people should be aware that even for the distribution of zakat and sadaqah, Dar Al Atta'a is an organisation they can rely on to distribute on their behalf.


MC: Of the funding you receive, what % is used running the charity and the management of the projects, vs the % that actually makes it to individuals and families in need?

100% of all the donations from individuals either through their bank accounts, cheques, cash donations or in the money boxes are used to help the needy. We finance our operating costs through corporate sponsorship, and usually the money needs to first be raised before we spend the money so for example all our staff costs are paid by a corporate sponsor. Money raised at events usually covers the cost of the actual event and that equates to usually less than 10%.


MC: Apart from making cash donations, how can readers of Muscat Confidential best help you? Is there anything you specifically need?

Tell all your friends about us and what we do. Come to our office and visit, volunteer your time. If you work for a company, convince your employer to donate to us either cash or goods and materials.

Do your spring cleaning and clear out your closet and home and donate to us whatever is in good condition, we collect anything and everything that can be used by someone else or sold. Furniture, clothing, books, toys, computers.

Convince your employer that they should have an HR scheme whereby employees can elect for an automatic deduction from their salary that goes to Dar al Atta'a and the Employer matches that contribution.

Send us your ideas. There are so many people who need your help.

You can contact us on 24692996, fax 24692044. our office is opposite the Pakistani Embassy in MSQ on Al Bashaer Road villa 119. email: info@daralatta.com


MC: I see you now have donation boxes in the supermarkets. Does this generate a significant amount of sponsorship money?

Yes, it is a fantastic source of fundraising, we have 400 boxes currently out and on average each one collects about RO 30 per month. People may not realise this but their spare change really makes a difference, each box almost covers one family's food rations in a month (to feed a family it costs us RO 35 per month), so please everyone keep giving us your spare change and encourage your friends to do the same. As mentioned 100% of the proceeds from those boxes goes to help families.


MC: I noticed for a while they weren't there. What's the story behind that??

Yes, the Ministry stopped these collection boxes so that regulations could be established around how they are managed. We at Dar al Atta have always given 100% raised in these boxes to charity and manage them using our office PRO whose salary is covered through corporate sponsorship of our operating expenses.


MC: Do you provide services to battered or abused women? If so, how can they seek your assistance? If not, do you know who does?

We currently do not offer psychological counseling, however we can help in other ways and have done so in the past.


MC: How many children and families did you help in 2009, and how?

We have an audited annual report that gives further details, but the highlights are:
New houses built - 6 ,
upgrades to existing homes 12
families sponsored - 84
Ramadan rations - 1666 families
School uniforms and stationary 3087 students,
daily school meals 655,
university and college scholarships full 29, partial 9


MC: Do you assist expats in need? If so, how?

Yes! Our focus is on Omanis, but we do help expatriates primarily in the distribution of pre-used items.


MC: Is there anything the Government could do to make it easier for Dar al Atta'a to be more effective?

The key thing that would make a difference today is online donations. The Government of course wants to control money laundering, and money donated online can come from anywhere in the world etc. At the moment the Ministry of Social Development has a website that represents all the local charities and you can donate online through their website, but we haven't received any money from their site to date. We would really prefer if donations could be made through our site, if they want to control money laundering they can set limits as to how much an individual can donate online via our site.


MC: Were you impacted by the economic downturn? Have you noticed any change in the demand for your services following the global downturn?

In Oman we did not really feel the economic downturn as much as other countries, we were still able to fundraise a similar levels to prior years, and the demand for our services is mostly a function of demographics, all those young kids who grow up not finding jobs, not being able to afford going to school. We have a young population and job creation is critical, and the need for an organisation like Dar Al Atta'a is there regardless of a financial crisis. At the moment as an organisation we give food rations which could be seen as handouts, but really they are an interim solution, our real objective is to empower people and help them change their situation for the better, through education, through job placements, through better living conditions, through possiblely in future giving micro-grants. We cannot ignore the poor and their current status, but we also shouldn't assume that their status is permanent, we have to help them improve their lives as a community.

The MONE publishes annual statistical bulletins and as of the 2009 bulletin the Omani population at the end of 2008 was estimated to be 1.97 million. Out of which about 47% are between the ages of 20-60 resulting in about 0.93 million employable Omanis.

According to the Ministry of National Economies monthly statistics (Feb 2010) 161,406 Omanis are working in the private sector, of which more than 67% earn less than RO 180 per month and more than 85% earn less than RO 300 a month. In addition (as of 2008 statistical bulletin) 116,154 Omanis worked in the Government sector and 8,251 work for government corporations like SQU, Omantel etc.

Considering that the private sector employs about 162,000 and the Government about 125,000, (totaling 287,000 employed Omanis) we are left with a substantial number (643,000 Omanis - about 70% of employable Omanis) who either are self employed entrepreneurs or are unemployed, of course a significant number are women who stay at home, but even if every woman not working chose to stay at home (so divide by 2 = 321,500), these self employed/ unemployed persons would account for about 35% of the Omani population between 20-60 years old. Furthermore, the Omani population is very young, so these youngsters will be in the job market for many years to come and it is critical that something is done to increase employment opportunities, promote entrepreneurship and to enable these people to lead productive lives. The government provided 48,462 (in 2007) with social welfare, which predominantly went to widows, the disabled, orphans, senile, and divorced women. Who is helping the rest?

Aside from employment, housing is another pressing issue. According to the 2003 census, out of the 430,996 households in the Sultanate, 13.6% are improvised housing such as tents, shacks etc (thats almost 60,000 households). In addition the average household size is 8 persons, whereby over 33% are 10 persons and above. Up until the end of 2007, the Government had granted 4,587 housing units to the poor predominantly in Al Sharqiyah and in Al Wusta region, where in Al Wusta almost 67% of the population live in improvised housing. In addition, the government in 2007 provided RO 4,825,809 in loans for low cost housing and RO 6,191,065 in low cost housing grants.

This is not enough, and the Government cannot be expected to solve all the problems, and they need to prioritise the neediest cases. That is where an NGO like Dar al Atta'a comes in, where we help people who would not be helped by the Government in the near future and meet our eligibility criteria.

But the number of people we can help is dependent on how much we can raise from the public, so everyone can make a difference.

Awesome. Thanks very much Lubna. Muscat Confidential is pleased to be a supporter of Dar Al Atta'a.


By the way, I'm sure someone out there can help them professionally update their website - for free, obviously. They would appreciate the assistance, and, lets face it, you'd be helping children, children who desperately need your help. Make a difference.

And send them money. Email them and they will send you a form. It's easy.

Remember: You can contact Dar Al Atta'a on 24692996, fax 24692044. The Dar Al Atta'aoffice is opposite the Pakistani Embassy in MSQ on Al Bashaer Road villa 119.

email: info@daralatta.com

More problems at Bar Al Jissa Developments? Tales of dispute and... subsidence

Mega-conglomerate Zubair Corporation's Bar Al Jissa Development, built up on the cliffs next to the 3 Shangri La Hotels on the beach, was fortunately all sold out before the real estate melt down (off plan) at top top prices. Thus the properties have been pretty much built, albeit late.

The Dawn apartment, at Bar Al Jissa Developments. On the level?


But I'm told a few problems are still on-going. There may be a problem with villas in the upper and lower 'Dawn' Section. The upper Dawn problem potentially effects units 1 to 10, the row closest to the road. The others in lower Dawn are the first 3 in from the road. It's minor subsidence, aka 'settlement' in construction speak.

If this is the case, the problem is due to a combination of the way this area was filled & retained, and the structural slab design and/or the workmanship. In effect, it couldn't withstand the recent rain and all that irrigation water being pored on to make some landscaping grow. This water is washing away some support to the buildings' foundation.

'Settlement' is occurring that is resulting in ugly cracks, gaps, etc that can’t be glossed over with a dose of filler and paint. Last week long meetings were held between the parties concerned.

Now, these sort of problems are, apparently, not unusual. The developer, Zubair, should have held a 10% retention on the contractor and had warranties & liabilities defined with the architect, engineers, Project Management Company, etc.

Theoretically the developer should just fix it – in engineering after all, money fixes everything. They should simply get the problem fixed, get the approvals and proceed to get the owners moved in and close on the final payment.

Another problem is that builder Bodgeit and Legit L&T (the engineers building the place) are a Zubair local sponsored company. Ooops. In fact their performance has been so lacklustre Zubair themselves actually dropped the company from the shortlist to tender to build the apartments around the marina development.

So now expect the usual round of the Omani Business Game called "pin the problem on the foreigners". But most of those involved should have reasonable risk mitigation clauses in their contracts to cover themselves, liability wise, for the 'settlement'.

I'm told HSBC, the mortgage lender to at least 25 BAJ props, wisely won’t release the final payment until the Developer warrants the security (with independent eng. back-up) of their collateral. And the poor purchasers are still waiting for their houses, already more than a year late.

One solution is apparently to drill and inject concrete into the sub-soil to each dwelling footings to rectify movement. Ouch. Someone's going to have to pay. But who?

Let the games begin!

To anyone involved in this battle who's reading this: you may increase your chances of playing Russell Crow's character than one of the others by getting advice.


Parties to the dispute may wish to note the services available from Muscat Confidential's well qualified Corporate Sponsor, Paul J. Waters, manager of the Construction Law Advisory Services Division of respected local law firm Dr. Abdullah Alsaidi & Co Law Office.

Yet Another Muscat Confidential Ticket Giveaway, this time to see Sir Tom Jones - Thanks to HiFM and Darren Shortt!!

People have been talking about it. This event is proving a bit of a surprise hit to the promoters - Sir Tom Jones is coming to town.

And once again, you, dear reader, have a chance to win a pair of free tickets to see the legendary crooner in the flesh on the 14th April at the Intercon Gardens.

Tom Jones live in Muscat: 2 free tickets worth 50 Rials to give away, from HiFM!


For this concert, the winner will need to pre-collect the tickets no later than 2 days before the event from the HiFM! Office in Al Khuwair, the big building next to the motorway/wadi with Hifm banners on it! The winner will be emailed a contact number and the magic password.

All you have to do to be in the draw is either:
(1) put a comment in the comments section of this post with a way for me to contact you when you win; or,
(2) email me here at undercover(dot)dragon(at)gmail(dot)com

And that's it.

The draw will be held in a week's time at midnight on Wednesday 7th April using our reliable super-random number generator, military level encryption and - naturally - drawn under the independent supervision of no less an arbitrator than Ms. Dragon. Winners will be notified by email and via the blog.




So what are you waiting for? Free stuff. No strings.

Enter now!

And big thanks to Darren Shortt and HiFM for sorting us out. Don't forget Maz Jobrani and his 'Brown & Friendly' comedy show, live, in Muscat, on this Wednesday April 7th at the Crown Plaza. There may still be a few tickets available. I believe Darren will again be wearing his now infamously costumesque "Sleazy Promoter" waistcoat (or is it a vest?)

I may well see you there.

Draconian debt laws in the UAE. A Tale of Warning - Part Three

It's been a busy week, and I have to assume you already read the obvious stuff: the Omani Tennis coach busted front page, Muscat Daily, as having served 3 years in a US prison as a sex offender after getting consensually involved with a girl under 16 (who is now here with him). The quoted use of the word "grooming" in the article was comedy gold too.

What else?

The vast sums being planned for more desalination and power.

The law suit between Shell Oman Marketing and alledgedly - Al Sirooj, a major francisee(? rumour 1), or against Shell and a Government Company like OOC or ORPC over imported bunkering fuel???? (rumour 2).

The strange and eerie case of the sudden disappearance of fantabulous local blogger Muscato. I do fear for his safety.

And, I hope you didn't miss this incredible post about women's rights in south Omsn and the Sultanate in general by the wonderful Dhofari Gucci. Recommended reading.


Anyhow, so here's something else.

Continued from Part Two.

In theory Oman has on the books a lot of UAE-similarly ill-defined wacky laws, where imprisonment is an option. But fortunately the ROP are generally blessed with common sense, and a naturally tendency to want things sorted out amicably without requiring too much paperwork for the courts.

And a big difference: Here in Oman, employers usually take liability for debt (or in the case of Omanis, the banks are asked to forgive the debt. More on that story soon.)

This situation in the UAE, fragmented police forces and varying degrees of application of very ill-defined laws, is creating an environment where expats are being blackmailed and extorted by officials in the UAE and in the banks. These officials use the threat of imprisonment without due cause as a weapon, and it's proving very profitable.

Just because you live safely in Oman doesn't mean you can ignore this problem. Anyone in the UAE who is in a debt trap situation might wanty to visit Debt Prison . Net , a great site that shows there can be a solution oif you're willing to work hard and take a risk.




Now, here's a very scary tale from an Oman based Expat who is also an ex-UAE resident from many years ago (she chooses to remain anonymous). The following is another true story:

Busted at the Border

Dear Dragon,
...
Roughly a year ago (2009) I went for one of many trips to Dubai, in my car, alone, to visit friends and do some shopping. My last visit prior to this had been in Dec -08 for the same reason.

I take off early in the morning, reach the border round about 10am, as usual show my passport (European) and expect the stamps and to off to my breakfast date, and further some shopping.

Well, instead I'm told I've I need to see the supervisor... Ok, I get into the portacabin and in a small "office" is a man with a computer telling me with a smile on his face that I'm black listed!!!

WHAT!!!??? How, where, when, WHAT!!!

[The Debt Saga Begins]
Apparently on his screen it says I owe "someone" 14 000 DHS![US$3500] My heart races, I'm totally surprised! I used to live in Dubai many years ago but as you stated in your post, to leave the country you have to clear your bank, which I did and got the papers and release letter accordingly. I've been back MANY times after leaving Dubai and never before incountered any problems.

I'm taken to Hatta police station, call my husband, in tears, trying to tell him about the situation though I really don't know what the actual deal is. Here at the station the amount "owed" is suddenly 24 000 Dhs [US$6000].

Now all I want is to get out of there and home so I offer to pay the money there and then and deal with the rest later but NO, not possible since the case has been taken to court!!!???

I'm taken to a big police station, by "jailbus", downtown in Dubai, sat infront of an officer who's suppose to take my statement. He tells me there is a case against me for fraud. I have, according to him, signed 2 cheques, one in 2004 and one in 2005.

I'm totally & utterly stunned! I show him my passport which proves that I was not in Dubai on the stated dates, which he agrees is "odd", but keeps pointing at his screen saying "it says here".

I'm upset beyond words, not knowing what to do; he's writing a statement, in Arabic, that he wants me to sign. Not knowing what it realy reads, for all I know I could be confessing to murder. He goes off, comes back and tells me I have 2 options - me thinking one of them is leaving my id etc stay at my friends house over night to come back in the morning and sort this mistake out. Well, his two options are either staying in the prison at the station or go to the main prison... imagine my dispare!!!

[Immediate Prisonment is the only option]
I'm then "escorted" by a rather large female police officer to the prison at the station. The metal door is massive, at least 20 cm thick! It slam behind me and infront of me are a desk with 4 more large female guards telling me to give them all my possessions incl. my mobile, the only line to the outside, my husband and freedom!

I'm allowed to use my Omani rials to buy a phone card. Then I'm told to walk through an opening in the wall... that's it... I'm scared, confused and feel like I'm in a living nightmare...

I walk through the opening into a massive rom or more like a warehouse with an open "yard" in the middle cells along the walls with bunkbeds, already occupied to the brim, a second floor overlooking the "yard". A girl, who I later found out had been there for 4 months for slapping her Emirati boyfriend, came up to me with an old mattress and an old blanket she told me "find yourself a corner on the floor" Honestly!!! I have never done anything against the law in my life, been hard working until I had children and this is indescribable!

I didn't sleep much, as you can imagine: the flourecent lights stay on 24/7, toilets are holes in the ground with no privacy - hence my decision not to eat or drink again until I get out. Food served 3 times a day; you can bribe the guards to bring you food from the outside coffeeshop but I was not interested in any of it.

The girls inside are just normal girls who have been either wrongly inprisoned, like myself, or actually comitted a "crime" such as fraud, unpaid debts, having a boyfriend(!). A sad sad thing is the asian girls in there still called me, as a westerner, "madam"!!

I cried my self through the night, listening to endless stories of different destinies: that normally if you are accused of fraud you'll have at least 1 month to wait for your first trial, where you are taken in front of a judge and you have to state if you are guilty or not, and that is then recorded. Then you go back to the prison to await a further date in court where the judge will decide if you are guilty or not, and a minimum for fraud is 3 months...

[The Debt Keeps Getting Bigger]
Things just gets worse and worse... I'm on one of the 2 payphones available in the hall every 3 hours to get an update of the situation and it turns out that when the husband of my friend and his emirati PRO go to the bank, the one claiming that I signed the cheques, the manager there tells them it is not 24 000 it is 77 000 Dhs!!!!! [US$20,000] BUT he can do us "a favor" and give some discount (!!!???) - 15,000 Dhs worth of discount - so it takes the sum to 62 000 Dhs...

[The Payoff]
Luckily my friend's husband has the money, pays the bank, gets the paper of no claim, gets to the court where a judge is in a good mood and decides they have better things to do than persue this case, sigs it off, CID sign their part 3 minutes to 2pm (when they close) and papers are taken to the police station.

@ 6pm one of the guards, comes in shouts my name and tells me you are free to go!!!!


[A Hollywood Ending]
Everyone in that prison stood up, clapped their hands and whistled... like a good old american movie!!

My nightmare was over, we were 6500 rials poorer but that was a later problem - I was out! It was a bittersweet feeling seeing all this well meaning individuals, some actually had boken the laws other just very unfortunate and without the friends and financial means I have... their faces still haunts me!

After this, when I'm back home in Oman, we inquired about legal help to have this matter brought up again in court, and maybe be able to get back our money. We were advised to "let it go" as it would cost us probably the same amount, if not more, to hire someone. Even then no one would ever admit to being wrong, so we would get nothing by doing so, just more trouble. Plus being scared to death of ever having to go through that again - let it go!

The most expensive trip to Dubai in my life, but I was home, with my family and safe - that is worth 6500 rials.

Hearing similar stories afterwards it seems that there might be some kind of "inside" job going on in the UAE banks. Someone see the accounts being "closed" and they have the information, wait a while, then use the account...

I don't know but it is worth mentioning for others that when and if you leave any country and you "close" your accounts - keep the papers saying so! No matter how long after you've left!

In my case after 8 years, and 5 moves later - with no papers - it was rather costly!

All I can say is OMG. Just be careful folks. The UAE is not like Oman.

It's getting more and more totally bat-shit insane in our brotherly neighbouring Emirati state-lets.

Muscat Confidential rates the UAE a big : AVOID IF POSSIBLE.

All rights reserved, copyright Muscat Confidential.

Draconian debt laws in the UAE. A Tale of Warning - Part Two

Continued from Part One.

Effectively imprisoned in the UAE because of an exit ban imposed by his bank, and facing both the removal of his work permit, illegal status, and jail for being in debt, our correspondent makes a big decision: to leave the UAE and come to Oman, illegally.

His story continues...

PART TWO: The Escape

...
I decided I had to get out. I found someone who could facilitate this and paid a lot of money to be brought over the border into Oman.

I have seen the [UK] embassy who have said they cannot directly help me as I am illegal, the lawyer said the same, but I feel in the circumstances I would have hoped to be helped to get home to the UK. I did not expect to left in limbo. I am fully aware that I must spend some time in jail here and pay a fine but I just want a guarantee I will be returned to the UK after I have paid my dues to the Omanis.

I am running out of money, scared that if I am returned to the UAE I am going to spend more than a year in jail for 9000 dirhams which I paid and basically be a victim of a barbaric system with no support or influence from the embassy there.

Photo: Getting illegally from the UAE into Oman can be bought.


So, despite an Omani Government amnesty for illegal aliens (just extended for two months), it seems the British Embassy wouldn't help him get back to the UK.

Running out of money, he made the fateful decision to try to get a flight out...

At the check-in desk he was detained by the Omani authorities, arrested, and unfortunately, deported straight away back to the UAE.

He is now in Dubai prison.

Photo: Dubai Central Prison. Easier to see than you'd think...


As you might imagine, there's no internet where he is now, and he can only communicate through his lawyer. He's facing at least a year in jail, followed by deportation.

The lesson?

If you are an expat in the UAE and have debts you can't repay, and if you seem to be about to loose your job, the only sensible thing to do is to leave the UAE fast, via the airport, before you get slapped with a travel ban.

And wish the place good riddance.

Otherwise you will be imprisoned in horrible conditions in a Dubai jail, probably for months and possibly for years.

Such is the state of the law in the UAE. I fail to understand why tourists risk their lives even visiting the UAE, let alone working there. For example, The man who got 1 month for giving the bird, or many other cases of arrest and imprisonment for trivial or even non-sensical offenses. (hey, at least in Oman its only 2 weeks in prison for flicking the bird!! Go Oman!)

"One bloke was arrested for doing press-ups on the beach - cops accused him of making love to the GROUND and charged him with indecency."

What I don't understand is why our illegal alien wasn't helped by the British Embassy.

Also, paying to get to Oman is probably a waste of time, unless perhaps you then can arrange for someone to take you on a boat across to India.


In Part Three, the tale of an Omani-based expat who was arrested while visiting the UAE on a shopping trip, charged (falsely) with having a minor debt-charge. Her tale is really harrowing.

Draconian debt laws in the UAE. A Tale of Warning - Part One.

The UAE, and Dubai in particular, still peddle a life style vision of hedonistic pleasure to foreign expats (when not busy arresting and imprisoning them for saucy things like kissing and texting).

Middle talented service sector Brits, for example, seemed to be able to come over and live the lifestyle: posh new flat, new car, no taxes, and loads of relatively cheap restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

Bright Lights. Bright Opportunities!! From http://makkah.files.wordpress.com


They work in publishing, marketing, sales, account management, promotions, advertising, real estate.... Yeah, all those areas of employment heavily hit by Dubai's meltdown.

The problem is a lot of them believed the hype. They found themselves spending all that money on rents, loans to pay the rent in advance as demanded, car loans, going out. You know.

Then they got into the credit cards and personal loans too. Maybe even bought a place off plan. Ooops.

The UAE response to debt: Stop, Go to Jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.


When such people get laid off, a whole new lifestyle kicks in. The UAE don't have a personal bankruptcy law, you see. And if you can't get another job to service your debts, the banks you owe money to can (and do) block your right to leave the country. If you can't pay your debts you get thrown in jail, for quite some time.

See the story of the guy who escaped by boat to India, and the facts about debt in Dubai

"Welcome to Debt City". By Tom Huntley
...
Ford also left behind an anguished “open letter” to friends and creditors that neatly encapsulates the predicament of many expats in Dubai who took out loans during the flush times and now find themselves out of work and unable to keep up with the payments on their seaside villas and luxury cars.

“I am not running away from debt, I am purely protecting those dearest to me and getting out of a country which, due to the lack of structured bankruptcy laws and a banking system which has zero flexibility on loan repayments, drives people to make horrible decisions,” he wrote in an open letter to local media.

He promised to repay all of his creditors.

Dubai authorities won’t say precisely how many people have been jailed for their debts, but local news accounts put the number at about 1,200 — more than 40 percent of the total prison population.

Even trickier to gauge is how many others took Ford’s route and simply fled. Judging by the number of apparently abandoned BMW’s and Mercedes gathering dust on city streets and the ensuing chatter on expats’ discussion boards, the number is not insignificant.

This situation has created a whole subclass of expats in the UAE who are in the hole (only a little bit, say $15k), unemployed, and therefore desperate. Hey, OK, so the banks lent them money. But 2 years in prison? How does that help pay their debt anyhow?

UAE Ministry of Tourism Photo: Everyone agreed the Ministry's new expat marketing campaign - though true - wasn't going to work.


So here's the sort of thing that's going on, and worryingly, Oman and our expat Governments' Representatives seems to be assisting the UAE to continue to imprison minor debtors.

Here's a cautionary tale folks. It's a true story. Some names have been changed.

PART ONE: The Fall From Grace

Dragon,
...
Roughly 5 months ago, NBD (National Bank of Dubai) put a case against me for missing 2 payments on a loan, this was due to loosing my job, as so many other people when the credit crisis hit. I was working in a construction related job.

I never once broke contact with the bank and as far as I am aware I would only be in serious default for missing 3 payments. I found another position and continued to pay, even paying a little more so I would eat away at the arrears and showing a determination to resolve my problem.

When NBD joined with Emirates Bank that they applied the case [law], this meaning a travel ban. They informed me of this situation by text message, not by letter or call..the arrears totalled 9000 dirhams which I paid immediately, therefore having a normal running loan account.

They insisted I have my salary paid into NBD but this was a problem due to commitments to Citi Bank ...

As time went on the [new] company I was with had difficulties, and a number of us where let go. But they also requested the residence visa back. This would have meant I could not go to the border to get a tourist visa due to the [travel ban], therefore I would eventually over stay, making it impossible to get another job with residency as all over stayers must be cleared and therefore I would be arrested.

Also as I must be a residency holder to have the loan in the first place, another reason I would not be able to clear the [travel ban]

So no matter what, he's screwed and will be arrested and put in jail for a debt - in this case - he was up to date with repaying!! What can our poor UAE expat do? What would you do?

These UAE laws are monstrous and barbaric. People guilty of nothing more than doing what was expected and encouraged by the Dubai authorities are being sent to prison in droves. With NO intervention by their embassies.

Why? In the west this would NOT be a cause for prison, but a negotiated settlement with creditors. Just like other bankrupt people or corporations (like Dubai World & Nakheel perhaps?) it's just a negotiation. It's not like the banks thought an expat Nakheel marketing guy was 'sovereign backed' when they loaned him money either, eh, Sh. Maktoum?

Coming in Part 2: The Escape... to Oman

Why do people in Oman keep driving around and "shitting in our own nest?" Littering really pisses me off.

Readers.

An email.

I have just read your blog for the first time following the advice of a colleague. Most enjoyable.
....

However my visitors from overseas have been disappointed by the amount of rubbish in tourist areas such as wadis, left behind by the locals [and visitors]. I work in a local school, and students often arrange beach cleanups.

If you [or someone who reads your blog] could provide assistance with a contact [or offer] to provide free 4x4's and [maybe even, dare I pray] a truck for a day, we could have a wadi clean up to highlight the issue [and at the same time actually visit a wadi without throwing crap everywhere, because usually wadi visitors are from Muscat and expect someone else, probably in an orange suit; from India; to just.... pick up their shit]**.

** [bracketed comments added by UD]

Yes folks, lets face it.

Those beautiful wadis of millennia, so remote and pristine, requiring serious expeditionary skills to get to, are these days

Photo: Wadi Sham, without trash. Gorgeous. (wiki)



well, simply "next to an on-ramp near you".

Yes, even you, YOU, with an Echo, several 'friends' and a few bottles of black market hooch. And, as bizarre an urge as it seems - to drive out of Muscat, to camp and leave your trash everywhere - you know what, you can!

Thanks to all the wonderful new motorways exposing the whole damn country to development opportunities and new coastal real estate/tourist complexes, the previously remote places are also drowning in a sea of garbage and assholes.





Before the concrete Echo-safe hyperlink was there, there was a code, a code of Honour, when going off-road in Oman. Most off-roaders I know from before either took their trash back with them, or didn't have any to start with.

But these days this country's gorgeous and most important asset - clean pristine oceans and beaches and wadis and deserts - are being invaded by local and expat idiots who are literally trashing the place.

It's not the locals [that live in said pristine setting] that are doing this. Or the tourists.

It's the locals from elsewhere (especially Muscat) and the expat residents who, well, just don't give a shit. And these people proceed to leave their crap everywhere.





I hate you.

When you are out and about in Oman - for &^%&^%&^%&^^%*&^&^%^ sake pick up your fcuking rubbish. Or I curse you to eternal damnation.


Talk about Haram man? Talk about lack of common decency? That's gotta be it...

Photo: Think Global, Act Local

So, if you have a 4x4* and/or really want to help my generous correspondent and his school kids clean up the place, send me an email or leave a comment with contact details. They need assistance.


* or a TRUCK!!!! Yes? Call now!

Oman - Stratifications of service

I've sometimes mentioned that parts of Omani society remind me of Victorian England. The sexual repression. The high rate of divorce and prostitution. Maids. Gardeners. Drivers. Patriarchal and a Monarchy. High rate of industrial and technological change. New found wealth. Lots of infrastructure to be built.

But another characteristic is the class system. To those who live in Oman, such news is not news. It is as obvious and un-newsworthy as the fact the sky is blue.

The prevalence of class is also common in the Gulf, and in the society of our neighbours. It is also prevalent still everywhere else pretty much, but in the West these days it is much better hidden. In India as well, the caste system is alive and well, and is partially imported into Oman too.

Lets be honest - if you're not obviously a man of means, it helps to be white in Oman. Or even better a white female. You get better treatment - at pretty much any service establishment - than if you happen to be - as Maz Jobrani so aptly put it in his upcoming comedy tour show ... "brown and friendly".

Omanis have their own stratifications too. Perhaps a few of my Omani readers are better placed to enlighten us on that. And the relative positioning and conditions we can debate. But there is a tremendous class system in Oman.

As one tiny way of supporting my outrageous statement, here's a recent story of an Expat (not white) Accountant visiting the ROP:

Dear Dragon

...
An incident that happened to myself the other day when i visited Oman Traffic Office (not very sure the department it goes by) to renew my registration. As it was a weekend (Thursday) for me i visited the office in Seeb to renew my registration. I approached the officer at the front desk who offers you a ticket number. He looked at me and said "You need to leave the building NOW". I was surprised and i asked him what happened. He told me i was wearing shorts !!

I was wearing Capri Pants (AKA 3/4 shorts). I was decently dressed with a proper haircut and spoke well mannered. It was a shock to myself and a friend who accompanied me. I quitly walked out of the office and my friend went to a higher official to inqury about this. An office with 3 stars asks him "HE ENGLISH OR BRITISH" (the two mean the same) and he says NO.

The officer says "he has to change and come back".

Well i understand racial discrimination in certain countries. But lets look at it this way.. Out of 9/10 Omani picked randomly from the street they have a brown skin tone. So why is a "WHITE MAN" allowed to walk into a traffic office in shorts and a person with brown skin tone being asked to go back home and dress appropriately.

I would note the officer could just be discriminating on the basis of Nationality, not skin colour, according to the written report...

Photo: Cops in Bermuda: would those shorts would only be acceptable in Oman because he looks British?

Its just that the services sectors - including Government - could make a bit more of an effort to reduce the racism. I know there are issues of variable levels of illiteracy, sophistication, education and behaviour.

But we could start to treat each other with a bit more respect, on the basis of our common humanity.

The Dragon is recovering from the ANZO Ball...

Yes, it was that time of year again and so Ms Dragon and I scored some tickets to the annual ANZO Ball at the Hyatt last night.

Champagne and VB in unlimited quantities has its effect on everyone, and I was no exception. Great company, food, music, decorations, an unlimited bar, and everyone looking freshly scrubbed and polished - at least to begin with. We had a fantastic time.

Well done ANZO committee! Usual service resumes soon...


Photo: Today, a little light reading was in order.

The lucky Winners of the Hi FM draw! ... free comedy for 2 readers

Ah, the witching hour....



We had our draw, supervised (and executed) by Ms Dragon at 00:03.57 am on Thursday 25th March.


And....

the winners are....


Photo/promo: "The Middle East needs more comedy": Undercover Dragon, 2010


In second place:
Dr. Samir!!!!!!!!


Oman: Winners!!!


And The Winner:
Ian Unsworth

Photo: You are a winner - too!!! Nice pecs....



So,

Congrats guys. Each of you get 2 free tickets. Emails with details (and your secret password) on the way to Dr. Samir and Ian.

BTW there were 60 entrants. Thanks go too to all the entrants.




So the rest of you please just blame statistics. Naturally, you can also simply text in to Darren and complain...,

Interview with Y Magazine, Facebook Fan Page, and the ROP up the ante

I was flattered to be on the cover of this week's Y Magazine, with an interview about blogging and the impact of the internet on the professional media. You can find the issue on-line here.

Photo: Y Magazine cover this week. Twice in 2 months Muscat Confidential has graced the pages of Oman's print media. Note to self: Must up the ad rates...

The full interview is at the end of this post, and it discusses a lot of things that didn't end up in the article.

Big thanks to Kiran and Y magazine for the opportunity for Muscat Confidential to reach a new audience. Must admit, I sent my dear ol' Mum an e-copy. [Dragon's ARE vain, after all].


A Reminder:
This is your last chance to register for the Hi FM free ticket to awesome comedy draw. It will be drawn at midnight tomorrow! Keep watching for the even harder to get Sir Tom Jones tickets coming soon... [big thanks to Hi FM and Darren Shortt]


Meanwhile, speaking of Social Media...
I know many of you are on Facebook, but I was surprised to see some enterprising Omani fans had created a Facebook Fan Page for Muscat Confidential.

Don't be mis-lead by their flagrant ripping of my avatar, it's not me running the site, but they seem to be doing a good job. You can easily find it by searching Facebook for 'Muscat Confidential'. It lets you see the posts, nicely summarised for important points, and participate in the occasional discussion.

It's also beyond the reach of Omantel's evil net filters, so even if you're on a local dial up you can still see what's been posted if I get blocked yet again... I'll try and bring you an interview with the founders next month.


And in a sign I hope, of progress against the huge rise in crime, Bad Boys, Bad Boys, What you gonna do?
Hats off to the ROP for actually publishing the initials and mug-shots of 5 local Omani youths who were arrested for smashing the windows of 15 cars in Seeb to steal ashtray change.

This is real progress.

If they are found guilty, I hope they make the spoiled little bastards do community service for 3 months, 12 hrs a day, cleaning streets in orange cover-alls all summer with "I'm a stupid useless Twat" stenciled on the outfit. Only after having spent a couple of days entertaining 'Big Abdul' in the local prison, obviously. Don't pick up the soap boys!

Seriously. They haven't even been convicted yet. And if you know them (hey, yes you Ahmed!), you'd be able to recognise them despite the wonderfully old school little black rectangles.

Excellent. A huge thumbs up to the ROP for issuing the press release and for being up front that they are Omani. And well done to Muscat Daily for being on the case and printing it first. (I am noticing improvement...)

More please ROP. When people are convicted, it should NOT be illegal to publish their full names, photos (without the rectangles), the crime and their sentence. Let's start to incentivise parents to take a little more control of their kids.

And Y Magazine: how about an article on what its like inside Oman's prisons? It might encourage these wastrels to stop being such anti-social dickheads...


Finally, as promised:
Interview between Undercover Dragon and Y Magazine.

Y Magazine: Why do you blog, particularly about such controversial subjects that could ultimately land you in trouble?

Undercover Dragon: There are many reasons I blog. Its a hobby, for example, and I'm not a big fan of TV. So I guess it helps to keep me off the streets and out of the health clubs. But primarily I blog because I think the cultural tendency in Oman to avoid bad news, or to not discuss or even acknowledge in public many things that go on in the country, will prove to be a limiting factor to the nation's economic and cultural growth.

That many of the topics are 'controversial' is because these are things not being talked about in the public domain, or are even things many people would prefer didn't exist. A lot a 'good news' stories I could write about are already out there, and so the blog does therefore inherit a 'negative bias'. In order to counter this general negativity I try to use a tabloid style and to use sarcastic or ironic humour, as otherwise I doubt as many people would want to read the stuff I publish. This approach is deliberate.

I also include controversial topics to experiment with where the 'edge' actually is, because the location of this 'boundary' between what is culturally and legally accepted is not well known. Again, it's deliberate, to push the boundaries a little and see what happens.


Y: Were you involved in blogging or politics before you left your home country?

UD: No, not at all. But I've always been interested in politics and economics. Being in the Middle East stimulated my thinking on the issues of how Government policies get decided and assessed, and especially the observation that the core principals of democracy are far better served through a free media and public debate than simply the act of 'voting'. This continues to be a theme.


Y: Was there any particular event which spurred you on to write your first blog and begin writing?

UD:I was shown a few local blogs at the time and started lurking. But when I realised that there were so many stories about life in Muscat that were still not getting into the public domain - at least not in English - I realised I could stop complaining and start my own blog. So I did!

There was - and is - so much corruption and incompetence in Omani society that seemed to be being actively suppressed by the very people who needed to be exposed.


Y: In your opinion, how do the two worlds of professional print media and ‘citizen journalism’ relate? Do you agree that there is the threat that print media could ultimately suffer at the hand of good quality unofficial e-media and if so, how can this be reconciled?

UD:The growth of technology - internet, camera phones, wifi, twitter etc - have created a vast amount of information that is generally publicly available, in real time. The professional print media are exploiting that, and have the advantage of resources, revenue and a dedicated audience. I don't think there is a threat to professionalism in media however. No-one has the time to review 1,000,000 blogs and twitter feeds, so people to collect and turn this data stream into information that is tailored to an audience will be needed even more than before.

Printed media may fade with time as the stone tablet did, and develop into a Huffington Post type outfit, especially once the technology enables this and there is a better funding/revenue model. The real competition will perhaps come from the organic news sharing network that SMS and twitter has become, so that news and stories become self organised.

The lack of reliability and professionalism remain an issue with Citizen Journalism, and society still requires a filter for this news as well as resources to execute real investigative journalism. But I predict so-called newspapers, printed on paper, that simply reprint stories from the wire services will be a thing of the past in future.


Y: How reliable are blogs? Is there a danger that misconstrued information can be spread or inexperienced bloggers are in danger of releasing information without it being sufficiently fact-checked? The results of this could ultimately mean further restrictions on professional media, so how do you ensure your information is accurate?

UD:Bogs are usually opinions, observations and rumours. People should doubt these as they appear on some internet website as much as they would the same thing in real life. When the blog is anonymous this caution is even more applicable. Fact checking is essential but can be difficult - although there again the net is very good at self correcting, with people pointing out errors or alternate points of view or conflicting facts. I don't think it will have a big impact on professional media except to make them subject to the same correcting mechanisms.

I try to double check stories via independent sources. I haven't been doing the blog for long, but my list of reliable and confidential sources keeps increasing, so this fact checking gets easier. The main motivation for this is to build and maintain the brand reputation of Muscat Confidential. If I kept publishing things that aren't true, pretty soon people would simply stop reading.

The law in Oman still acts as a significant blocker to a lot of stories I would like to publish. While I'm anonymous to you and my readers, I am under no illusions when it comes to the real professionals, who I know do know where to find me if required. So I continually make huge efforts to remain within both the letter and the spirit of the law in Oman. Muscat Confidential is legal, (at least according to my very well qualified legal advisors) and will remain so. I think the fact that I have not been blocked (except for a couple of times over trivial technicalities) demonstrates that Muscat Confidential has the support of the right people.


Y: Why do you blog anonymously?

UD:First, I do have a professional life, and the blog would probably impact that, which I don't want.

Second, the legislation for media and publishing in Oman is very poorly defined (in law) as to what is legal and what is not. As it stands now, it would be easy to publish something that is arguably illegal, and I don't want the hassle and expense of defending myself in the courts against either the Government or an individual, especially as the penalties include significant periods in jail. There have been so few cases tried in the courts that there is also no legal precedent to help in this regard (and what precious little there is is not encouraging).

Lastly, I'm saying things on the blog that are, to a few people, threatening and offensive. Unfortunately, there are some of these people who might decide to act on their opinions and do me or my family harm. I have received death threats from people who seem deranged and capable of violence, and I'd rather not have to deal with that, as its not like I'm getting paid to do this, and it would allow a tiny minority of embittered nutcases to deny people something they clearly enjoy and appreciate.


Y: Why do you believe you are such a successful blogger?

UD:What constitutes "a successful blogger"? All I know is that I'm getting growing readership numbers and lots of supportive emails. This is probably because they want to read what I write, at least more often than not, and is probably because there is not a lot of competition either (at least in English).


Y: What threats have you faced from blogging and have there been any particular moments when you thought about giving up blogging?

UD:I discussed the threats earlier. And I'm sure there are a few people of some influence would would make efforts to see me in court or to at least have the blog at least blocked/banned in Oman (in fact, I know several of them have made efforts to use 'wasta' to have me banned).

I have thought about stopping blogging a few times, either when I'm depressed by evidence that things are not really changing in Oman, or by the idea that I might be risking my family's physical or economic security. And sometimes because it can seem like a lot of work, as to sustain a blog for more than a few months takes a certain amount of dedication to just keep publishing regular stories that people might be interested in!


Y: Where do you get your leads? Would you send information of such leads to mainstream media publications if it was a significant story which needed breaking?

UD:See The great Times Of Oman Story. Yes, I do send leads to mainstream media, but not very often to those in Oman, as if I can't publish it, they certainly can't/won't.


Y: You are very critical of the media in this country, but do you not believe that the parameters change once you use your real name in print journalism?

UD:The owners of the media in Oman seem focused on making short-term profits by pandering to special interests and the Government. They treat with contempt the greater goals of protecting and addressing the public good and their traditional role in influencing politics and society that are both common elsewhere and were the actual drivers of their origin. This is partially the publics' own fault, in that subscription is no longer how such media are funded, and most advertising is controlled by the business interests and Government.

The anonymous argument is a cop-out. If there was a story of obvious public interest it could be published under the name of the paper rather than an individual with a byline. The editors could stand up for themselves, as they seem to be able to do in much more draconian societies such as Egypt, Iran, Russia or China. This massive failure and intellectual poverty of the mainstream Omani media is probably because (1) the papers are generally owned and controlled by people aligned with those same special interests and (2)because the staff are predominantly expats who are both vulnerable to the law, here for money and lifestyle, and do not have the same long term interest in improving Omani society as locals would have.


Y: When there are restrictions to the freedom of press how can bloggers help rectify this situation?

UD:Bloggers are allowing the printed media to print more daring stories because they are already being openly discussed. Plus, when a journalist is thrown in jail it will be the internet media and bloggers/forums that get them out!

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Oman ROP - unofficially - decriminalises prostitution in Muscat?

As even the Times of Oman confirms, there is a LOT of prostitution in Muscat. Reports are common of effectively well known brothels being run as 'Health Clubs', or places in Ruwi or Al Khuwair where cheap residential units are used as a base for hookers plying their trade.

For a while, a couple of years ago, men could be openly observed as a matter of public knowledge (see Muscati's old blog), queuing up in their cars for 'chinese takeaway' right outside the Ruwi Sheraton. You could see it as you waited for the lights to change. They had been downstairs in the night club, but the Sheraton had closed for renovation, so they just moved the action outside. Eventually it was soooo obviously the ROP moved them on I guess.





It was noted in several comments on the last post that addressed this issue that:
A) Prostitution is so common in Oman as to be verging on ridiculous;
B) Given the ratio of frustrated males to available females, either due to the men being single Asian expats or unsatisfied generally unmarried locals, it was a better thing that the men could get some relief this way anyhow.
C) That legalisation of the working girls (coupled with supervision, health checks, taxes and protection from human trafficking and exploitation) was probably a much better way to go.

The comments (unconfirmed) even reported a brothel "Health Club" being guarded by ROP, but I suspect it was not ROP but 'SSS', the State sanctioned and monopoly uniformed 'rent-a-cop' outfit, who happen to be owned by, err, well, the ROP Pension Fund.

It seems that effective decriminalisation of prostitution is unofficially official ROP policy. When asked why, seeing that it would be so easy, the Royal Oman Police didn't go out and arrest the girls (by, say, an ROP officer in plain clothes asking them for a quote), a Major from Oman CID (who will remain anonymous) explained:

"Look. You are an educated person, you understand that these women keep a lot of other crimes at bay. The guys at the top have discussed this issue and wondered what stand to take. Overall, it's a lot more work for us if we put these women away"

.

[Note: he means, by 'more work', that if there were not such services available, other and less consensual crime would escalate dramatically, eg forced prostitution, rape, sexual assults, and violence by frustrated single men].


Now this is just a hearsay statement by some ROP guy. He could be totally making that up. But it makes sense I guess.

In fact, once you think about it, it's the only thing that makes sense, as how else could such obvious well known prostitution, from the famous mid-market Muscat "Holiday hotel", via the many 'health clubs', to the upmarket Golden Tulip Hotel in Seeb, survive? Of course the ROP know. But as long as no-one makes too big a deal, the thing most consistent with the facts is that the official policy is tolerance. Maybe the Muscat Municipality official quoted in the Times' article who was promising (in a few months) to close the health clubs down hadn't got the memo.

What about exploitation?

Now, some of the girls my sources talked to confirmed they are effectively freelance. Women here as economic refugees, choosing to work in the sex trade. They are here as 'housemaids', who pay their sponsors in the usual free visa way (20-50 rials a month), pay their own apartment, and do 5-7 customers a night. This is, to be frank, down-market hustling. Full service charges for a nice, well behaved regular can be as low as 10-15 rials. For something quicker and less intrusive, 5 rials. We're not talking "Pretty Woman" here folks.

The sex trade, at the best of times and in the regulated West, is a damn hard, dirty and dangerous job. Here, well, it must be hard to imagine. But generally the business of selling sex services anywhere around the globe is plagued with women who are commonly trafficked and forced into prostitution; vulnerable homeless/abused children or drug addicts with few other options; or women who are prayed upon as effective sex slaves by primps and madams, people who take most - or all - of their hard earned money. Many others working boys and girls are anyhow natural clients of drug dealers, as a means to escape their terrible reality, or as means to fund their expensive habit.

The problem with the ROP's allegedly pragmatic and laissez-faire approach is that it would be a true cop out.

This would be akin to, say, American approaches in the 1950s, where cops informally managed the vice trade to keep it from the public, and allowed organised crime to operate as long as they kept the peace.

Such a 'benign neglect' approach will naturally, over time, drive corruption of the police, as people move to capture the economic rents available through effective informal taxation, either by Police directly, or through pimps and brothels paying for protection.

For some poor SE Asian street walker doing 6 customers a night at, say, 15 rials each, the gross income is about 2500 rials a month. This is equal to over 10 times the median wage for Omanis, let alone Asian expats. Even a junior ROP constable, after completing probation of 4 years, earns a base salary of just 700 rials and will, by then, already be in debt to the eyeballs. Both the Omani sponsor and/or the ROP will be highly incentivised to 'tax' most of that income.

A better approach, for society and the girls, IMHO is perhaps to decriminalise, tax, and regulate. Everyone with a brain knows that making the sale of sex illegal has never stopped sex being sold. Yes, continue to try to minimise demand, as religion already does, and how realistic education of the typical side effects of regular unsafe sex with prostitutes might do further. And criminalise the parasites - pimps and traffickers. You can even criminalise the customers if you want.

The options and arguments either way are nicely summarised by wikipedia:

Attitudes and legal issues [to Prostitution
Roughly speaking, the possible attitudes are either:
1) "Prostitution should be made to disappear":
a) prohibitionism (both prostitutes and clients are criminalized and are seen as immoral, they are considered criminals): the prevailing attitude nearly everywhere in the United States, with a few exceptions in some rural Nevada counties (see Prostitution in Nevada).

b) abolitionism (prostitution itself is not prohibited, but most associated activities are illegal, in an attempt to make it more difficult to engage in prostitution, prostitution is heavily discouraged and seen as a social problem): prostitution (the exchange of sexual services for money) is legal, but the surrounding activities such as public solicitation, operating a brothel and other forms of pimping are prohibited, the current situation in the United Kingdom, France and Canada among others;

c) neo-abolitionism ("prostitution is a form of violence against women, it is a violation of human rights, the clients of the prostitutes exploit the prostitutes"): prostitutes are not prosecuted, but their clients and pimps are, which is the current situation in Sweden, Norway and Iceland (in Norway the law is even more strict, forbidding also having sex with a prostitute abroad).

or
2) "Prostitution should be tolerated by society":
a) legalised and regulation: prostitution may be considered a legitimate business; prostitution and the employment of prostitutes are legal, but regulated; the current situation in the Netherlands, Germany and parts of Nevada (see Prostitution in Nevada). The degree of regulation varies very much, for example in Netherlands prostitutes are not required to undergo mandatory health checks (see Prostitution in the Netherlands) while in Nevada the regulations are very strict (see Prostitution in Nevada).
b) decriminalization: "prostitution is labor like any other. Sex industry premises should not be subject to any special regulation or laws", the current situation in New Zealand; the laws against operating a brothel, pimping and street prostitution are struck down, but prostitution is not regulated nearly at all. Proponents of this view often cite instances of government regulation under legalization that they consider intrusive, demeaning, or violent, but feel that criminalization adversely affects sex workers.


In some countries, there is controversy regarding the laws applicable to sex work. For instance, the legal stance of punishing pimping while keeping sex work legal but "underground" and risky is often denounced as hypocritical; opponents suggest either going the full abolition route and criminalize clients or making sex work a regulated business.

I think it's fair to say no country has yet solved the ethical, societal and political problems of prostitution. But nowhere has a 'blind eye approach' proved the best option. While convenient in the short term, I don't think in the long term it is healthy for anyone: sex workers, cops, customers, the state coffers, or society.

But perhaps, we should be discussing how to deal with it (focused on results based arguments and not moral 'thou shalt not' aphorisms.) Not pretending it doesn't happen.

Oh, but this is Oman. We don't do intelligent fact-based adult discussions about important issues and what to do about it, do we?

Shhhhh!

Dubai loses the plot - no sexy sexy times for expats. And the airport project strikes water

Photo: Thinking of a holiday in Dubai? You had better behave! [getty images]

The way Dubai is repeatedly imprisoning people for insignificant 'offenses' is certain to start to impact the tourist trade, as word spreads that you could be thrown in jail for such terrible crimes as kissing in public or sending sexy text messages.

Someone is losing the plot in the Emirate.

In the latest story, 2 Emirates cabin crew have been given 3 months in prison for sending each other sexy text messages, reduced on appeal from the original sentence of six months and deportation. The woman's husband had obtained the texts from the national telecom provider in a divorce dispute, and seems to be somewhat filled with a desire for revenge and to win custody of his child. It seems sending sexy texts in the UAE amounts to the crime of "coercion to the commitment of sin".

You've been warned.

The National has the story, but it's all over the net today.

Airline pair jailed over sex texting
Awad Mustafa
March 17. 2010
DUBAI // Two Emirates Airline cabin crew have been jailed for three months for exchanging lewd text messages.

RS, 42, a flight attendant, and EB, 47, a cabin services supervisor, were convicted of “coercion to commit sin” after sending each other sexually themed SMS messages, according to court documents released yesterday.

The pair, both Indian, were sentenced to six months in prison and deportation by the Dubai Court of Misdemeanors in December.

The court said the texts “fulfilled all the necessary angles of coercion to the commitment of sin”.

The Appeals Court upheld that decision last week. But it halved their jail sentences and scrapped the deportation orders. There was not enough evidence to prove that the pair had extramarital relations, it added.

The flight attendant’s sister, BM, 25, was also convicted of perjury and sentenced to three months and deportation by the lower court. Her deportation order was withdrawn on appeal.

The case first went to court after the flight attendant’s husband, SG, filed a lawsuit against his wife in March 2009 claiming that she was involved in an illicit relationship with the supervisor.

The couple had been embroiled in a divorce battle since 2007.

SG has now gained sole custody of their four-year-old son, although it was not clear when the couple divorced.

During the divorce proceedings, SG requested that the courts order Etisalat to produce copies of his wife’s text messages, which, he said, proved the illicit relationship.


The telecoms provider turned them over to the court in October 2008.

Five months later, the flight attendant’s husband filed a criminal complaint against her, charging her with having an affair and saying her text messages were an insult to Islam.

She told police that her sister sent the messages to the supervisor, who also denied any relationship with RS. He told officers that he had been seeing her sister for the past four years. Prosecutors decided that was untrue, however, leading to the perjury charge against the sister.

Meanwhile, Muscat Airport runway costs go up at least Half a Billion dollars.

Muscat's new airport is in trouble. A Ministry official was quoted in the papers as saying the new runway would be delayed for 2 years and cost an extra $500 million due to hitting seawater.

What the official didn't mention that the project screwed up big time. Not only did they skimp by not doing basic geotechnical investigation - drilling exploratory boreholes to sample the rock and soil where the runway was planned - but my sources tell me similar problems had already hit the sewage waste water project last year, and so should have been obvious.

The problem is the contractors needed to dig quite deep to make a proper runway that can be engineered to last and withstand being pounded by planes landing all day. And the excavation, on land right by the ocean, needed to be a lot deeper than the level of the aquifer. Doh!

My sources, who know a thing or two about engineering, also said $500 million was a low estimate, and it could end up adding an extra billion dollars, almost doubling the cost of the runway. This is because they will have to build it up even higher, and thus needing a LOT more rock and sand.

Reuters reported that the extension of Oman's main airport in Muscat will be delayed by 2 years and may cost the state up to an extra USD 500 million after runway excavations hit seawater.

The official said that the Muscat airport extension will now be completed in 2014, not in 2012 as expected due to soft ground which contractors come across in some places. He said that it would cost the government up to USD 500 million to pay for reinforcements to fill affected ground in places where civil work excavations hit seawater.
...

Speaking of cock-ups, in other news, The Asian Beach Games project, despite rumours to the contrary, will apparently be ready on time. Even my sources confirm this, not just OMRAN.

However, the project is beset with problems, with chaotic redesigns on the fly coupled with the immovable date for completion in November this year, as Oman hosts the Asian Beach Games. The bits that will appear on TV are already finished, and the hotel will be OK. But the athletes village will be a Heath Robinson affair that will not be built to last, and plans to create yet another OMRAN mini-city at the site have been shelved, replaced by a now 4 star hotel (was 3 star) and the usual Integrated Tourist Development we know and love.

There are also persistent rumours of sweet contracts being awarded** to people who just happen to be closely related to senior people at Omran and the Ministries of both Sport and Tourism. To enable things to be done super quickly, CEO of OMRAN, Mr. Wael bin Ahmed Al Lawati, appears to have been given the ability to by-pass normal tender board procedures. I'm sure that there is no way such a removal of standard oversight would lead to contracts being given to relatives or buddies.


Coincidentally and totally unrelated, as the deadline approaches the budget is going through the roof. So while the project will scrape home and will look great on TV, the costs will be huge and the final product nothing like as grand as what was originally approved.

Small wonder the leadership of the project, under the responsibility of the Muscat Asian Beach Games Organising Committee (MABGOC) and Director General Eng. Habib Macki, have been replaced resigned. On Tuesday, Muscat Daily reported that executive Director Sheikh Soud bin Hamed Al Rawahi had decided to spend more time with his family due to the pressure of work.... In January, Talal al Kishry the deputy Director of Operations resigned also.

But it's only Government money after all.

** Dear Mr State Auditor, maybe have a look at the contracts surrounding the Convention Centre...

Win free tickets to top Comedy - Maz Jobrani Live in Muscat, by Hi FM

Yes readers, it's another amazing Muscat Confidential promotional give-away!

Thanks to Hi! FM and Darren Shortt, you and a companion could win free tickets to see Maz Jobrani and his 'Brown & Friendly' comedy show, live, in Muscat, on April 7th at the Crown Plaza.




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Photo: This could be you. Just enter a comment and a way to be contacted. Remember everyone will see it, so don't put a phone number. You can email us instead if you want