HRW and Dubai’s Lamborghinis
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates. It covers an area of 32,000 square miles with a population of about eight million people, including the millions of expatriates who work and live there. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al-Quwain. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the bigger cities in the UAE. The country’s president is Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and the vice president is Mohammed bin Rashed Al-Maktoum. All the sheikhs of the UAE are close to their people.
The UAE has recently been the focus of various news reports carried all over the world. One of these reports came from a popular American blog stating that the city of Dubai has achieved in 10 years what other cities couldn’t achieve in more than 100 years. Another report came from Human Rights Watch (HRW). Let us talk about the second report and its connection to luxury sports cars.
I don’t know anything about luxury cars. I don’t even know what a Lamborghini or a Ferrari looks like, let alone owning one. I might end up walking on the moon before having one of these most expensive vehicles. So, is there a way I could ride in one of these cars? The answer is yes, in the UAE.
All I have to do is drive my old car in the city of Dubai at 25 km an hour over the speed limit. And when I’m stopped by one of Dubai’s police officers, I will say I don’t have a driver’s license. This way, I will be taken to the police station in a new Dubai police car driven by a policewoman (yes, a policewoman), which happens to be either a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. The Chevrolet Camaro SS and BMW 5-Series are among the other cars driven by the Dubai police.
In addition to these luxury cars, police officers in the UAE are known for their kind and polite behavior regardless of the background of the offending individual. If you arrive hungry at the police station, then you’ll get a Pizza Hut meal paid for by the police department.
Now certain questions arise: If a low-ranked policewoman drives a Lamborghini, what does the number one policeman in Dubai, Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan, drive? And will they perform the PIT maneuver, also known as the ramming technique, using a Lamborghini or a Ferrari when they’re in hot pursuit of suspected criminals?
And finally, what would someone say to HRW, located in the Empire State Building in New York City, about Dubai’s police brutality if he was riding in the back seat of a Lamborghini and had a Pizza Hut meal paid for by the police authority? Is this a fairy tale? The answer is no, this can happen in the United Arab Emirates. I’m sure many members of HRW have never been to the UAE.
I have the highest regard for HRW and value what it has done for the world since it was founded in 1978. This group was started as an American private foundation and was named the Helsinki Watch to monitor the Soviet Union to ensure compliance with the Helsinki Accord. As years passed, other Watch groups were established, such as America Watch, Asia Watch, Africa Watch and Middle East Watch. In this article I am not disputing the intention or even the importance of such organizations. But this organization covers many parts of the world with a yearly budget of about $ 60 million, a relatively small amount in the face of growing demand for human rights organizations. So why is it concentrating on countries such as the United Arab Emirates? The UAE is known for its respect of human rights, which is why millions are happy to be in the UAE.
The UAE is one of the richest countries in the world, with some of the planet’s happiest people. They enjoy free education, free health care, very high per capita income and don’t have income tax. The relations between the ruler and ruled is one of the most transparent in the world. The infrastructure in the UAE is one of the most modern in the world. Skyscrapers, state-of-the-art highways and most modern airports give a clear indication of the luxurious life of people in the UAE. The UAE is considered one of the hottest tourist attractions with two of the busiest airports in the world. Millions from the east and west live and work in this country. HRW should see the UAE as a melting pot of many cultures.
HRW issued a critical report of the UAE when tens of people wanted to disturb the peace and security of this prosperous country. The report was unfair to the country and its people. There is clearly a need to respect human rights but also to ensure both citizens and expatriates are protected.
People in other countries can only dream of the freedom and wealth enjoyed by the UAE’s populace. Founded in 1971, it soon became one of the most advanced countries in the world. It has every right to defend what it has built and accomplished. People who disturb the peace and threaten the lives of others should be watched and even locked up. Who can forget the chaos caused by two individuals in the city of Boston, who would’ve done even more damage if they had not been caught?
As for HRW, there are other countries in Africa and Asia that need more attention, where human rights abuses, human trafficking, torture and summary executions are the norm. Finally, no country is perfect, but the UAE is a country people shouldn’t worry about. Just a few days ago more than a hundred foreign prisoners were released. Ironically, many of them were sorry to leave the UAE.
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