| Kippreport.com

Dubai’s PR machine has more work to do

January 17, 2010 1:14 by kippreport

One of our colleagues forwarded us an article about Dubai’s seedy nightlife titled Sordid Arabia published in the News of the World. The author accuses Dubai of being hypocritical when it comes to the emirate’s moral code. He writes: “In the heart of the Middle East resort where a young engaged British couple were jailed for sex outside marriage we found the law turning a blind eye to Arab locals bedding an army of PROSTITUTES.”

Ouch.

The paper published a 1.08 minute video featuring Gulf Arab men cradling alcoholic beverages in a nightclub. It’s a scene many Dubai journalists have seen in throughout the emirate, but failed to report it for fear of being deported (and because our editors are scared to death of the subject, but we’ll leave that battle for another blog).

Kipp was a little taken aback to see that the faces of numerous men were clearly visible in the video. We doubt they’d file charges against the paper, as that would be an admission that they were actually there, but the News of the World took a risk publishing it.

The article doesn’t help Dubai’s ploy to portray itself as a fair and open society. Indeed, if an unmarried British couple is going to be jailed because they slept together, surely the hundreds of bars in Deira and Bur Dubai should be raided, and the prostitutes that roam around Bur Dubai should be arrested. A little consistency would be nice.

Kipp is curious to see how the emirate will handle the accusation that it is being hypocritical in its application of the law. Who knows, it might not react at all.

Tags: British couple, Dubai, jail, News of the World, nightlife, prostitutes, Sordid Arabia, UAE, unmarried.