I really can't understand why well-off Westerners continue to work in or visit the UAE, Qatar, etc. You have a choice. Unless you're doing some kind of humanitarian or cultural work which actually requires you to be there, stay the hell away.
Low cost of living, high salary and no income tax.
My sister works as an attorney for a global law firm in Dubai, and the attitude that westerners have there is like they're exploiting a rainforest for its goods. You move there for 4 or 5 years, rack up a huge sum and head back to your country of origin with a huge chunk of change.
Although I imagine for Americans this will be more difficult now with FACTA laws.
Yeah. My cousin works in Qatar and while his salary is around $50,000, he lives in a 4-bedroom condo on the top floor that overlooks the ocean and his company pays for it.
It really depends. I have always lived on the cheap side, but others go out to expensive bars (almost all in 5-stat hotels) and waste incredibly dumb amounts of money on everything.
Granted, I can drive a SUV at 1.00QR per litre. at 90 octane gasoline, that is basically 20-30 US cents a litre. However, inflation is a dirty word. Last inflation bump came because gov't sector pentions for Qatari citizens were close to doubled, and almost all grocer products increased by at least 1QR (0.20-0.30 USD) overnight. Many went up a lot more. And people were upset, but that is top-down economics.
Don't really think that guy was getting a 50K package.
The salary I can imagine for an American engineer working in Abu Dhabi would be a minimum of 100,000 - 180,000+ USD , and it is tax free (usually comes with additional benefits).
Abu Dhabi is a rich city (they got oil) and they usually pay more than Dubai.
Source: I live here, and run a startup and work with multiple companies and consultants.
A friend of mine teaches at an international school in Abu Dhabi. He's fond of saying that its a thoroughly modern place but its not quite civilized. Don't mistake one for the other.
You have to make the distinction between modern amenities and governance.
You get a lot of glitz and luxuries, but you always have to keep in mind that the region is still ruled with a Bedouin mentality (I say this as an Omani national).
Well, it depends on how much one is willing to risk for a given salary. I bet the guy was well paid in KSA. He was just ignorant of that specific risk when going back there or too arrogant to think he would get caught.
I know a lot of people that work in Singapore too.A beautiful place but you'd better make sure you know the implications of doing things that would seem harmless in the west. Because being a westerner wont make the justice system more lenient. On the contrary,they tend to make examples out of westerners.
It's a modern, clean and gleaming metropolis --it's quite exciting and clean, but there are some things westerners may not like so much. Censorship[1], criminalization of some male behavior[2] and capital punishment[3],[4] for drug "trafficking"
I don't know if the other responders have ever set foot in Singapore, but you're right that it's quite westernized in the sense that a Westerner's first trip to Singapore won't be overwhelming (certainly not negatively) the way it would be in many other places.
They have their laws, and you're better off not breaking them, but none require you to be consciously aware of what you're doing every second of the day.
As for the bumble gum thing, it's commercial import and sale that's prohibited. A tourist chewing gum won't get into any trouble. Is it a silly law? Maybe, but Singapore has a lot of people yet is very clean...and besides, it's not like western countries don't have silly bans.
Singapore has historically been recognised as the most Western country in the Asian region. Sure they are tougher on certain crimes but then again the US justice system is arguably far worse (trying children as adults, capital punishment for mentally challenged).
But let's be honest what on earth does "western" mean in this day and age. You would be hard pressed to see any different in children from Bangkok, Manila, Seoul, Tokyo, London, New York, Los Angeles etc. They all like Western food/music/culture/websites/technologies/products etc.
Not sure where the Singapore bashing comes from on HN. It doesn't sound like most people have been there, yet still comment on how strict it is.. And the bubble gum thing.. geez..
Actually, i never felt safer in any city i have been.
I think it comes from certain notions about what freedom means.
Eg Singapore is far from a democracy. I don't care much about democracy, rule of law being much higher on my list. What do I care about my vote being one of millions? A fair and predictable legal system are more important.
There's actually no issue with chewing gum anywhere in Singapore.
It's just that their sale is forbidden. If you have a pack you chew from your travel to Malaysia nothing will happen to you -- but you better not stick it in any public property or throw it down when you're down...
Downvotes, really? As this is misleading or offensive or something? I've lived in Singapore for 3 years on and off, perhaps those downvoting know better?
Check here for information too, if you don't believe me:
More like no taxes. From what i heard, they have no sales tax, or income tax (including companies). And a flat 5% duty on all duty (with that even exempted on certain goods such as computers).
The unusual thing here is that a man is being prosecuted for a Facebook post. The fact that he is being prosecuted for something he wrote in the US is not at all unusual. The United States routinely prosecutes Americans who engage in actions which are illegal in the United States, even if the actions are legal in the country in which the action takes place. The US government invokes this extraterritorial jurisdiction mainly for two categories of crimes: sex crimes against minors and corruption/bribery.
It's beautifully ironic that this was man was arrested at the employer's request, because the man portrayed them negatively. Yeah. Global Aerospace Logistics sure looks like a bunch of swell chaps now, I bet people are lining up to beg to work for them.
Yep, and you'll be working to train your replacement the entire time [1]. So maybe their complaint is going to be that they're not backstabbers, but that you're signing up to be gutted when you take the job.
They are thinking good for their countrymen. I don't see why that is wrongdoing. Their non-Emirati employees do get paid for their work while they are there.
> Ryan Pate ... is accused of slandering his employer, which is illegal in the Emirates... He wrote in December about his superiors at Global Aerospace Logistics being "backstabbers."
Slander is making /false/ defamatory statements. By reporting him to the police on his return trip, his superiors have proven themselves to be backstabbers.
This is not exactly in the same category, but as I was coming back to Australia a few weeks ago I saw a sign stating that Australia considered child abuse committed internationally to be a crime and would prosecute.
With regard to this particular case, it really is your responsibility to know the laws of the place you're going to.
I always assumed this was because Australia was relatively close to "popular" sex tourism destinations. You don't want to be known for exporting child abusers.
Granted, they will tell you it is because of acts of cybervandalism and computer intrusion by hacktivists from the likes of the Syrian Hacker Army and company. Now, those groups have attacked even infrastructure of companies like Qatar Petroleum or RasGas (I forget which one). Now, none of us trust the law because of slander/libel provisions.
However, I do not think Americans ought to talk. We have bounced foreigners on entry to the US for non-sensical Facebook commentary about getting wrecked in America, somehow construed to mean they will go on a terror rampage.
I'm always amused by the typical comments posted after every story like this. Yes, many places in the ME do have some really archaic laws, but you're more likely to have to get arrested and forced to pay a bribe in places like Thailand, China, many African and South American countries etc. In Thailand you can get arrested for insulting the king (and I won't be surprised if they'd do that over a FaceBook post written in a different country). However, it's not often you hear people advise westerners against going there.
> "I just couldn't register it in my head because as an American growing up in the United States, the First Amendment right is just ingrained in my brain," he told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
I think the correct defense is to make them prove that he wrote, then if they prove he did, start saying "well I thought it was OK".
This isn't America. They don't have to prove (in a court of law) that he wrote it. Their accusation is sufficient. The facebook page has his name on it, "everybody knows" that he wrote it.
Also, once again civil libertarians were right: when US starts arresting people from across the globe for doing "crimes" that hardly have anything to do with its jurisdiction, eventually other countries will start doing the same with Americans, knowing that it's "okay" to do that.
