both girls are over 21 years old.
https://www.reddit.com/r/dubai/comments/677wn3/my_friends_are_in_trouble_and_i_want_to_share/**Keep in mind, both girls are over 21 years old.
My friend, who is originally from Argentina but has a Spanish passport, is somewhat of a world traveler. She has been independent since she was 16, and has lived and worked in different parts of the world. She came to Dubai to visit some friends at some point last year but decided to stay a little longer and work here. While she was here, she met a girl who is originally from Egypt and they became romantically involved. My friend (we'll call her Anna) even rented a room from the Egyptian girl's (we'll call her Sarah) family. Sarah's family loved Anna, but they didn't know she was dating their daughter.
Sarah comes from a religious background. Her parents are very traditional and are practicing muslims. Sarah herself is a practicing muslim but has accepted that she is gay, without telling anyone in the family (for obvious reasons).
Anna was starting to miss London (where she was living before suddenly moving to Dubai) and decided she wants to go back. Sarah wanted to move to London with her, so she told her parents it was a college trip and they actually believed it and allowed her to go. Her plan was to go and just stay there with Anna and start working and living a life together. They even wanted to get married in the near future.
The problems began about 2 weeks after she traveled to London. One of Sarah's "friends" was angry that Sarah had been spending so much time with Anna and decided to tell Sarah's family everything. So she went to Sarah's house and told her parents that Anna was more than a friend, that Sarah is gay, that she went to London to be with Anna and she isn't planning on coming home. Sarah's parents flipped, and spoke to Sarah immediately telling her to come home. They said they would book the ticket for both Sarah and Anna, to come back to Dubai for a week just so they can talk about everything. They said they want to understand everything and they just want Sarah to be happy but they want to do it right. They told her they would book their tickets back to London as soon as they wanted to go, and even help out to make sure they have everything they need. Of course, this was a big red flag to me. I did not believe they were being honest, but Sarah loves her family, even if she knows they will never support her. A part of her needed to do this and give her family a chance if it meant she might be able to live her life and be a part of theirs.
When they landed in Dubai, her father immediately took her passport away. They booked Anna's ticket back to London for the next night and wouldn't even listen to their daughter's words. They planned on sending Sarah to Egypt to take medication to "cure" her homosexuality. Sarah's mom told her if she mentioned London even one more time, her dad would kill her. And she meant that literally. Her father would rather have his daughter killed than tarnish the honor of the family name. Her mom said she would never allow her daughter to live with another woman, and she will force her to take the pills and they will find her a husband immediately.
Anna couldn't leave Sarah in this situation. So when they dropped her off at the airport, she just missed the flight and decided to wait for Sarah. While her parents were asleep, she found her passport and left the house. She and Anna wanted to get out of the country as soon as possible, before Sarah's parents could put a block on her passport. So they booked the first flight out that didn't require a visa application, and they went to Georgia. They laid low a couple of days and booked their tickets to London from Georgia.
The night they were supposed to travel to London, they were told by a friend in Dubai that Sarah's family hired a detective and lawyer. The detective seemed dangerous, and tried to contact them on facebook. They were terrified at this point, but Anna had some friends who knew people in Georgia who were going to stay with them and make sure they got to the Airport safely. When they arrived at the airport, Sarah's dad was there, with cops, a lawyer and a friend. He took Sarah's passport again and destroyed it. For that, he was detained by the airport for a few hours. He tried to forcefully have his daughter come back with him but she was refusing to. He began telling the police that Anna was forcing his daughter to be with her and was drugging his daughter (this is entirely fabricated and a simple blood test would show there are no drugs involved).
I didn't hear from Anna again until yesterday (I couldn't reach her for 3 days and was getting very worried). She told me they took a bus to Turkey and were going to the British Embassy there to try and file for Political Asylum for Sarah. At this point, they are worried about Sarah's safety above anything else. However, during a rest stop on the bus, the police detained the two girls on suspicions of terrorism and arrests both of them on the spot. They had no grounds to suspect them on, so I'm assuming the father just wanted to stall them and so made up anything to get the girls to stay put somewhere. This is a huge allegation to make against someone. They were in jail for the last 3 days. Their privacy was completely invaded upon based on the extremity of the accusation. They are both still really shocked about everything that is happening, and I'm not sure how this is going to affect them in the future. This is a heavy, heavy title to hold over their heads when they have absolutely no connection to any political events.
They are now on their way to Istanbul by bus, and are going straight to the British Embassy. I know this is a long story, and I can hardly believe it's happening. But these girls have done nothing except try to live their own lives, they haven't stolen any money, they haven't hurt anyone, and they are both legal adults. But I don't know what kind of laws adult females have in the middle east.
To those who took the time to read their story, thank you. I am worried for them and I always think if it was me, I would be nowhere without my friends' support. So I have to do anything and everything I can to make sure their lives aren't destroyed by this.
What can I do? What can they do? If you were in their place, what would be your next move?
My friend, who is originally from Argentina but has a Spanish passport, is somewhat of a world traveler. She has been independent since she was 16, and has lived and worked in different parts of the world. She came to Dubai to visit some friends at some point last year but decided to stay a little longer and work here. While she was here, she met a girl who is originally from Egypt and they became romantically involved. My friend (we'll call her Anna) even rented a room from the Egyptian girl's (we'll call her Sarah) family. Sarah's family loved Anna, but they didn't know she was dating their daughter.
Sarah comes from a religious background. Her parents are very traditional and are practicing muslims. Sarah herself is a practicing muslim but has accepted that she is gay, without telling anyone in the family (for obvious reasons).
Anna was starting to miss London (where she was living before suddenly moving to Dubai) and decided she wants to go back. Sarah wanted to move to London with her, so she told her parents it was a college trip and they actually believed it and allowed her to go. Her plan was to go and just stay there with Anna and start working and living a life together. They even wanted to get married in the near future.
The problems began about 2 weeks after she traveled to London. One of Sarah's "friends" was angry that Sarah had been spending so much time with Anna and decided to tell Sarah's family everything. So she went to Sarah's house and told her parents that Anna was more than a friend, that Sarah is gay, that she went to London to be with Anna and she isn't planning on coming home. Sarah's parents flipped, and spoke to Sarah immediately telling her to come home. They said they would book the ticket for both Sarah and Anna, to come back to Dubai for a week just so they can talk about everything. They said they want to understand everything and they just want Sarah to be happy but they want to do it right. They told her they would book their tickets back to London as soon as they wanted to go, and even help out to make sure they have everything they need. Of course, this was a big red flag to me. I did not believe they were being honest, but Sarah loves her family, even if she knows they will never support her. A part of her needed to do this and give her family a chance if it meant she might be able to live her life and be a part of theirs.
When they landed in Dubai, her father immediately took her passport away. They booked Anna's ticket back to London for the next night and wouldn't even listen to their daughter's words. They planned on sending Sarah to Egypt to take medication to "cure" her homosexuality. Sarah's mom told her if she mentioned London even one more time, her dad would kill her. And she meant that literally. Her father would rather have his daughter killed than tarnish the honor of the family name. Her mom said she would never allow her daughter to live with another woman, and she will force her to take the pills and they will find her a husband immediately.
Anna couldn't leave Sarah in this situation. So when they dropped her off at the airport, she just missed the flight and decided to wait for Sarah. While her parents were asleep, she found her passport and left the house. She and Anna wanted to get out of the country as soon as possible, before Sarah's parents could put a block on her passport. So they booked the first flight out that didn't require a visa application, and they went to Georgia. They laid low a couple of days and booked their tickets to London from Georgia.
The night they were supposed to travel to London, they were told by a friend in Dubai that Sarah's family hired a detective and lawyer. The detective seemed dangerous, and tried to contact them on facebook. They were terrified at this point, but Anna had some friends who knew people in Georgia who were going to stay with them and make sure they got to the Airport safely. When they arrived at the airport, Sarah's dad was there, with cops, a lawyer and a friend. He took Sarah's passport again and destroyed it. For that, he was detained by the airport for a few hours. He tried to forcefully have his daughter come back with him but she was refusing to. He began telling the police that Anna was forcing his daughter to be with her and was drugging his daughter (this is entirely fabricated and a simple blood test would show there are no drugs involved).
I didn't hear from Anna again until yesterday (I couldn't reach her for 3 days and was getting very worried). She told me they took a bus to Turkey and were going to the British Embassy there to try and file for Political Asylum for Sarah. At this point, they are worried about Sarah's safety above anything else. However, during a rest stop on the bus, the police detained the two girls on suspicions of terrorism and arrests both of them on the spot. They had no grounds to suspect them on, so I'm assuming the father just wanted to stall them and so made up anything to get the girls to stay put somewhere. This is a huge allegation to make against someone. They were in jail for the last 3 days. Their privacy was completely invaded upon based on the extremity of the accusation. They are both still really shocked about everything that is happening, and I'm not sure how this is going to affect them in the future. This is a heavy, heavy title to hold over their heads when they have absolutely no connection to any political events.
They are now on their way to Istanbul by bus, and are going straight to the British Embassy. I know this is a long story, and I can hardly believe it's happening. But these girls have done nothing except try to live their own lives, they haven't stolen any money, they haven't hurt anyone, and they are both legal adults. But I don't know what kind of laws adult females have in the middle east.
To those who took the time to read their story, thank you. I am worried for them and I always think if it was me, I would be nowhere without my friends' support. So I have to do anything and everything I can to make sure their lives aren't destroyed by this.
What can I do? What can they do? If you were in their place, what would be your next move?
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