Tierra Allen was enjoying her second visit to Abu Dhabi and Danielle Jefferies had been working in the Middle Eastern city for more than five years when the very unexpected happened. Though they were on different trips, at different times, and encountered different problems, they say they will never return to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Allen was arrested for shouting at someone, not shooting, but, yes, talking too loudly. Jefferies says she was wanted by police for a white-collar work permit processing charge. They both spoke about their harrowing experiences during “When Black Women Gather's "Traveling While Black, Being Detained in Dubai.”
“Well, you’re not really American, you’re African, so your Embassy isn’t going to help you” she has heard officers and judges unapologetically declare when reviewing cases involving African Americans.
Allen’s ordeal started when her cab driver got into an accident. Discord started when she tried to retrieve her passport and other belongs from the cab company’s office and firm personal demanded $10,000 for the return of her personal items.
“We have seen people pay $20,000 just to get their passport back,” added her attorney, United Kingdom-based Radha Stirling. Her London firm, Detained in Dubai, specializes in legal issues in the Middle East.
Stirling has represented businesspersons and celebrities including Laleh Shahravesh, a British citizen, who was arrested in nearby Dubai for having called her ex-husband an "idiot" and her ex-husband's new wife a "horse" in a Facebook post
The human rights advocate clarified that despite Emirati attempts to portray their country as an inclusive playground, it is racist, sexist, and homophobic. Continental Africans, she says, are treated “extremely badly.”
“Well, you’re not really American, you’re African, so your Embassy isn’t going to help you” she has heard officers and judges unapologetically declare when reviewing cases involving African Americans. Black Brits are often given similar second-class treatment.
She has helped more than 20,000 clients and calls getting the media’s attention, ”the process of escalation.”
African Americans are often afforded the higher American standard of treatment only when the US Embassy steps in. “The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Gulf nations don’t take African countries as seriously as they take the American/Western counterparts,” affirmed Stirling and is the “true face of racism in the UAE.”
Black Women Who Were Detained in Dubai Warn Others
To get the embassy involved, American travelers often have to get their attention via news outlets. Added Stirling, if an American goes to an embassy “they will be handed a list of lawyers, told to hire one of them, and basically don’t contact the US Embassy again.” She has helped more than 20,000 clients and calls getting the media’s attention, ”the process of escalation.”
“I use the power of the media,” she says, to get people in Parliament and the US Congress talking. She accused the United States of generally turning a “blind eye” to Middle East human rights abuses out of fear of economic retaliation. She also noted, “We have had lots of support from journalist and media in the Gambia . . . they have been really supportive.”
Stirling wishes they would be more truthful in their messaging as she recalls United Arab Emirates’ images of “women in skimpy clothes and gay people like Ricki Martin going there putting on shows.”
The British-based lawyer has also witnessed rape victims being charged with sex outside of marriage. “We only see the glamorized version of Dubai,” added Allen. Jefferies furthered the discussion by adding that many travelers don’t realize that you need a liquor license to purchase and have alcohol in the majority Muslim nation. Even if you don’t know the law, “your life and liberty are on the line,” she continued.
UAE authorities started harassing Jefferies when her White Australian boss went to them after she began competing against her as a certified public accountant. Jefferies was sentenced to two years in prison but avoided arrest. ”COVID was my friend, everyone had to wear a mask,” so they never found me, she says.
The ladies agreed that the Emiratis are hypocrites. Stirling wishes they would be more truthful in their messaging as she recalls United Arab Emirates’ images of “women in skimpy clothes and gay people like (Puerto Rican/American singer and actor) Ricki Martin going there putting on shows.”
Jefferies recalls going to a mall and being told to leave for showing too much cleavage. She spoke of a same-sex couple who was left alone, but she was afraid for their safety because “people can call the police on you at any time,” unless you pay them, she explained. “Some see extortion as a second income,” she concluded.
Note: When Black Women Gather, LLC (WBWG), encourages that globally Black Women gather to share, to encourage, to inspire, to celebrate themselves and other Black Women. Participants included mostly women from the United States and also England, Ghana, Japan, and Vietnam.
“I use the power of the media,” she says, to get people in Parliament and the US Congress talking. She accused the United States of generally turning a “blind eye” to Middle East human rights abuses out of fear of economic retaliation. She also noted, “We have had lots of support from journalist and media in the Gambia . . . they have been really supportive.”
Stirling wishes they would be more truthful in their messaging as she recalls United Arab Emirates’ images of “women in skimpy clothes and gay people like Ricki Martin going there putting on shows.”
The British-based lawyer has also witnessed rape victims being charged with sex outside of marriage. “We only see the glamorized version of Dubai,” added Allen. Jefferies furthered the discussion by adding that many travelers don’t realize that you need a liquor license to purchase and have alcohol in the majority Muslim nation. Even if you don’t know the law, “your life and liberty are on the line,” she continued.
UAE authorities started harassing Jefferies when her White Australian boss went to them after she began competing against her as a certified public accountant. Jefferies was sentenced to two years in prison but avoided arrest. ”COVID was my friend, everyone had to wear a mask,” so they never found me, she says.
The ladies agreed that the Emiratis are hypocrites. Stirling wishes they would be more truthful in their messaging as she recalls United Arab Emirates’ images of “women in skimpy clothes and gay people like (Puerto Rican/American singer and actor) Ricki Martin going there putting on shows.”
Jefferies recalls going to a mall and being told to leave for showing too much cleavage. She spoke of a same-sex couple who was left alone, but she was afraid for their safety because “people can call the police on you at any time,” unless you pay them, she explained. “Some see extortion as a second income,” she concluded.
Note: When Black Women Gather, LLC (WBWG), encourages that globally Black Women gather to share, to encourage, to inspire, to celebrate themselves and other Black Women. Participants included mostly women from the United States and also England, Ghana, Japan, and Vietnam.
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