NEWS FROM THE U.A.E.
Excerpts from UAE Dailies
Illegals prefer jail to paying return air ticket and a fine
ABU DHABI — 01 Aug: Thousands of illegal workers in the country reportedly prefer going to prison and being deported rather than pay return air tickets and fines.
"Prisons are full of workers absconding from their sponsors and have resorted to the police demanding deportation to their homelands ... this matter makes the Abu Dhabi Naturalisation and Residency Department (ADNRD) set dates for deportation of thousands of absconders," an official source told Khaleej Times.
Explaining why the ADNRD gives these dates, the source said the packing of prisons with those runaway workers runs counter to the health measures adopted by the police inside prisons as part of effort to prevent spread of communicable diseases among detainees if their numbers exceed the prisons' capacity.
According to him, the police does not view those absconders as law breakers but they fall under the administrative circular as absconding and therefore they need to be deported. "This is the measure demanded by those workers in order to avoid paying lofty fines they can't afford when they are nabbed by the police," he added.
Workers, he noted, who are given dates for deportation are those who run away from their sponsors for a period up to 15 years and report themselves to the police for deportation. This group, he further said, is treated in a different way than those arrested by the police for working with other sponsors. "The latter group will be referred to the public prosecution for trial," he said.
Khaleej Times has received complaints from workers wishing to go home through the deportation process but the police refuse to detain them and set dates for deportation.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Certificate of good conduct in 24 hrs
DUBAI — 01 Aug: Residents of Bur Dubai and nearby areas can get documented proof of good conduct from the Dubai Police in a matter of 24 hours from applying for the same.
Making the announcement, Brigadier Khamis Mattar Al Mazina, Director, General Department of Criminal Investigation, Dubai Police, said the new facility at the Port police station in Bur Dubai would issue certificates of good conduct so as to simplify things for residents of the area.
The new service would save the public substantial time considering that, earlier, people had to approach the General Department of Criminal Investigation to get the certificates, Brigadier Al Mazina observed.
The number of good conduct certificate applicants since the establishment of the service on June 10 till July 30 was 1,019, of whom 240 were UAE nationals and 779 expatriates, he said, adding that 257 certificates had been issued in English and 762 in Arabic.
Another 63 applications had been suspended after ascertaining the applicants' criminal antecedents or other complaints registered against them, he added.
Sergeant Ziyad Salem, the head of the new section, said UAE nationals seeking certificates of good conduct needed to produce their original passports with a fee of Dh60. Expatriate applicants needed to pay a fee of Dh110 besides producing their original passports and valid residence visas for not less than six months, he said.
Applicants would need spend just about 45 minutes at the police station to complete the application and the electronic fingerprinting procedure, Salem said. Applicants would also be informed by the police as and when their certificates were ready, he added.
KHALEEJ TIMES
4x4 drivers ignore other commuters on highways
DUBAI — 01 Aug: Thousands of people criss-cross the different highways of the country daily. Most of these highways are well built and allow travellers to reach their destination with ease and comfort.
Given the booming way in which the cities in the UAE are expanding and the myriad number of construction projects coming up all over the place, it would all have been a gruelling and time consuming task to travel from one place to another without these highways.
But where these highways have brought so much ease and reduced the travelling time, a number of problems have also arisen — Traffic jams, over speeding, cutting lanes, etc are some of them.
One such major man-made problem is the rash driving by many of the 4x4 or SUV drivers. Taking advantage of their comparatively bigger vehicles, they tend to intimidate other drivers by driving rashly.
They drive excessively fast, cut other drivers off, switch lanes without indicating and also tailgate.
"The way most of these 4x4 owners drive on the highway is barbaric," said Khursheed Khan, who travels from Ajman to Dubai daily using the Emirates Road.
"Saloon car owners like me have to be extremely cautious to avoid an accident with them. They drive rashly and just don't care about smaller cars."
"I use Shaikh Zayed Road to drive from Bur Dubai to Jebel Ali everyday for work. Most of the traffic jams and accidents that occur on this route are caused by SUVs. These people are insensitive to the lives of others and take a lot of unnecessary risks," said Rakesh Jagesar of India.
The fear of SUVs has been so instilled in some of the saloon drivers that it has affected their psyche.
They have resorted to different means to protect themselves and thus feel safer.
Rose Lee of Philippines said: "I owned a saloon car for the last three years and was satisfied driving it around town. But then my office shifted to Jebel Ali and I had to travel daily on the highway. After driving on the highway for a month, I realised how unsafe it was for a small-car driver like me. I sold my saloon and bought an SUV. Although it put a big dent in my pocket but I feel safer and don't get nervous on the highway any more."
"My children's school is on the way to my office," said John Gore, who commutes daily from Sharjah to Dubai also using the Emirates Road.
"Till last June, I used to drop them off myself on my way to office. Now I have seen so many accidents on the highway involving SUVs and saloon cars; with saloon cars usually bearing the brunt of damages and casualties that I no longer feel that my children are safe. From September on, when the school reopens after the holidays, my children will travel in the school bus. Although it's expensive, uncomfortable and takes a longer time to reach its destination, I have the comfort of feeling that my children are safer."
It's not only small-car owners that complain about the rash driving of SUV owners. The SUV owners themselves admit to it.
"I admit that 4x4 drivers drive rashly. In fact, I myself have been guilty of that act many times. A powerful car that is bigger than the ones around you tends to give one a feeling of power and invincibility. This more often than not leads one to drive without considering the rights and safety of other drivers," explained Lenny Pereira.
He drives an SUV to travel daily from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.
"It's definitely a psychological and physical advantage to be driving an SUV amongst all types of vehicles. In comparison the other cars seem puny and vulnerable. Also I know that when I drive rashly, the smaller-car owners, for the sake of their own safety, would put up with it and make concessions for me. This makes me even bolder and prone to commit more offences on the road," admitted an SUV driver candidly on condition of anonymity.
KHALEEJ TIMES