Nurse who was jailed and deported after showing middle finger to driver urges expats to obey the law.
An Australian nurse who was deported for showing his middle finger to a motorist has warned expats to be extra careful how they behave. “I want people to be aware of the law because I don’t want anyone to go through what my wife and I have been through,” Darren O’Mullane said.Darren spoke to 7DAYS less than a week after he was deported for showing his middle finger to an Emirati driver on Sheikh Zayed Road. He was deported after spending 24 days in Dubai Central Jail, while his English wife, Marie, had to give uptheir apartment, cars and family pet and uproot to start a new life in Australia.
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Seriously, expat folks, beware who you wag your finger at, you never know who's in the other vehicle.
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47 comments:
good and any non married couples holding hand should be deported too.
This is so stupid it borders on insane; sure I can understand giving someone the middle finger is offensive, but a warning and then a fine would be appropriate, not a jail term.
And that is specifically for the reason that you cannot prove someone has given you the middle finger or sworn at you unless you happen to have eyewitnesses.
Basically someone could get angry at someone else right this minute, and report to the police that they were given the middle finger when they weren't.
In any case, how in the hell come the motorist who was weaving between traffic hasn't been fined or punished? I'm sorry but bad driving isn't part of the culture of the UAE last time I checked yet it seems to be excused again and again and again. Rather than Dubai police doing anything about bad drivers they once again get distracted by other stuff (like interactive satellite channels, or youtube)
Who would you prefer on the roads here?
Someone who could injure or kill you because they're not paying attention to the road
or someone who could give you the middle finger (shock, horrors!)
I hear you PE; but don't you think deportation is a bit harsh for first-time offenders? Especially since the offence does not engender physical harm.
Well, it is Dubai Jazz but the situation is over annoying in Dubai that I don't really care.
How would the law be if an Emariti does the same to an Indian ? I suppose the Indian will be deported for provoking him !!!!
My sis should go to the jail then. ^^
serioulsy, That doesn't make any sense!
What if an Emirati showed someone the middle finger?
Harsha:
If an Emirati showed someone a finger then that someone will be deported if he/she is an expat.
Harsha,
The person that the Emirati showed the middle finger to would be jailed and deported for upseting the Emirati enough to cause him/her to raise their finger.
Emirati's are better than everyone as can be seen by their high achievement and extraordinary work ethic. Or didn't you know that?
Why did they leave Australia from the first place, it is one amazing country!!!!!
On the other hand, what about drivers who seem to climb on your car from behind, flashing their lights at u, as if they own the road, which causes accidents and fatalities!!! What about them? Is there no one to stop them!!!!
A few hours in a UAE jail would've sufficed. The country will continue to limit its world standing until it addresses the discrepancies between 24 days in jail for an expat's middle finger and NO punishment for locals who wipe out ENTIRE FAMILIES with their insane driving.
Harsha said...
What if an Emirati showed someone the middle finger?
He gets stopped 3 months later infront of the cell phone shops on Difaa street by the guy, who just happened to be a cop, and they start talking and become buddies.
This happened. lol.
PE: if you 'don't care' - please, try and understand the entire chain OR please, don't say anything at all. I'm sorry it's not like someone wakes up in the morning and fancy showing off the proverbial finger. And you should know how some ilk drive about on the UAE highways. Some of 'em drive people to insanity - with the constant flashing, weaving, fanatic Nissan Patrols with tinted windows and a dozen antennas popping of the roof top.... perhaps communicating with alien craft somewhere up there! Even the most polite lose it at times, 'cause we are all 'human'. First offense of this sort and someone loses his job, jailed with a 'criminal record' FOR LIFE?! Come on...thought you had more understanding in you.
With rules like this, The UAE govt dreams that outsiders will invest in Dubai Real-estate and buy houses here to make a leaving !!!! excuse me sir, i would rather buy a house in Mexico
yea enjoy ur pigs in Mexico
The Nony Mouse makes an interesting point.
What if you owned a house here. Would you have been jailed and deported, too?
With all your investment money tied up in property that you couldn't live in? Your life savings?
What price that 'shiny' now?
Its a weird law, but it is the LAW. Dont give the finger. Dont give anyone the excuse to claim you gave them the finger.
The best way to disarm an angry Emirati driver is to pretend you know them. Smile and wave, make a point of clearly enunciating "HOW's YOUR MOTHER?!?" This works especially well with young men, they become afraid you know their mom who will kill them if she finds out how they were driving....
I personally like to do it Brit style. i.e double finger. That way if theres ever any issue I can always pretend I was giving them the VICTORY sign.
(note to all- its very liberating.)
hahahaaai
Good replies PE
obviously alot of people don't read the newspapers
Emiratis actually get pretty harsh punishments than expats
their pics gets published in the news, they pay fines and end up serving jail sentences
but again it would be great if we can get as easily out of trouble as some people here may think
I would never flip the bird while driving but sometimes you wish you could
coz seriously some people have no sense of driving
but I'd never do it for my morals doesn't allow me to do that
besides its not something that was initiated in my culture
But I would call the police if someone did that to me
just like I called up a security guy at global village for two westerners PDA
It was soooo goood seeing them asked to leave XD
And regarding what if an Indian did that to An Emirati
c'mon now, Indians back home get crushed by buses or imported cars driven by spoilt barats
and still no one even gets any type of punishment
just a media hype about it that eventually becomes old news
So please don't tell me about respect while driving...atleast no killing of innocent lives goes on in here
I am intrigued; could somebody please link to a photo of the British-style finger?
It goes without saying that you do so at your own volition and at your own risk!!1!11
Anon 28 April, 2009 20:52 said:
The best way to disarm an angry Emirati driver is to pretend you know them. Smile and wave, make a point of clearly enunciating "HOW's YOUR MOTHER?!?" This works especially well with young men, they become afraid you know their mom who will kill them if she finds out how they were driving.....
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Ehm, you do realize that this could be interpreted differently?
Guys, it's totally different world out there on the road, you've got to train your psyche to TOTALLY ignore all provocations on the road. That's really the best practice.
And yeah, let's be fair here; because emirati drivers:
1- Are not all rash drivers, nor are they the only rash drivers.
2- Do not always get away with offensive acts, nor are they the only drivers who get away with offensive acts.
And regarding what if an Indian did that to An Emirati c'mon now, Indians back home get crushed by buses or imported cars driven by spoilt barats
Imbecilic response Sugar Free Sweetie. The logic inside that pretty head. Unbelievable.
Sean L
SFS, are you saying what happened is fair and perfectly alright?
DJ, agree on most of what you've said, however the world would be a 'perfect place' if we all "TOTALLY ignored" wouldn't it?
Not really
but he will eventually get off easily
Just like 'Beach Sex' couple did
they didn't get what they deserved at all
so don't expect anyone else to do either
For such gesture some good aomunt of money (paid to me and the government seperately) and a few days in jail would do it for me
see now I didn't just say "fine" because I know people who pay thousands of Dhs in speeding fines and not learn anything from it
A jail time might teach someone a thing or two...
As for deportation,,,Trust me he will make it back...alot of them did...
P.S. I just don't know why its so hard for you guys to obey the rules of this country...every country has them...so can just everyone suck it up and accept them???!!!
"but he will eventually get off easily"
SFS, did you actually read what happened to the fellow and his wife?
"P.S. I just don't know why its so hard for you guys to obey the rules of this country...every country has them...so can just everyone suck it up and accept them???!!!"
Quite honestly, you, me and everyone else can suck up so much. Eventually when s*** hits the fan, people shall debate for change (or in case of the UAE, for the heck of a debate) And if you read the article, the cops were ready to drop the matter, however, looney tune was persistent! Imagine if someone falsely and persistently claimed you flashed the finger at him. It's your word against his - just think. I'm not implying flashing proverbial finger shouldn't be against the law (perhaps hefty traffic fines and black points), however to have a criminal record (probably)for life, be left without a job and have lives uprooted, seriously?
Rosh, the only reason why he was easily deported was because he admitted it. If he didn't it would have been totally a different matter.
Rosh, I have a question for you, when you're provoked on the road, which one of the following is the action you'd try to take:
A- you go into a fit of road rage.
B- you force your counterpart to a halt, and then you engage in a dialouge with him/her (to educate him/her).
c- you ignore him/her?
A, B OR C ?! ....... let's see,
HUm, The correct asnwer may be, Humm, *confused* ... Ah, can I call a freind ?
wait! wait! i'm sorry. when did it become acceptable to swear? roads or otherwise?
i can promise you there are days i'd like to run over annoying drivers on the road, be they the ones blocking traffic, or flipping lanes, or tailing me or whatever... it could be a number of reasons...
but then something inside my head tells me if i was in a better mood, i'd probably let the morons pass, and desire to be nowhere close to them. so i move to a side until they are out of sight.
but that's just me. i would never show someone the finger (or two); conversely, i wouldnt like to have one waved in my face either. no matter how acceptable it becomes in the civilised world.
Lol DJ
As much as I dare here to fullfill ur wish.
http://www.ooze.com/finger/html/foriegn.html
whats wrong with a finger.. didnt god give us our fingers.. should they be covered? is an angry finger worse than an angry face? does that need to be covered? is anger illegal? i dont get it..
whats wrong with a finger.. didnt god give us our fingers.i dont get it..
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God gave us fingers to:
1. flip the bird.
2. suck on them.
3. to apply some nail polish on them, prefer red.
lol DJ. umm..I'd pull over, have a shawarmah (the works eh!), some good 'ol tea - call a friend and vent. That said, don't you think provoking safe drivers (no, not the sunnymen!) on highways and the looney tune driving culture is the larger flaw in behaviour and against the law? How many times can you pull over and ignore - 10? 50? A million? Eventually the finger kinda just 'shows up' eh..'cause we are all human. And I'm not implying it's civil or lawful, however does it truly warrant uprooting lives and a criminal record?
PE: true, perhaps.
If only we could apply that to all obscene gestures here in Texas! LOL
Immigration problem SOLVED! : D
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/images/Robinson_crotch_grab.jpg
lirun: anger isnt illegal, but can result in actions that may be construed as illegal... like running over expats in your hummer or say, flipping a finger at an emirati.
Rosh...why would someone accuse me of something I haven't done??!!
I do the best that I can with respecting people and I expect the same from them...
the guy did it, he admitted doing it...
don't mess with people you don't need to be messing with ....it`s an unwritten universal law
as for me..I'd rather have them not mess with me
just for the sake of their safety and well being :p
And yes, I still believe he got off easily
I would've told you tales of how some Emiratis have gone through crap for the silliest things
But frankly I don't feel like defending myself or my people for that matter....All of them come under the rules of this country...and I'm gonna say it again...SUCK IT UP!!!
Sugar-Free, no need to defend yourself, rules are there to be followed. But the point is being overlooked somewhere. Yes he did break the law, but the issue here is that the punishment is inconsistent with such a crime. A fine and an overnight stay at the police station is enough to “educate” the public about the tough measures for this indecent gesture. Deportation?? A deportation order is meant to expel a suspect from a society when he/she becomes more harmful than beneficial to that society.
My question is... WHO was in the receiving car? big difference between fliping off a guy in a camry and a guy in an X5 with a plate that costs more than the car.
I think this has more to do with how connected the guy was than the actual law. I remember the business my 1/2 sister worked for pissed off a VIP client, and the next day the municipality showed up, deemed the company in violation of god knows what, and shut them down till they did exactly what that client wanted. When they did, guess what, everything vanished.
Deportation?? A deportation order is meant to expel a suspect from a society when he/she becomes more harmful than beneficial to that society
And in this case, the UAE govt deemed this person more harmful than beneficial. That is of course, if we go by your reasoning why someone is deported from the UAE.
You had a point somewhere in there HE?
There used to be a time 'pre-crunch' where this blog was quiet. Now there's a welcome flurry of activity here and its share of morons in the comments section. Makes great tea-time reading!
errr, i*maginate, you may want to qualify that statement :)
But it just wasn't the same without you i*maginate.
SFS, did you actually read the article? The guy with 'Armed Forces' caused havoc and provoked. Would you, personally do that? No? Well, you shall likely not receive the finger or frustration from another tired & harassed driver.
Re: 'Universal law' - exactly my dear. All the more important for fair & balanced handouts for something as silly (but offensive). If you think people never accuse someone for things they didn't do you must be more naive than I. And, I don't know why you feel the need to be defend 'your people', where did that come from? There's good and the bad in every basket. And for the last time, I'm debating (for sake of debate & thought) Hand out something that's fair & balanced to both folks, 'cause unlike some of you, most people don't suck up every crap thrown at them. If you can't comprehend that, let's just agree to disagree. Peace.
Wow! Someone hit a nerve here.
there is something wrong with Emeratis when they don't apply equally strict laws to themselves. It's a form of elitism not seen since the USA had jim crow laws.
Sugar-Free Sweetie says accept the law and live with it.
i say,"an unjust law is no law at all".its hard to ignore that racism exists in UAE.what would you do if the laws implemented are totally one sided favoring one section of the society.you may argue this as false,but its the simple truth.its hard to digest and difficult to accept.but the absurdity of the middle finger law is evident,no arguments about it.its one law that can be misused very easily to get even with personal scored.is the political and social logic behind the law that every non Arab in UAE should be wary,afraid and cautious about locals?then this law is just a starting.you may say this is our country,leave and go back to your own.but we can only laugh it that statement,because if the expats leave,your country will not make a single more progress in any sector.its a symbiotic relationship only if the expats leave,they will still have their own nations to go to and contribute,the locals have to think then "what about their nation?can we do without the expats?" the truth is no.your economy is build around us,not you.so the question of us leaving will bring your doom and take you back to 40 years ago when you all were riding camels and not you 4wheel drives.we respect the laws of the nation that has given is so much that our own motherland couldn't give.we would never forget that,but such biased laws and racist attitude will definitely drive the expat community out.in the end you stand alone,you fall alone.
And about Indians dying in on the roads daily and no one going to jail.is a lie and a very narrow approach to the subject.the cases you refer to are maybe by few politically well connected people but on the roads here if any cases like that happen.it is always the expat who pays the price.being an Arab it might be hard to digest the facts,but the truth remains wide out in the open and your intellect chooses to ignore.
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