Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?

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At some point in my life, I contemplated on going to either Singapore or Dubai for employment.  I never really pursued that because of so many different reasons.  The primary reason was that I never really wanted to leave the Philippines and seek employment somewhere else. I mean, sure, you earn a lot of money somewhere else and experience living an independent life in a foreign country, but I wasn’t ready for that. Besides, I knew that I was in a good place — emplyment-wise.

Another reason was that I have read news about how difficult it is to be gay in a place like Dubai. I’ve read some things about the state of homosexuality there, and I kind of hesitated, too.  How will I then maintain a gay blog if that was the case right?

I’m sure that there’s more to it than meets the eye.  I think one has to experience living there to really feel and know what it’s like to be gay in Dubai. We have some kababayans who are there and I’m just wondering how their lives are.

Anyway, for our kababayans there, and our friends here who have friends in Dubai, let me just share the recent news from Dubai.

Last July 7, Alarabiya.net reported¹ that Dubai police launched a morality campaign after a British couple were arrested for having sex on a Dubai Beach. The campaign also resulted in the formation of an undercover unit to “combat homosexual and indecent activity on the emirates’ public beaches.”

An unnamed official at Dubai Police’s Criminal Investigation Department told UAE daily Al-Emarat al-Youm that police officers in civilian clothing are patrolling local beaches after complaints from the public of indecent behavior, especially at night time. He encouraged the public to report any activity they find offensive.

According to Dubai government statistics, out of 2.97 million beach visitors last year, 641 people were caught engaging in indecent acts. There were also seven cases of alcohol consumption, five cases of alcohol possession, and five attempted robberies.

Recently, about several foreign men were detained for allegedly being gay or openly wearing women’s clothing in public².

Police in the Gulf tourist hub of Dubai say they’ve detained 17 foreign men for allegedly being gay and wearing women’s clothing in malls and other public places.

Police spokesman Zuhair Horoun says the men were either visiting or working in Dubai. He says they were detained Wednesday but would not elaborate.

I may not want to work in Dubai, but I still want to visit it.  Heck, it is my dream to stay at the Burj Al-Arab Hotel!

*note: This entry is not meant to  scare anyone in Dubai nor is it meant to prevent anyone from going to Dubai.

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