‘My Facebook in Australia was completely different’: Aussie on what it’s like living in Dubai

WHEN Carlos Haddad moved to Dubai, it was a huge adjustment. Like Jodi Magi, he found the rules around social media were much harsher.

carlos haddad

MOVING to Dubai meant a big adjustment for Carlos Haddad when it came to social media.

The 26-year-old who works in advertising said he quickly learnt to think twice about what he puts online.

“Sometimes you feel like you want to complain about everyday issues but it doesn’t really need to be out in public like that. That’s the thing with social media, it’s become so normal, it becomes the first point of expressing your frustration, with anything,” he told news.com.au from Dubai where he has been based for the last two years after living there on and off since 2007.

“People are used to it on social media, whatever they’re thinking they write it on their Facebook or Twitter …. and when you get used to that and you come to a place where it’s actually regulated you kind of have to step back a bit. And say ‘OK I’ll keep my private thoughts to myself or offline.’”

“It can be hard for newcomers to adapt — my Facebook in Australia was completely different I guess.”

Carlos said recent changes to cyber crime laws have been accompanied by a major social campaign.

Tough cyber crime laws in the United Arab Emirates came into sharp focus this week after Australian woman Jodi Magi was charged after posting a picture of a person who had parked over a disabled parking space on Facebook.

She was arrested and thrown in jail with “zero idea” of her charges and said she was “terrified” at the prospect of what might happen.

It’s a similar situation to the one US helicopter pilot Ryan Pate found himself in earlier this year, facing five years in prison after ranting about his boss on Facebook.

“I just couldn’t register it in my head because as an American growing up in the United States, the First Amendment right is just ingrained in my brain,” he told The Telegraph at the time.

“I never even entertained the fact that I would wind up in prison out here for something I put on Facebook in the United States.”

For locals and political activists it can be even more dangerous. Three sisters were detained secretly for three months this year after posting tweets on behalf of their brother while hundreds of other activists have been jailed for speaking out against the political regime, according to Amnesty International.

Australian woman Jodi Magi found herself in jail after shaming someone for their parking on Facebook.

It’s part of life in the United Arab Emirates — a place portrayed as a modern hub of global business and innovation but with a strict moral code when it comes to ‘decency’, alcohol and drugs.

A November 2014 report by Amnesty International claims the UAE has seen an “unprecedented clampdown on dissent” in the wake of Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia with strict rules on internet-based dissent.

Amnesty International Australia spokeswoman Amelia Freelander said the arrest of Jodi Magi is “symptomatic” of a wider movement.

“In particular, the Cyber Crimes Law has been used as part of this crackdown. This law came into force in November 2012 with vague and sweeping provisions which have paved the way for Jodi Magi’s arrest and conviction,” she said, adding that things are even tougher when the person being arrested doesn’t speak Arabic.

“We are familiar with the problem of detainees being forced to sign documents in Arabic, leading to convictions on charges they don’t understand and may not have realised they were admitting guilt to,” she said.

Despite the risks, the Department of Foreign Affairs appeared unsympathetic, saying Australians travelling are “subject to the laws of the country they are in, and consular officials can’t prevent the detention of Australians or retrieve their passport if it is held by local authorities.”

“The Australian Government’s travel advice for the UAE warns that local laws that appear harsh by Australian standards nevertheless apply to Australian travellers or residents.”

It’s something Mr Haddad knows too well, saying no one teaches the rules to newcomers and it can be a steep learning curve for those not used to the way of life.

He now runs an expat community on Facebook and said things have changed in the last eight years he has been there.

“People have to educate themselves with the laws a bit more — read up on it. I had no clue what the laws were when I first came here.”

“It’s not as strict as you think. You can do whatever you want honestly, you just have to stay within the respectful and moral grounds.”

The government of the UAE has been contacted for comment.

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