Groups of Iranian Pimps Thriving Inside Bur Dubai
As if one of the wise men of the Middle East didn’t have enough on his plate, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the philanthropist with a strong belief in educating women now has to deal with a group of pimps who have pushed what is typically known as the oldest professional in the world a little too far, namely prostitution or sex trafficking of minors.
The Iranian PIMP business is flourishing in and around Bur Dubai, courtesy of Russian-speaking prostitutes being willingly flown in specifically to do the “deed”. Upon arrival at Dubai’s national airport they are quietly ushered through the equivalent of a fast-track lane to meet their “arrangers” before being chauffeured away into awaiting limousines or less luxuriant modes of transportation. None of this is new of course but what is new is the gradual reduction in age of these “professional” girls from Eastern Europe and the increasingly abusive treatment some are receiving at the hands of pimps.
These degradants are damaging the reputation of Dubai and detracting from the years of hard work and effort that Sheikh Mohammed has contributed in bringing Dubai out of the dark ages and into the modern era way ahead of many of its neighbors. On the surface only the Dubai "powers that be" can sort out this problem on their own doorstep. I remain optimistic they will tackle the problem "head-on" and not deny it exists. Should they be successful and decide to take action we will certainly feature their success as an example to other governments who wish to follow in their footsteps.
It’s no secret every country has its unofficial red-light district and many would say it serves some purpose, it depends of one’s perspective. Dubai is no different to the US’s Nevada, London’s Kings Cross, Germany’s Frankfurt to name but a few.
So why did we receive a phone call from a rather anxious Dubai national working at the Dubai International Airport terminal?
Our source wishes to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, we’ll simply call him Saed. Saed sounded rather upset on the phone, on this particular day someone had pushed his buttons a little too far. This “someone” was a PIMP fully attired by all accounts in a Rolex watch and sharp suit, the only thing missing was the medallion and gold tooth, but that’s for the clichéd LA pimp varietal, not for Dubai.
In Dubai it appears the majority of organized pimp rings are led by Iranian men and to a lesser extent Russians. Let’s make it clear, these are are not only giving Dubai a bad name but Iranian and Russian men too. These brothels are tucked away in an area called Bur Dubai in what is known as the unofficial red-light district.
Red light districts are widespread throughout the world, let’s not pretend they don’t exist. Virtually every country has them whether you like it or not so if that is the case, why was Saed so upset? His anger and frustration stemmed from a particular pimp getting a little too “cocky” excuse the pun! This particular pimp (we’ll call him Ali) physically spat on the Dubai airport worker as Saed asked to see one of the young girl’s passports. Saed shared with us his humiliation and embarrassment. He knew there was no-one to complain to within Dubai as he believed (rightly or wrongly) that he would lose his job. Saed states he is an educated Dubai national simply trying to support his family but he observes a double standard between what is being said & done and what transpires on a regular basis. It clearly bothers him and being spat upon certainly doesn't help.
Saed recalled the recent headlines where an English woman was jailed in Dubai for a sexual act on the beach with her boyfriend. Although he could understand the reasons for the headline, he couldn't comprehend why the woman was jailed when, in his words "the leaders of my country are condoning similar behavior or even worse".
We asked Saed to whom he was referring. Saed gave us the names of some prominent members of Dubai & UAE society who receive these very services. Sheikh Mohammed was NOT among them. According to Saed, the pimp business draws in all sorts of clientele including some consumers from the higher echelons of Dubai society. Saed continued “Private encounters are often organized in advance courtesy of a go-between, namely the pimp where sex becomes the cocktail of the night. Once the services have been rendered, the money is paid, hands shaken or shoulders hugged, the girls are flown back to Eastern Europe until the next plane arrives. Everyone’s made their money and had their momentary erections”. Whoever taught Saed English did a very precise job!
So what’s the big deal I hear some of you ask? According to Saed, some of these girls are children as young as 14 and that, together with the abusive treatment is where he draws the line as unacceptable. Saed stated it isn't "necessarily" the royals who go after the very young girls, it’s the clientele of the Iranian & Russian-ran brothels where pimps are often keeping the youngest for themselves. These girls have their passports taken away, are treated very poorly and are often forced to have sex not only with their clients, but with the pimps too. The pimps "try them out first" then put them to work. Apart from Saed’s obvious upset at being spat upon in the course of doing his job, he states “this is clearly a human rights abuse issue and an example of under-age sex trafficking”. He feels it gives Dubai a bad image and is saddened by what he terms “a deterioration of his society”. Saed believes all the hard work Sheikh Mohammed has put into building Dubai combined with the Sheikh’s philanthropic achievements are now being undermined by the detrimental reputation of Iranian-ran brothels.
45 MAGAZINE'S PERSPECTIVE:
This is a global problem, take the word Dubai out of the picture and you're still left with pimps & young girls whose profession is prostitution. No-one in their right mind can honestly believe it was these girls' dreams from childhood to end up at the hands of these lewd characters and suffer abuse on a daily basis. This global problem often stems from any one of the following:
- Poor communities with lack of resources (parents selling their daughters would be one example or daughters selling themselves to support their families)
- Lack of education
- Incest or child sexual abuse
- Drug & addictive tendencies (including students at university mainly in the US who are addicted to gambling, drugs or alcohol. These students spend their student loans on their addiction, they can't tell their parents who would never understand so they resort to selling themselves at casinos or unofficial brothels (a practise comonly known as partying) in order to be able to continue with their education).
- The last example would be girls who wish to make easy money sometimes in another country. The problem is, "EASY" can quickly get out of hand, passports are taken away, the abuse starts and they have little or no escape.
This is a story is about a global problem, our source simply happens to live in Dubai and wanted to do his part to expose the violations of young teens.
Let's face it, the oldest profession in the world is not going away in a hurry if indeed it ever will. But the question is, is it possible to curtail abusive behavior and ensure basic human rights are not being violated? We would say YES it is possible provided governments are prepared to address the problem openly and not deny it exists, thereby condoning human rights abuses.
DISCLAIMER: 45 MAGAZINE ONLINE is about revealing the truth. Following some internal investigations we feel confident in printing this account. If you believe there are any inaccuracies in this article, please contact editorialdesk@45magazineonline.com |
