Fresh off the tarmac: part 1

FRESH OFF THE TARMAC

THE COURTHOUSE WITH GOLDEN DOORS

You know that building near Al Wizarat you pass driving down Sultan Qaboos highway? The one with the gargantuam gilded gold doors?

The first time I saw it my mother told me it was the courthouse, where people go if they steal or commit crimes.

My eyes grew wide as we drove by as a child at those massive golden doors and the thought of a Shariah-court inside, presided over by Sultan one could beg mercy from before one's head or hand was chopped or the like.

My mother liked to read the Sassoon "Princess" novels. I read "Arabian Nights". Damn Orientalists we were. Dear. God.

Yeah. That building IS A BANK!

Ha ha ha lol.

:XD

Yeaaaaaaah, things like that happen when you are an expat fresh off the tarmac. People can tell you things about Oman and you'll believe them and you won't even know it is something completely made up as a joke for expats.

CAMELS

For example, in Abu Dhabi, dressed in abaya as I always am, Muslim convert here, a tourist made a mistake of thinking from the fact that I was talking to a camel in Arabic, that I was its beduoin owner or something. They decided to ask me how long camels live. Amused by their mistake I said 25 years.

What do I know about camels?!

Now that poor lady and her husband are wandering around telling other tourists and expats and their relatives back home that camels live to be roughly 25 years of age.

Which, I have never bothered to look it up, may or may not be true.

PDO EXPATS AND THEIR PREDILECTION FOR WHITE PRADOs

Looking for a friend's home in Ras Al Hamra was supposed to be easy. Their car was parked out front, and we knew its make and colour.

It was a white PRADO.

We'd gone camping with our friend. This was supposed to be easy.

In front of their home were parked four identical white Prado 4x4s, which made determining left or right nigh impossible.

Damn PDO expats and their prediliction for white Prado 4x4s.

Our white toyota pick up stood out by far.

THE LEMON TREE

When asked WHY we moved from our old place in Al Khuwair (I miss the pool) to the PDO camp, I tell people it is because of a lemon tree.

Yes, because of lemons.

My mother has a habit of fighting with ALL of her neighbors, but she forgot that if you start a feud with a tribe in Oman, the feud can outlive you.

Apparently there was some fight over who the lemons on a particular lemon tree belonged to since the tree had never produced any lemons until the water paid for by our waterbill watered it.

You can see where this is going.

Dispute of ownership of said lemons ensued.

Lemons are pretty cheap here in Oman. They sell them in Al Fair, right near are old house.

It was my mother versus a tribe of angry Al ________ and they won by overwhelming numbers, and we were chased out.

Yes, the poor ROP were involved, tsk tsk.

ON PHONING THE EMERGANCY NUMBER

"Phone the ROP! They're fighting!"

I held out the mobile. "I already am. 9999. It's busy."

Oman, serriously, how can your emergancy number be busy? What if somebody was being murdered?

Oh, there you go, just add another 9 to bump somebody else. It worked.

"Hi, this is a call from ___________ Al Khuwair, I need a patrol car here and some officers. There is an assault going on."

ROP man on the other side: "You don't speak Arabic."

Our end: "No."

Click. On hold.

Eye roll.

THE CASINO

Driving out there was horrifyingly bright flashing building large with Neon lights.

Confused, a young OPNO asks their Omani driver: "Isn't this an Islamic country?"

She knows that gambling isn't allowed in the Muslim holy book.

This knowledge is confirmed to her.

Still gawking at the local Lulus Hypermarket she asks, "Then why do you have giant Casino?"

WHY I LOVE OMAN: from living in another GCC country

Before I moved to Oman, I lived in the UAE. I was going to take a teaching job there but I took the first few months off to take time to aclimatize, to discover and enjoy my 'new' country.

I never adjusted. I had a very hard time. As a Muslim woman living by herself, despite the advertised image of UAE being a very "modern" country toted in the West, the ordeal of just doing daily chores like grocery shopping in YEMEN of ALL places was easier than doing so in UAE without local male harassment.

And I WORE A FACE VEIL AND A VERY LOOSE OVERHEAD ABAYA when I lived there, a plain abaya, with no decoration. I wore plain black flat sandals and no make-up. An extremist would approve of my "hijab".

I looked even more modest then most locals.

Honestly, I couldn't shop by myself or even with female friends without a male companion to discourage Emirati men to leave me alone. I know people talk bad about Saudi Arabia, but I know ALOT of Saudis, and what happened to me in UAE wouldn't even be allowed to happen in Saudi Arabia, and I know that FOR SURE.

Here goes:

I had four witnesses to the event. The local wife of an Abu Dhabi politician, an American non-muslim woman, a Canadian Muslim woman, and an Emirati infant. These people saw what happened.

I was going for a peaceful walk with my female friends. We were modestly attired. Our American friend is Arab-country saavy and fluent in Arabic. Peacefully walking, pushing a stroller.

A car passed by us, window rolled down, creeping slowly, blasting Arabic music. Saying something in arabic to us, we did not make eye contact, we ignored him. We kept walking, trying to enjoy our night. This car continued to follow us and would not leave us alone. This continued for up to a half an hour and we had cancelled our walk and were trying to exit. The car blocked our exit by circling around for another pass.

Now you know, I would have phoned the Emirati police, wallah, but my faith in them had only been destroyed the other night, when I saw them stop two prostitutes (one Iranian, one Sudanese) on the Corniche. Knowing that they were prostitutes, I assumed they were to be arrested by the Emirati police officers. But the fear in the two girls eyes was worse than that for their locale Emirati pimp who drove a white hummer parked just down the rode from them. [Understand, I have a special respect for prostitutes and a hatred for what drove them to this way of life].

The police took the girls phone numbers and resident card #s and drove off. The girls looked like death. I made the mistake of inquiring what had gone down, thus destroying my faith in UAE justice early on.

Iranian Lady-of-the-Night: "They are making us go to their party." Translation, the girls have to sleep with the cops or face deportation or worse.

Anyways, thus that explains why I did not really want to call the police, and why I did what I DO when I am scared. I started a fight.

I confronted the Emirati stalker. I hit his car. Note: I did not damage it. I also told him to lower his gaze. I yelled "shame!" at him in Arabic.

The adhan rang out in the background, calling Muslim men to prayer.

Thus did that Emirati, the fact that I rejected him and hurt his pride by NOT puting up with his sad social behaviour, called the UAE authorities ON ME.

To teach me, the foreigner, to BOW DOWN to my UAE superior.

The police knew full well we women did nothing wrong and that he was the one commiting a crime. We were superior in witnesses.

So why was I facing arrest?

But he was a local.

One of us was also, and on top of that, she had considerable wasta, but tribe and country and race don't matter in Islam, and I wanted to make an Islamic point to the creep. We didn't play the local card.

When the police told me to apologize or be arrested I told them I'd rather go to jail. OPNO is just like that.

I told the Emirati man if he would swear to Allah he wasn't harassing women I'd apologize. He refused, of course.

Anyways, I never did get arrested. The cops made OUT like they were arresting us to save face in front of the proud local but then let us go at the mall but that made me hate UAE for good. I was done with it.

Justice is not justice unless it stands for all mankind. Not one race or country over another.

In Saudi, I'd have been allowed to smack the dude right in the face btw, foreigner that I am. I would not have been detained and questioned by the police.

In my opinion, the justice system in UAE is even WORSE than the one in Saudi because women ARE allowed to defend themselves in Saudi, even if they are not encouraged to walk without male escorts. At least UAE should admit that women really can't walk free without harrassment.

In Oman, I have been harassed on one occasion. But you know what? The ROP more than dealt with it. The man went to JAIL for trying to kiss my friend. JAIL for a long, long time.

More than what we would have felt was justice but... at least Oman will prosecute its own misbehaving citizens when PUSHED to. Yes, you have to PUSH, but it at least exists as a possability. And you won't get arrested for some idiot STALKING YOU!

***If you are accompanied by your husband or a male relative in UAE this does not happen.****

Horror Stories Involving Omani Taxis

Sythe from Muscat Mutterings on this post http://www.muscatmutterings.com/2010/08/horny-taxi-drivers.html asked about taxis. They are a problem here. A big one.

I have HORRIBLE luck with taxis. Absolutely freakin' horrible luck with taxis. One out of three is CREEPY BEYOND BELIEF and stalker material. Two out of three is kinda awkward-ish. And the third type, the good ones, I save their numbers and cherish them, and pray they'll be free when I need to go somewhere.

I take taxis alot. Up until recently I had no choice. So don't judge me. I honestly have had people [Arabs] say I was asking for trouble because I tried to go out live my life, ie work, have friends, see the occasional sports match. To do these things, I had to walk, or take a taxi. Um, hello! As one of my ROP friends said, you should be able to walk around safe in Oman. Alhamdulilah I have had friends in the ROP or else, maybe I would have been considered "one of those girls" who derserves what she gets because she dares leave her home unprotected by a man.

In Islam a woman IS allowed to go out of her home without a male protector unless she is on a journey of such and such a distance, i.e Oman to Nizwa or something, not the local Lulu or whatnot. And I am an orphan by Islamic standards. I have no maharam, so SHAME on those who try to say some creepy pervert taxi driver is any way a woman's fault because she has a life. Seriously. Enough ranting, back to stories about said pervert taxi drivers.

One night I walked from my old home to Centerpoint. I bought a few items and they were too heavy to carry home. So I waved down a taxi and bartered my fare. My taxi driver's name was Mohamed. He gave me his card, with his phone number on it. I always ask at the beginning of the drive so as not be harassed for a "missed call". I sat in the backseat, I always do. I put my shopping bags down and held my purse. I was fully covered, abaya and headscarf, no hairs loose (even if a woman is not no man should TOUCH her, certainly not a MUSLIM MAN!!!!). I spoke English, so he thought I was easy or something. Or not a Muslim, which was later his excuse. As if it were okay to feel up Non-muslim women in Islam. Which it isn't. Anyways, back to Mohamed. He started asking me something is Arabic. I was new in Oman but knew the Saudi word for cat is "bisa". He was saying "boosa". Trying to be helpful, I said, confused, "cat? You know, meow?" And he reached back from the front seat and reached under my abaya to my inner thigh. I SCREAMED and hit him with my purse and yelled stop in Arabic. I leapt out of the car, as angry as I was afraid, while we were slowed at the corned in MQ just past the turn off for Al Fair and Kargeen.

"Shame on you!" I yelled in Arabic. "May Allah forgive you and guide you cause I don't!"

"You are a Muslim?" He looked confused. As IF is made a difference. I was more mad.

"English language doesn't make a woman a whore!"

"Am sorry then sister," he said. "I love you then."

I wanted to shower, I felt so dirty, but I was so angry I spat on him and turned my back and peeled off. Only five minutes later I relaized he still had my bags. I phoned one of my ROP friends who, off duty, went and got my things, and said the man wouldn't be touching ANYTHING (I take it his hands were out of commission) and that he wouldn't be "boosa [kiss] - ing" anything for a while. I didn't ask any more. This is how Omani big brothers deal with things.

Allah bless THIS particular Omani big brother of mine, because all the others said it was my fault for walking taking taxis anyways. Even if I would have no food if I didn't do this from time to time????

A few months ago, on my way to the Radisson hotel for a meeting, the same thing happened, the taxi grabbed my thigh AND my breast. And wouldn't let me out of the taxi. I jumped out while it was moving and took down the plates. I reported it to my ROP friend and let him take care of it. I went to the meeting, pretended this didn't bother me, but then after, went to the restaurant washroom, and fully bathed. An Omani woman told me, she believed me but I shouldn't make another police report because if I did they would think I deserved getting molested since it had happened more than once. WHAT THE HELL?!!!!! That is happens a lot indicates A CRIME TREND, not my character, as alhamdulilah, enough ROP officers KNOW my character not to assume evil of me and place it where is belongs: with the pervert.

The worst case though was, after these incidents, I figured it was safer to take the baisa buses taxis, since then, Iwould not be alone on the buses. Safer in numbers theory. Which worked for a long time until one day, near Al Wizarat, the driver was listening to Khaleeji music blaring and couldn't hear anything, and I was third seat back. An Omani man in a blue dishdasha came in. he sat half over my leg. I climbled up the side of the wall of the bus to move away in case it was a mistake. He put his hand on my thigh and I threw it off and back onto his lap and glared at him. He then grabbed both my wrists and pinned me up on the wall of the bus. Three Indian or Pakistani men were sitting behind me and I was screaming to them and the driver for help. the driver couldn't hear me. The Indian men, one of them joined in with evil blue dishdasha creep, and all I could do was scream because I realized no one was going to help me. We slowed at a roundaboout and I escaped out a window, then to be nearly hit by a car. I staggered to my work, walking in the heat dazed, and then proceeded to wash all the dishes in the sink at work because I just couldn't deal. I knew I didn't have the plates of the bus as I was nearly struck by a car escaping so I knew there was absolutley nothing the ROP would or even could be able to do, not even my friend.

I don't take taxis anymore unless it is the three men I trust. I forced my work to hire me a driver. Or else, well I wouldn't work, and my ROP friend drives me for anything now that I need, but he is the first to say, Oman shouldn't be this way and NO ROP has the right to say, WHY WERE YOU OUT ANYWAYS? A woman's answer should be: Isn't Oman safe?

To the woman on your post Sythe, tell her to press the charges. If he is the sole provider for his family, so what. Under Islamic law the punishment for what he did is pretty damn harsh so my Muslim response is don't be quiet, take it as far as it goes, because it isn't even the punishment the creep truly deserves.

There are charities for poor families. We don't sheild criminals as an act of charity. That isn't Islamic AT ALL.

-Princess of OPNO

In Loving Memory Of...

An ROP officer died on duty while trying to save a family in the middle of a wadi in al7oqain.

May Allah grant his soul mercy and give him Jannah, ameen, and make this time easy on his family.

I think this very well could have been one of our brothers or husbands or fathers or friends and remember to be thankful for what I have been given in this life.For any of you who want to help out the victims of Phet, (some have lost their households), Dar Alataa should be contacted and supported:

They are looking for----

"We are supporting the far places like wadi Al Taieen and ja’alan and waiting for the rout to Sur and Quraiat to clear up. So if anyone is willing to help, Dar Alataa is arranging trips with large trucks carrying (Food,water, mattresses… etc) and they need people escorting them with 4x4 cars. For people who can’t go far, they can donate money, food, water…Basically anything that will help the effected people. Just contact dar alataa." ----

To contact Dar Alataa: 24692996

Thank you.

PHET: UPDATE Day 1

Heavy rains Sur-Muscat will cause major flooding. The waters have caused dangers in the wadis and all National Defence and the ROP are on red alert (meaning all personal are on active duty. Make dua for all our brave men and women in service and those in the lowlands.

Emergency Contact Information In Case We Need It

The ROP http://www.rop.gov.om/english/index.asp will help anyone who comes to their stations, expat or Omani, in case of a local emergency due to the cyclone. They advise people to be aware and listen to Oman radio. To stay away from the water or wadis. And keep track of emergency numbers in your local area. For such numbers follow this link: http://www.rop.gov.om/english/regionalinfo.asp

* Police Emergency Round the Clock................9999
* Water Emergency Round the Clock.................153
* Electricity Emergency Round the Clock...........154

Wilayat	Wali's Office	Hospital	Municipality	Emergency Numbers
				Water	Electricity
Muscat	24788888	24738036	24704800	24796319	24714300
Muttrah	24714605	24711296	24707079	24796319	24714300
Boushar	24592303	24593311	24590768	24602499/7	24602895/24591974
Seeb	24422278	24450203	24422272	24440624	24455160/24424315
Amrat	24876700	24876512	24876682		24875877
Qurayat	24845222	24845002	24845074		24845009

Wilayat	Wali's Office	Hospital	Municipality	Emergency Numbers
				Water	Electricity
Sohar	26844477	26840399	150	26854731	26840318
Rustaq	26878333	26875055	26875114	26897076	26878560
Shinas	26748400	26747055	26747060		26747100
Liwa	26852255	26852055	26853116		26853398
Saham	26855522	26855148	26854172	26855764	26854100
Khaboura	26801877	26805055	26801703		26805101
Suwaiq	26860001	26860688	26860411		26860246
Nakhal	26780001	26780708			26781205
Wadi al Mawl	26781001	26780709	26780421		26781205
Al-Awabi	26767001	26767006			26767480
Al-Musana	26769400	26768155	26769966		26768115
Barka	26784318	26782055	26796346		2678378

Wilayat	Wali's Office	Hospital	Municipality	Emergency Numbers
				Water	Electricity
Khasab	26730171	26730187	26731272	26730365	26730365
Bukha	26828111	26828397	26828282	26730365	26828365
Diba	26736453	26736443	26736566	26736192	26736192
Madha	26739000	26739480	26739054	26739034	26739034

Wilayat	Wali's Office	Hospital	Municipality	Emergency Numbers
				Water	Electricity
Buraimi	25651133	25650855	25650137	26655110	25650875
Ibri	25692100	25691011	25691268		25690492
Mahdha	25667006	25678184	25667100		25667018
Yanqul	25672666	25672055	25672015		25672766
Dhank	25696666	25671033	25696760		25696593

Wilayat	Wali's Office	Hospital	Municipality	Emergency Numbers
				Water	Electricity
Nizwa	25426633	25425055	25410084	25425267	25431048
Sumail	25351337	25350055	25340145	25351444	25350077
Bahla	25420002	25419233	25433399		25419988
Adam	25434240	25434167	25422377		25434865
Al-Hamra	25422900	25422055	25420303		25422302
Manah	25427999	25424133	25427006		25428002
Izki	25341888	25340033	25434797		25341706
Bid-bid	25368111	25360138	25360144		25360161

Wilayat	Wali's Office	Hospital	Municipality	Emergency Numbers
				Water	Electricity
Sur	25544779	25542118	25540011		25542283
Ibra	25570020	25570533	25570288		25571329
Al Qabil	25583104	25583534	25583406		25584219
Badiyya	25581877	25581167	25581460		25581442
Al-Mudhaibi	25578500	25578354	25578010		25578617
Dima Wattaeen	25560222	25560047	25560345		955379
Al kamil, Walwafi	25557885	25556100	25557760		25557811
Jaalan Bani Bu Ali	25553744	25553011	25553760		25553219
Jaalan Bani Bu Hassan	25550003	25550301	25550057		25553580
Wadi Bani Khalid	25505001	25505005	25508010		25505199
Massirah	611221	404019	404028	9456243	404552

Wilayat	Wali's Office	Hospital	Municipality	Emergency Numbers
				Water	Electricity
Haima	23436082	23436013	23436098	23436080
Mhoot	953204
Duqum	952597
Alj azir	953245

Wilayat	Wali's Office	Hospital	Municipality	Emergency Numbers
				Water	Electricity
Salalah		23211151	23292211	23290222	154
Thumrait	23279666	23279177
Thaqah	23258111	23258041	23258027
Marbhat	23268111	23268095	23268004
Sadah	23277003	23277016	23277175
Rakhyout	921258
Dalkhot
Muqshm	921235
Shaleem
Halanyat Island	921259

MUSCAT GOVENORATE

Muscat Govenorate Police Headquarters phone: 24560021 fax:24560107

Muscat Police Station phone: 24736611

Wattayah Police Station phone: 24677534

Ruwi Police Station phone: 24701099 fax: 24701770

Mutrah Police Station phone: 24712211 fax: 24714983

Bausher Police Station phone: 24600099 fax: 24601222

Al Amerat Police Station phone: 24875999 fax: 24877690

Qurayat Police Station phone: 24845555 fax: 24845535

__________________________________________________________________

AL SHARQIYAH REGION

Al Sharqiyah Police Headquarters phone: 25540399 fax: 25544580

Sur Police Division phone: 25540099 fax: 25540410

Al Kamil wa wafi police station phone: 25557420 fax: 25558150

Ja'lan police station phone: 25550420 fax: 25550221

Masira police station phone: 25482339 fax: 25504008

Ibra police division phone: 25570099 fax: 25571656

Ibra passport and traffic section: 25570403

Al Mudhaibi police station phone: 25578099 fax: 25579299

Badiah Police station phone: 25583099 fax: 25583699

Civil Defence Sur phone: 25540199

______________________________________________________

AL DHAKHILIYA REGION

Al Dhakhiliya Police Headquarters phone: 25414899 fax: 25431446

Nizwa Police Division phone: 25425222

Bahla Police station phone: 25419099 fax: 25419100

Adam Police station phone: 25434099 fax: 25434598

Nuhaidah Police Station phone: 25384495 fax: 25384491

Samail Police Division phone: 25350099 fax: 25352133

Izki Police Division phone: 25340099 fax: 25340141

Bid Bid Police station phone: 25360099 fax: 25361399

Directorate of Traffic, Nizwa, phone: 25431811 fax: 25431322

_________________________________________________________

Al WUSTA REGION

Al Wosta Police Headquarters, phone: 23436099 fax: 23436092

Haima Police Division phone: 23436211

Qarn Al Alam Police station phone: 23385559 fax: 23385660

Nimr Police station phone: 23382391 fax: 23382703

Reema Police station phone: 23382272 fax: 23382222

Bahja Police post phone: 23388963

A'Ssama Police post phone: 23388984

Habari police post phone: 23388004

A'Dukum Police post: 9381682

__________________________________________________________

AL BATINAH REGION

Shinas Coast Guard phone: 26847141

(***will update regional contact information if the storm is predicted to effect more areas***)

International Dialing Code for Sultanate of Oman (+968)

Hospitals & Health Centers
A’ Nahdha Hospital: 24837800
A’ Seeb Health Centre: 24450494
A’Rahmah Hospital: 24815132
Adam Hospital: 25434355
Al Amrat Health Centre: 24876512
Al Buraimi Hospital: 25652319
Al Khaburah Health Centre: 26805055
Al Mazara Health Centre: 24842002
Armed Forces Hospital:24617997
Badiya Hospital: 25583534
Bahla Hospital: 25419233
Barka Health Centre: 26882055
Bousher Health Complex: 24593311
Bukha Hospital: 26828562
Dagmar Health Centre: 24849033
Diba Hospital: 26836443
Eyty Health Centre: 24886007
Hail Al Gaf Health Centre: 24845340
Ibn Sina Hospital: 24577361
Ibra Hospital: 25571709
Ibri Hospital: 25691990
Izki Hospital: 25340042
Khasab Hospital: 26830187
Khoula Hospital: 24563625
Masirah Hospital: 25504363
Muscat Health Centre: 24738036
Mussanah Health Centre: 26860055
New Al Khoud Health Centre: 24537443
Nizwa Hospital: 25449361
Old Al Khoud Health Centre: 24513923
Quriyat Hospital: 24645003
Royal Hospital: 24590491
Rustaq Hospital: 26877186
Saham Hospital: 26840399
Sinaw Hospital: 25524338
Sohar Hospital: 26840399
Sultan Qaboos Hospital (Salalah): 23211151
Sultan Qaboos University Hospital: 24513355
Sumail Hospital: 25350055
Sur Hospital: 25540190

Tanam Hospital 25699033
Umm Al Ghawrif Hospital 23265000
Yanqul Health Centre 25668033

AND FOR ANY

Insurance Companies
Phone No.
Al-Ahlia Insurance Co.
24709431
Al-Ittihad Alwatani Insurance Company
24566470
Al-Nisr Insurance Co.
24798457
American Life Insurance
24707361
Arabian Insurance
24793299
Dhofar Insurance Co.
24795929
Guardian Ax A Insurance
24797537
Iran Insurance
24796381
Muscat Insurance Co.
24695897
National Life Insurance
24560321
New India Insurance Co.
24705558
Northern Assurance Co. Ltd.
24560638
Norwich Union Insurance Ltd.
24708078
Oman United Insurance Co
24703991
Royal & Sun Aliance Insurance
24602318
The New India Assurance Co.
24705558
Insurance Brokers
Phone No.
Al Farsi Insurance Broker
24896262
Al Kalbani Ins. Services
25690802
Al Khuzama Trdg. & Cont. Co.
23295460
Al Saqr Al Salaam Trading
24835055
Atallah Services
24703021
C.E. Health & Partners
24701996
Insurance Management Services Co
24567664
Insurance Service Centre
24792923
International Ins. Broker
24566679
Majan Brokerage House
24697451
Muscat Insurance Services Co.
24706801
Oman Insurance Bearue Services
24564271
Risk Management Services Co.
24704004
Safe way Co.
24600798
Umberala Ins. Services
24786010

FUNNY ROP QUOTES

ROP officer at a traffic jam before the roundabout in Qurum: [said angrily in arabic] "The next person who honks gets a ticket!"

A random expat: "Well, no one here in Wattiyah [station @ night shift] can speak English or tell me what's going on, or what's going to happen to us, but they sure make the best coffee!"

"My car got stolen 2 yrs back... the ROP calls me often to ask me if I have spotted the car anywhere I should call them immediately!"

"My friends cell and money was stolen out of their car. They work for the mobile company, so they got the trace, and knew the name of the guy and phoned the ROP with it. The ROP guy says 'if you bring him down to the station...'"

Me @ the airport: "That purse is to be checked. It has a weapon in it." I get directed through security still holding the purse and searching for someone to give it to. Bussed to the boarding steps in Seeb, I am STILL holding the purse that I told them had to be checked because it had a weapon in it.

Please feel free to add your own.

Crime in Oman

With the poll http://otheroman.blogspot.com/2010/03/poll-theft-in-muscat.html on OtherOman's blog documenting thefts (organized by date, location, manner of crime, and possibly the extent of what was taken) I have been thinking about what I have known about crime in Oman.

In a previous post I had noted that I had never seen an armed robbery in Oman, or a theft in progress. Not of any kind. But I had heard of break-ins (PDO expat homes especially in Ras al Hamra during vacation season---this even five years ago) and recently I had 600 rials taken from my home, and another 300 rials taken from a friend's car (too bad the money was mine). One of the robberies was in the MQ area, and the other, cuz it's my home, I'm not telling. I also know that alot of my Omani friends have had their CD players stolen out of their cars.

Yet they assure me, "OPNO, it is safe to leave your purse in the car." "With 250 rials + just sitting there, and my passport.....?" Yeah. "Well, at least the thief left my bazas."

Anyways... K, we forgive you.

Soooooooo.... I remember the expat circle in Ras Al Hamra discussing the crimes a few years back. Sometimes, ya know, it WAS actually the stereotypical, "the maid did it" but this is usually within the time frame where the maid was at the end of her contract and on the way back to her home country, so these cases are OBVIOUS. Plus, small things had gone missing, I mean, who else would wanna steal the crystals for my abayas????? As for the car break ins, and home break-ins, from my friends that are ROP and security, these aren't usually migrant worker crimes. That's all they'll ever say and get as close to saying, that maybe an Omani could have done it.

Quote from an unnamed law enforcement source: "Muslims aren't allowed to steal and Omanis are Muslims, right? But Muslim Omanis aren't supposed to drink and you can go to any bar or nightclub and see them in full dishdasha getting their party on. So the social issue is the same as in any country with high instances of crime. Low income, and unemployment, and a family case that cannot support all its familial members to the same standard of living."

And for the Omani families I've known who've had break-ins, it is always on a holiday like Eid.

LOL, I HAVE completely changed the grammar and spelling of the previous quote to protect the identity of the source, LOL.