UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS PRETENDING TO BE OSTRICHES

Luisa D'Amato has an excellent column in today's Waterloo Region Record titled "UW had no business being in Dubai". Luisa points out that Dubai by any modern standards is essentially "cruelly medieval". Gays, unmarried mothers and women in general are treated with contempt by the authorities. Recent atrocities include a young Norwegian woman who reported being raped by a co-worker. She was then arrested and charged with having sex outside of marriage. Impressive logic and thinking by the Dubai authorities wouldn't you say? Six years ago a fifteen year old French boy was raped by a group of men. When he tried to report the assault he was threatened by the authorities with being charged with homosexual acts.

A few years back I suggested it was a bad idea for a young female relative to travel on her own in India. She was very lucky and had no horrible incidents. Since then however the world has come to recognize what awful cultural and legal ethics exist there. Rape is common whereas charges and convictions are rare even when the victim knows who the perpetraters are. There are literally dozens of countries in the world that you could not pay me to travel to. Meanwhile some dim bulbs at U. of W. thought it would be just peachy to set up shop in Dubai. They are now out and as Luisa says they "...should stay out.".