Women say they were attacked on National Day
By Vivian Nereim
Dec. 8, 2010
ABU DHABI// A group of five women say they were assaulted and groped by a crowd of men during the National Day revelry on the Corniche, escaping with scratches and bruises.
“I had never felt that kind of terror in my entire life,” said one of the women, an Abu Dhabi resident from Canada.
The assault happened Friday at about 10 pm near Airport Road, according to two of the women, who spoke anonymously to protect their privacy.
The group encountered a crowd of more than 30 men who parted to let them through, they said. But when the women walked by, the men sprayed them in the face with cans of foam, temporarily blinding them, the first woman said.
“We went to cover our eyes, and as we did that, they just swarmed us, completely swarmed us, and then started molesting us,” she said. “They just grabbed us everywhere you can think of.”
The second woman, also from Canada, said she still has bruises on her chest and thighs from the attack.
“They were trying to push me down, and one of them was trying to take my shirt off,” she said. She estimated the assault lasted about two minutes. Because the men had surrounded them, other people in the area could not see what was happening, she said. The women said they had to fight their way out to escape.
Brig Gen Maktoum Al Sharifi, head of Abu Dhabi Capital Police, said he had not heard of the incident, calling the story “a lie.”
Some people caused mischief Friday night with celebratory silly string, foam and squirt guns, he said: “It was overdone, the spraying, whether foam or water, which resulted in some problems.”
However, police did not receive any complaints reporting sexual assault or “flirtation,” he said, referring to verbal harassment.
“There were some flirtations on the road, but no one filed an official police complaint,” he said. “There was a big number of policemen who were solving problems on the spot.”
The women said they had called the police several times, but were transferred repeatedly as they tried to find someone who understood them.
Eventually, police called back to say they had sent a car to the area where the incident happened, the second woman said. By then the women had left because they feared for their safety, and the caller did not give them additional options, she said.
The women did not file a report.
“In retrospect, we were pretty shaken up and just wanted to get home safe, which is probably why we never pushed it more with them, although we should have,” the second woman said.
Both women said it was the first time they had been harassed here.
“I felt very unsafe,” said the second woman, a 28-year-old Al Ain resident who has lived in the UAE for one year. “I’ve never felt unsafe before in Abu Dhabi. But there was no police support and no security.”
Dec. 8, 2010
ABU DHABI// A group of five women say they were assaulted and groped by a crowd of men during the National Day revelry on the Corniche, escaping with scratches and bruises.
“I had never felt that kind of terror in my entire life,” said one of the women, an Abu Dhabi resident from Canada.
The assault happened Friday at about 10 pm near Airport Road, according to two of the women, who spoke anonymously to protect their privacy.
The group encountered a crowd of more than 30 men who parted to let them through, they said. But when the women walked by, the men sprayed them in the face with cans of foam, temporarily blinding them, the first woman said.
“We went to cover our eyes, and as we did that, they just swarmed us, completely swarmed us, and then started molesting us,” she said. “They just grabbed us everywhere you can think of.”
The second woman, also from Canada, said she still has bruises on her chest and thighs from the attack.
“They were trying to push me down, and one of them was trying to take my shirt off,” she said. She estimated the assault lasted about two minutes. Because the men had surrounded them, other people in the area could not see what was happening, she said. The women said they had to fight their way out to escape.
Brig Gen Maktoum Al Sharifi, head of Abu Dhabi Capital Police, said he had not heard of the incident, calling the story “a lie.”
Some people caused mischief Friday night with celebratory silly string, foam and squirt guns, he said: “It was overdone, the spraying, whether foam or water, which resulted in some problems.”
However, police did not receive any complaints reporting sexual assault or “flirtation,” he said, referring to verbal harassment.
“There were some flirtations on the road, but no one filed an official police complaint,” he said. “There was a big number of policemen who were solving problems on the spot.”
The women said they had called the police several times, but were transferred repeatedly as they tried to find someone who understood them.
Eventually, police called back to say they had sent a car to the area where the incident happened, the second woman said. By then the women had left because they feared for their safety, and the caller did not give them additional options, she said.
The women did not file a report.
“In retrospect, we were pretty shaken up and just wanted to get home safe, which is probably why we never pushed it more with them, although we should have,” the second woman said.
Both women said it was the first time they had been harassed here.
“I felt very unsafe,” said the second woman, a 28-year-old Al Ain resident who has lived in the UAE for one year. “I’ve never felt unsafe before in Abu Dhabi. But there was no police support and no security.”
