Mind the gap: British Embassy in UAE shares personal safety tips ahead of holiday season

The British Embassy in the UAE has been sharing memes featuring animals on Twitter to warn visitors and residents

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The British Embassy in the UAE launched a social media campaign to encourage visitors and residents to be mindful of their personal safety over the festive period.

The ‘Stay Safe’ campaign is running on the embassy’s social media accounts, uses light-hearted sketches to convey the messages, including the importance of staying close to friends on nights out and using licensed taxis.

One of the sketches features two squirrels on a night out and underlines the importance of keeping an eye on drinks when in bars, clubs or restaurants. Another uses a group of snowbound penguins to illustrate that even though “there are no polar bears in Dubai”, it’s still sensible to make plans to travel with friends whenever possible and check-in with each other after an evening out.

These light-hearted safety campaigns have become something of a tradition at the embassy.

In 2015, embassy staff recorded a song called “Rupert the Expat Reindeer”. The lyrics told of expatriate reindeer who learnt the hard way why it is important to pay attention to local laws and customs.

The song included lyrics such as “Rupert the expat reindeer. Had a very sun-burnt nose. He’d been at the beach all Friday. So now his honker really glows."

And this: "Some of the other reindeer. Tweeted some offensive stuff. Four of them got deported. Santa’s job got extra tough.”

Commenting on the latest campaign, Ambassador Philip Parham said, “We are fortunate to have such strong people-to-people links between our countries. Around 1.5 million British nationals visit the UAE every year and more than 100,000 are residents here.”

He said, “Most stays are trouble-free. However, it is sensible for us all to avoid complacency. So this campaign is about highlighting some key personal safety issues. And, if any British nationals do find themselves victims of crime, we at the Embassy stand ready to assist.”