Secutity status Riyad

Has any of this been in the newspapers?

Xpert_Engineer wrote:

Similarly I heard that a non saudi family finished their shopping from Hyper Panda (I don't know the Branch in Riyadh) after that husband told to his wife along with two kids (just outside hyperpanda mall gate) that wait here with the stuff I am taking the car down here from the parking. Just within 2 mins (after husband left) in 4WD some saudis came and forced the woman to sit with them and finally forcefully they took the woman , left her kids behind and ran away.

We all know what the will gonna do with her. The worst thing is that till now no body knows where she is....

Don't understand what the saudi govt and police is doing... The crime rate is extremely high in Saudi as compare to other GCC countries....

Word of mouth, cannot be trusted. Please share the authentic source for this.

All,

I also wish and pray that it is fake but i heard that there is some page on facebook where riyadh women share there personal experiences on that page in order to spread if there is something going wrong.

Can any body advise us the link of that page? May be we could find this thread some where there...???

Do you Have any Authentic Source for This ?? Haven't heard or read any such news !!!

Why do you guys need evidences and newspaper prints? Street crimes are enormous and media is handcuffed. Please do practise all safety/security measures instead of running into troubles caused by disbelief.

support is a strong word
you have 10 posts, noone knows anything of you, and you are talking of rather high profile crimes.

i havent heard anything. and i deal with intelligence people.
Know this. All the sectors of gov are on high alert. with the unrest in the area from the tards, and things happening literally all around Saudi arabia, there is guard up.

@FLS, Since post#2 we are talking about comparatively low profile street crimes. In that context, I do support () @Xpert_Engineer.

This one never came in the news: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=145515

And see this interesting example. The incident report didn't appear anywhere 2 months back when it happened.

Oh high profile, I do agree. Nothing special going on as per my info as well

normal things that happen in society such as car theft, item theft, violence, isnt really anything out of the normal, expecially in a country where so many of the inhabitants are un or undereducated, poverty levels, etc etc etc.

So the majority of the things you are describing are rather common in any country.

so to the response of the title.  The status is normal as of now. Nothing too far out of the ordinary, use normal caution.

I also pray every thing may normal. Thanks for the message.

There was an account a few weeks ago of the arrest of a terror in Riyadh. There was also a another cell in another city, Jeddah I think.  The US embassy published a terror warning alert about it on August 26th. There was 6 Yemenis arrested and one Saudi, they are looking for others.

Evening Star

I am hearing frequently every week that the Saudi guys are taking the Non-Saudi Women from the road, outside from malls, parks etc.

I think *this* is the part some of us are doubting, NOT about cars being stolen.

I am quite certain that if every week Saudis were abducting women, we'd ALL have heard of it.

Exactly

However a warning at work has been released about the Saudi holiday.  Be wary

Freshlikesushi wrote:

Exactly

However a warning at work has been released about the Saudi holiday.  Be wary

This warning is issued by the US Embassy every National Day.  To my knowledge there has never been a problem, but please do be careful

Mine was from rsaf, not the embassy

Guys, I also support TLL and Xpert in this regard.

Even my saudi friends tell me that while you're out of your car, do not leave your wife with car unlocked as there have been incidents. I am not exagerating but what he has told me that there are some people here who are dying to have these things as marriage is v expensive for a poor saudi becuase as per the custom its guy who pays the girls family for marriage.

so this factor and the closed envrionment leads these young guys to that level of frustration which is a danger for expat women. Also, a lot of Saudis in my office suggest that you should not go to malls on takhassusi as the guys there might try to harrass you.

So all of us have to be cautious. Rememebr, this is the kingdom so media reports only what it is allowed to. to verify that, on twitter type saudi arabia and you will get inside info automatically which you never see in electronic and print media.

I have never encountered such an accurate grapevine as I have in KSA.  Expats who work in the medical field or education move around and everybody seems to know somebody in the other hospitals/universities or have a friend who does.

This grapevine is more accurate than the newspapers but I am wondering why I haven't heard of these many abductions via the grapevine?

pkmusd wrote:

Guys, I also support TLL and Xpert in this regard.

Even my saudi friends tell me that while you're out of your car, do not leave your wife with car unlocked as there have been incidents. I am not exagerating but what he has told me that there are some people here who are dying to have these things as marriage is v expensive for a poor saudi becuase as per the custom its guy who pays the girls family for marriage.

so this factor and the closed envrionment leads these young guys to that level of frustration which is a danger for expat women. Also, a lot of Saudis in my office suggest that you should not go to malls on takhassusi as the guys there might try to harrass you.

So all of us have to be cautious. Rememebr, this is the kingdom so media reports only what it is allowed to. to verify that, on twitter type saudi arabia and you will get inside info automatically which you never see in electronic and print media.

Now that's what you call adding weights to the discussion. Thanks Mate:)

I'll back Allie and FLS with this one. all that talk is just talk. with actual cases on less the 2%, so relatively speaking we are very much safe, unless women are running around asking to be snatched, lol.

Salman Omrani wrote:

I'll back Allie and FLS with this one. all that talk is just talk. with actual cases on less the 2%, so relatively speaking we are very much safe, unless women are running around asking to be snatched, lol.

But Salman, 2% means that 2 out of every hundred women get snatched!!  So you might want to rethink your math (esp. considering the thousands of women out shopping every day).

I think you might have meant .002% or less.

A new guy in Saudi Arabia who has so many stories that no one else has heard about, I wonder what his source might be.

Yes, it is a well known fact that petty thefts increase specially when the summer vacations starts, and we hear lots of news about it specially car jacking, but normally carjacking that happens here is done mostly by the youth for fun, not as a business.

But I've never heard of abducting women from shopping malls, that's a bit extreme.

On the comments by expert eng i would say we should support any new comer to blog, may be he has less exp hasnt seem saudi but he shudnt be discouraged. If we pull leg of all new comers how are v goin to have new people joining in and helping build this platform to help all of us.

Xpert_Engineer wrote:

My question to all of you.....! Are you a part of any local government security organization who knows every thing??? You all are just a expat like others then how you started certifying other comments to be true or not.

People don't read comments and, instead to be focused on the real topic, they started certifying that this is not correct.

Yes militsry

@Xpert  Here's the thing, my friend--I believe all expats know to exercise caution here. So what is the point in spreading stories that can't be proven to be true?  To cause panic?  To make husbands forbid their wives to do the ONE freakin' thing we're allowed to do in this country (shop)?

As for boys/men harassing us, so what?  We just ignore them and keep walking.  Is it any worse than being harassed by the mutawa?

It also disturbs me that you say Saudis are abducting expat women, thus perpetuating distrust and creating a 'them' against 'us' mentality. 

Don't get me wrong--I appreciate your concern.  However, just be careful that in your effort to be helpful you're not spreading rumors.

All

Thanks for your cocerns. I totally agree with aliecat. Apologies if anyone hurts.

I also agree that my concern was to protect others but I support aliecat as these types of rumors could cause serious problems to others.

Be safe and Good luck

Xpert_Engineer wrote:

All

Thanks for your cocerns. I totally agree with aliecat. Apologies if anyone hurts.

I also agree that my concern was to protect others but I support aliecat as these types of rumors could cause serious problems to others.

Be safe and Good luck

pkmusd wrote:

On the comments by expert eng i would say we should support any new comer to blog, may be he has less exp hasnt seem saudi but he shudnt be discouraged. If we pull leg of all new comers how are v goin to have new people joining in and helping build this platform to help all of us.

you are on internations


just realized that lol

I'll second Alliecat . I never came across anything so terrifying as this post on expat-blog.

Doubtlessly, KSA offers more security than most of the GCC countries and off course much more than South Asian subcontinent. Alhamdulillah I never heard & read about any such incident of women abduction and harassment in Malls. Street crimes are relatively more in downtown areas of Batha and Hara, and everyone knows this. Pardon me, these downtowns are reigned by non-Saudis at large.

I always advise the newcomers (especially those who are tenaciously aspiring to become a social media hero) that please don’t gimmick just for a purpose of lame discussion. Bring some purpose and authenticity to the post if you really want to help others.

pkmusd wrote:

So all of us have to be cautious. Rememebr, this is the kingdom so media reports only what it is allowed to. to verify that, on twitter type saudi arabia and you will get inside info automatically which you never see in electronic and print media.

Which hash tags / search terms should you use on Twitter to get good news in English about Saudi Arabia? I have heard that HashKSA is meant to be good for news about Saudi in Arabic.

Alliecat wrote:

@Xpert  Here's the thing, my friend--I believe all expats know to exercise caution here. So what is the point in spreading stories that can't be proven to be true?  To cause panic?  To make husbands forbid their wives to do the ONE freakin' thing we're allowed to do in this country (shop)?

As for boys/men harassing us, so what?  We just ignore them and keep walking.  Is it any worse than being harassed by the mutawa?

It also disturbs me that you say Saudis are abducting expat women, thus perpetuating distrust and creating a 'them' against 'us' mentality. 

Don't get me wrong--I appreciate your concern.  However, just be careful that in your effort to be helpful you're not spreading rumors.

I'm not sure it's wrong: I've seen an increase in Saudi rape videos popping up on The Pirate Bay. They don't seem to be seeded for very long, but it is disconcerting.

On a related note, is pepper spray available in the KSA?

cairanya wrote:

I'm not sure it's wrong: I've seen an increase in Saudi rape videos popping up on The Pirate Bay. They don't seem to be seeded for very long, but it is disconcerting.

On a related note, is pepper spray available in the KSA?

I've seen such some videos on youtube that are clearly faked.. footage from movies and labeled as KSA or Afghanistann or wherever Also, how many rape videos from the US are out there?  I'm not defending KSA but just making a case that no country is crime-free.

Wait till you're here to make a judgement. As for pepper spray, I've never seen it nor have I ever had occasion to use it.  Your avatar says you're from NY, so use the same good sense you use in any large city and you'll be fine here

This sickness happens everywhere not just in saudi but also happens frequently in the UK and america..dont be shocked. Most of things that is discussed on this forum is not true and no authentic evidence is provided...most people enjoy giving a saudi a bad repuatation and have nothing better to do just to attack us saudis.

EastLondon wrote:

This sickness happens everywhere not just in saudi but also happens frequently in the UK and america..dont be shocked. Most of things that is discussed on this forum is not true and no authentic evidence is provided...most people enjoy giving a saudi a bad repuatation and have nothing better to do just to attack us saudis.

You're wrong in saying that what was written here on this thread is an attack on Saudis. The original poster was sincere in thinking he was passing on a warning.  If you follow the thread, different people had different opinions and the original poster apologized if he had perpetuated a rumor.  I thought it all ended very nicely and in a very civilized way

PS  you say you are a Londoner but now refer to yourself as 'us saudis' so which are you?  And you can't be both.

Alliecat wrote:

cairanya wrote:

I'm not sure it's wrong: I've seen an increase in Saudi rape videos popping up on The Pirate Bay. They don't seem to be seeded for very long, but it is disconcerting.

On a related note, is pepper spray available in the KSA?

I've seen such some videos on youtube that are clearly faked.. footage from movies and labeled as KSA or Afghanistann or wherever Also, how many rape videos from the US are out there?  I'm not defending KSA but just making a case that no country is crime-free.

Wait till you're here to make a judgement. As for pepper spray, I've never seen it nor have I ever had occasion to use it.  Your avatar says you're from NY, so use the same good sense you use in any large city and you'll be fine here

I'm sorry, I never meant to imply it was crime-free.

Most of what I've heard comes from Dave's ESL Cafe. (I lurk there far more than here because I'm still going through the visa process, so I'm not sure if I'll actually make it over.) But when I hear the same thing about personal safety concerns from every.single.unmarried.woman who's been there and has also traveled as extensively as I have, I get nervous.

I'm also pretty nervous because the nature of the crimes seem to be so different. On Union Square, it's usually just a drug addict trying to steal money, and you can avoid all problems if you make it clear you're armed and not carrying anything valuable (aside from your gun). Stranger rape is pretty rare in NYC, whereas every woman like me seems to have complained about an attempted sexual assault from a stranger -- and usually a taxi driver -- in the KSA.

To be fair, I have noticed that I have NOT heard these complaints from married women in the Kingdom. I think it's because they don't have to rely on taxis to chauffer them around. It's the single women's cab stories that have really made me nervous.

I'm single.  I go out by myself all the time.  I've taken lots of cabs, too.  Never had an incident.

HOWEVER, if you're nervous (and I can't blame you), there are limo drivers available (a limo is just a private car as opposed to a taxi) at almost every western compound or company compound.  Women  usually have several names and you call these guys to pick you up at a certain time.  There are 'set rates.'

So don't worry about cab drivers.  I admit, I usually don't use them unless necessary but my reason isn't safety; rather, it's  because the 'limos' are clean, smell good, and the drivers speak decent English (and have good hygiene--my only real complaint against cab drivers is PHEW! sometimes they really have some strong body odor!  Deodorant, anybody?? lol).

hi I am a woman. Hello, I would like to spend to Riyadh 3 days I also have hotel there my question is generally possible(at all possible) only from airport to hotel with taxi go.thank you

stefce wrote:

hi I am a woman. Hello, I would like to spend to Riyadh 3 days I also have hotel there my question is generally possible(at all possible) only from airport to hotel with taxi go.thank you

They've been known to hold women until her 'mahram' (or sponsor) comes to pick her up.  That said, I always walk right through and out the front door to find my driver but I DO know single women who have been held.

Alliecat could you please tell me more about limo services and do They Only work with Compounds?
Thank you

Myriam

gmalou1 wrote:

Alliecat could you please tell me more about limo services and do They Only work with Compounds?
Thank you

Myriam

Here's a link with some info:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=170134

I use Hala.  Collect the numbers of drivers so you can call them direct.

The best way to find out what's the security status in this country is to talk* with taxi drivers. They will tell you EVERYTHING! Yes, some of them have BO issues, but those who have been living in this country for more than 10 or 15 years can provide precious information.
According to some statistics, KSA is one of the 10 most safest countries in the world (the stats do not include terrorist threats). I have good reasons not to believe the stats, though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Saudi_Arabiahttp://www.nationmaster.com/country/sa- … /cri-crimehttp://www.nationmaster.com/compare/Sau … ates/Crime

Later edit:
* This message is mostly addressed to men. Women shouldn't engage in conversations with taxi drivers as they may misunderstand that you are trying to flirt with them.