EK Captain attacked at home in Jumeirah
 

Hi All,

First post since leaving the pit.

An EK Captain and CRM Instructor was attacked in his home in 84 Villas last night by a masked intruder.

He stabbed our colleague with a box cutter. Injuries to face and next to his heart.

Hospitalised. Reports of a mask wearing guy entering other houses in the neighbourhood.

The pilot, R, is a great guy.

ALL of us who post on pprune send our respects to you and your family and our wishes for a speedy recovery.

Stay safe when you fly and perhaps we should all take a few minutes with kids and spouses to remind them to lock up.

Happy Xmas to all.

Very sorry to hear that.

I wish the Captain a speedy recovery and swift justice for the perpetrator.

Are events like this highly unusual for that area or do we ordinarily just not hear about them ?

Anything about a motive yet ?

These events occur in cycles. They do happen with regularity, usually every 8 months or so. The authorities do not publicise it. There have also been some attempted abductions of kids from the schools surrounding the 84 Villas. The police and schools did publicise these events. I knew of at least ten people in the 84 Villas who were broken into. This is the first time where violence has been used that I know of. I have seen pics of R. Out of respect for his family I don't want to share. They are not pretty at all. Please do mention to your family members the importance of taking care when leaving school and locking up at night. Get some contents insurance from RSA at EGHQ. It is cheaper and a good investment.

If indeed you have a recurring breakin problem every 8 months and 10 such cases, it does speak much about the airlines inability to sort it out.

The airline show their disdain for the employees on a daily basis. They have done nothing to improve security in the these villas. I really hope they now take it seriously. This poor man could have lost his sight or be dead. Speedy recovery Captain R. With best wishes to your family.

Approximately where are the 84 Villas?

Very close to Safa Park. Off Al Wasl Road. Near Al Wasl Square.

Shut or ship out
 

A very senior 380 Skipper who lived a few doors down from R.in 84 before he left presented CCTV footage to EK group security of two guys shagging each other outside his villa. The recording was confiscated and he was told to shut up or ship out. The incident obviously did not sit comfortably with the heirachy. This approach would be no surprise to anyone who has lived in this part of the world for any legnth of time. The area has been known for break-ins and petty theft but nothing this serious.
Wishing R. a speedy recovery and a hope that the perpetrator is found and his balls nailed to the wall.

We lived next door to R for many years until we recently returned to the UK and were shocked to hear what had happened especially since it seems I was pretty complacent and naive while we lived there... The missus claimed that the front door would be rattled in the night as if someone was trying to gain entry - coincidentally happening every time I left, as if someone has been watchin and waiting... it seems the perps target those without maids as it's easier to sneak into the garden unnoticed... it's a wake-up call for those like me who naively go away feeling the family is secure.
Get well soon and enjoy the extra fishing time ;-) ....

Many of these type of break-ins are opportunist and due to complacency on our part.

Get some bolts put on the sliding doors and/or some wood (2x1 or old broom handle) to stop them being forced.
Have some outside light(s) on.
Do your bit for charity and get a dog from canine friends.
Lock downstairs doors (kitchen etc) at night to restrict further access.
Get additional locks/bolts on the kitchen door etc.

Sounds a lot but you don't need a fortress, just make it too much trouble for the thief to get in, they'll go!

We all know there's no such thing as 100% security but I sleep ok at night (when I'm home!).

A dog from canine friends works wonders as a deterrent for the opportunist thieve, a while back all of the houses in our compound were burgled except ours...
As far as security goes nothing will happen from the airline side of things, years ago when still in company accommodation we discovered when returning from leave (in those days we could still get leave) that our house had been "occupied" whilst we were away. Bathrooms left dirty and soiled, kitchen in a mess etc, there were no signs of a break in, wrote to the appropriate people in the company, the email wasn't even acknowledged. Found out later that security in that compound had a master key of the doors to the villa, went to ACE and bought some new locks!

Our dog from K9 is awesome as a deterrant.
Mistreated and abused and dumped on the street means he's not to amenable to certain types (all without training :ok:).

We don't get anyone bothering us and if they need to come to the house, they are normally found cowering outside!

Gents,

I think we are failing to completely grasp the seriousness of this and other situations like this. Advice from the Company Security department is not enough. We all have a responsibility to secure our homes, but ultimately so does Emirates. They invited us here, encouraged us to bring our families under the auspices that everything is safe and secure. Yet over the years, attempted child abductions and burglaries have increased to the point that the recent situation could have resulted in the death of a colleague. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

But what if he hadn't walked in at that moment and disturbed the burglar? What intent did this burglar have? Who said he was just a burglar? Most of us have a Wife and family. I'm not trying to scaremonger anyone but I've seen the photos of the attack on R and they are totally shocking. It has really made me think and indeed worry if we are really happy leaving our families for days on end to the 'safety of Dubai' without extra measures?

I personally think Emirates need to actually do more to make us and our families safer in our villas. I for one will be writing to HH and STC for the implementation of physical measures and not just fluffy advice and emails attempting to assure us all is well. It obviously isn't!

Ek is trying to make it safer for us by moving everyone to Meydan !!!

As mentioned earlier, I have also seen the pictures of R that James refers to. They are truly shocking. I have also been told that at least one school local to the 84 Villas where a good number of EK staff send their kids is now carrying out a certain "security protocol" Several parents found out when their kids told them. EK are heavily involved in tbe running of the school yet received no communication from them. There could be something much more sinister behind the events at R's house that are nothing to do with him or his family. Please take care of your families and property. Remember that the local press mentioned that "a banned group" used to meet at Al Manara Mosque which is only a few miles away. The UAE is involved in a stalemated war in Yemen. Syria, Egypt and Libya being another story. Uncertain times ahead for sure.

The obvious company response would be to move every one to a single compound owned and operated by itself where it controls security... Recover well R.

This is such a shame. Unfortunately EK won't do anything.
Can anyone confirm that the perp has been caught on not.

just to add to my story above, when we had a series of break-ins at my non-company compound, the guy that we rent from (a well known local) took things seriously and we have had security guards roaming at night ever since (2 plus years ago) as for our company I am still waiting to hear back from our incident in company provided accommodation some years back...

I hope Hussein and Ahlam from EK Accomodation have the decency to come and see R at home after his discharge and wish him a speedy recovery......or she could just send him her standard answer by email "Due to operational reasons your request denied" (sic)

Break-ins are not unknown in Silicon Oasis Semmer Villas either. For non EK staff that is a large compound that contains around 500 villas for FD and Management.

It has an entry gate staffed 24 hours a day by Transguard. Of note, one guy had his entire house cleared out when he was on holiday. And I mean EVERYTHING!

The whole litany or break-ins, thefts and now this incident with R demonstrate again (if that was needed) the disdain that EK have for their staff.

Time to contact the WSJ, again....