Are we racist? What would you do? Any Indian people here?

[Anonymous]

Have you taken pictures of the swastika? Definitely document before doing anything else.

If you are there for work, definitely talk to your boss about this. But also, do you have a Rabbi? If so I would ask their advice, as they might be able to point you to someone who can help and at least they will take it seriously. There appears to be a Chabad presence in UAE so that's another option, you could reach out to them now that Shabbat is over.

In the meantime, could you stay at a hotel or with someone else for a couple days? I'm sure you don't want to "let them win" but your safety is more important and you just never know who you are dealing with. Good luck OP, I hope you find some solutions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your issue is with your chain smoking, Arab neighbor. He’s F-ing with you for complaining about him.

You’re turning this into an issue about a symbol that is sacred to some people and no one that it’s sacred to put it on your door.

The guy is calling you racist because you’re making this about the symbol, not the fact that you and your neighbor have issues.

Stop blaming the cleaners who have no reason whatsoever to f with you. You know who your problem is with.

OP didn’t blame the cleaners. The building manager tried to claim the Indian cleaners put it on her door and that she is racist.

The OP posted this, which he likely told the office manager:

“Yes, I understand what the swastika means in India. But Dubai is NOT INDIA. Just like the US is NOT INDIA. If drawing swastikas over someone's door is wrong in the US, which is not India, then it should be wrong in any country that is...not India.”

You can’t go different countries and dictate like this.

The office manager should not have told the OP that it may have been the cleaners but let’s be real here. Is he going to blame the Arab guy? In the Arab country? Seriously? OP is not in America or Europe. OP is not in a democracy.

[Anonymous]

If you are there accompanying your husband and not working, just return home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - this idea that you’re not in India and people can’t practice their religion outside their country is plain incorrect. We live in the USA, plenty of Indian households use the Hindu swastika for celebrations, holidays, prayers etc. It’s normal. You’re just not familiar. I get it’s would be strange for someone who’s Jewish.

Just move out of the bad location. There’s not much more to discuss. Pick a more westernized/touristy place to live next time you’re in a foreign country so you’re not surrounded by foreigners.

Is it normal Indian practice to anonymously draw a swastika on just one door on the floor, which just happens to be the door of a Jewish family?

No F...ing Indian family would draw a swastika in front of anyone else’s door. What kind of a question is that? They would do that in front of their own door, yes, because it’s is “their” symbol of well being. Why would you think they or any cleaner would draw that in front of your door?

Read the freakin’ OP. The Indian manager claimed it was the cleaners.

He may have surmised it was the cleaners, since there was no evidence of who did it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmmm this is tricky. I'm Indian American and yes, that is a Hindu symbol that can be found all over India and has peaceful connotations there so they are not making that up. Obviously it's a hateful symbol in the US and Europe. So I can see why everyone is convinced that you are creating a problem that isn't there...But I agree that you have hostility with the neighbor, and the neighbor isn't Indian, and is probably trying to mess with you by drawing that symbol. He's using the prevalence of Indian people to try and get away with it. So IMO you are a little bit trapped. Don't focus so much on the symbol, but be very watchful of this neighbor. I can only see the hostility escalating.

Is it normal for people to just...smear it onto the wall in a nice apartment building with their finger? Because that is what this is. It is smeared on with some kind of brownish fluid, like water mud or similar (don't want to know). Do Indian people in India just do this in buildings?

Indian person here. Yes. It’s common to do this.

It could have been your neighbor in this situation but I understand why the building owners didn’t do anything. Dubai has a high proportion of Indian building workers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmmm this is tricky. I'm Indian American and yes, that is a Hindu symbol that can be found all over India and has peaceful connotations there so they are not making that up. Obviously it's a hateful symbol in the US and Europe. So I can see why everyone is convinced that you are creating a problem that isn't there...But I agree that you have hostility with the neighbor, and the neighbor isn't Indian, and is probably trying to mess with you by drawing that symbol. He's using the prevalence of Indian people to try and get away with it. So IMO you are a little bit trapped. Don't focus so much on the symbol, but be very watchful of this neighbor. I can only see the hostility escalating.

Is it normal for people to just...smear it onto the wall in a nice apartment building with their finger? Because that is what this is. It is smeared on with some kind of brownish fluid, like water mud or similar (don't want to know). Do Indian people in India just do this in buildings?

Indian person here. Yes. It’s common to do this.

It could have been your neighbor in this situation but I understand why the building owners didn’t do anything. Dubai has a high proportion of Indian building workers.

This is a troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmmm this is tricky. I'm Indian American and yes, that is a Hindu symbol that can be found all over India and has peaceful connotations there so they are not making that up. Obviously it's a hateful symbol in the US and Europe. So I can see why everyone is convinced that you are creating a problem that isn't there...But I agree that you have hostility with the neighbor, and the neighbor isn't Indian, and is probably trying to mess with you by drawing that symbol. He's using the prevalence of Indian people to try and get away with it. So IMO you are a little bit trapped. Don't focus so much on the symbol, but be very watchful of this neighbor. I can only see the hostility escalating.

Is it normal for people to just...smear it onto the wall in a nice apartment building with their finger? Because that is what this is. It is smeared on with some kind of brownish fluid, like water mud or similar (don't want to know). Do Indian people in India just do this in buildings?

Indian person here. Yes. It’s common to do this.

It could have been your neighbor in this situation but I understand why the building owners didn’t do anything. Dubai has a high proportion of Indian building workers.

Hindus don’t proselytize dummy.

They don’t go door to door spreading their religious beliefs, they don’t tax people that don’t believe what they believe, they don’t think any human is condemned to damnation for not believing as them, they don’t call people heretics or kafirs for not having the same beliefs as them.

[Anonymous]

There is a very large Indian population in Dubai, many of them middle and upper class. Indians are the largest nationality in Dubai and make up 30% of the country.

It is somewhat like living in India as there are many areas that are entirely Indian neighbourhoods and communities.

Western expats are a very small percentage of the population. Very few people know how things would be perceived by foreign nationals from the west.

Dubai's population is mostly South Asian, followed by those from MENA and then the Philippines.

You can not assume a western mindset or western view in those living in Dubai - it may well have been a Hindu symbol.

[Anonymous]

A large number of expats in Dubai are of Indian origin as are business owners and others.

Clearly this situation is not ideal for you. Before you escalate, I would ask yourself if others know you are Jewish and if you were ‘targetted’.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmmm this is tricky. I'm Indian American and yes, that is a Hindu symbol that can be found all over India and has peaceful connotations there so they are not making that up. Obviously it's a hateful symbol in the US and Europe. So I can see why everyone is convinced that you are creating a problem that isn't there...But I agree that you have hostility with the neighbor, and the neighbor isn't Indian, and is probably trying to mess with you by drawing that symbol. He's using the prevalence of Indian people to try and get away with it. So IMO you are a little bit trapped. Don't focus so much on the symbol, but be very watchful of this neighbor. I can only see the hostility escalating.

Is it normal for people to just...smear it onto the wall in a nice apartment building with their finger? Because that is what this is. It is smeared on with some kind of brownish fluid, like water mud or similar (don't want to know). Do Indian people in India just do this in buildings?

Indian person here. Yes. It’s common to do this.

It could have been your neighbor in this situation but I understand why the building owners didn’t do anything. Dubai has a high proportion of Indian building workers.

Ok, you're the first person who indicated this could be a normal practice. But why only on OP's door?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are there accompanying your husband and not working, just return home.

I think OP said earlier that her husband was not there with her, that he was in the other country in which they ordinarily stay. If I were OP, I would do something in this order of preference:
1) If there for work, tell my employer I need to be immediately relocated and they will cover any costs of the move.
2) If not there for work, and I haven't paid in advance for the room, I would either: a) just go home to the other country where you usually live. or b) move to another location, and assume that it will be too difficult for them to try to come after you for the next two months' rent;
3) If I did pay for advance for the room, I would seriously consider just going home to the other country ASAP, or, if that's not possible for some reason, I would keep me and my kids inside as much as possible and avoid any contact with neighbor or anyone else in building.
But I am pretty low tolerance for any sort of misogyny or racism in other countries, especially now that I have kids. People complain about the U.S., but it is really much more tolerant and people have many more rights, than in most places in the world. The fact that your German apartment manager isn't taking this seriously is a really bad sign that he probably lives in Dubai because he hates how progressive Germany has become or something along those lines. There are some real a-holes that really admire Dubai for how well they treat the upper class folks, and how poorly they treat lower-class folks. (I'm remembering Trump's comments about how nice the airports are in Dubia and why can't LaGuardia be nice like that.)

[Anonymous]

The "swastika" symbol was exploited by the Nazis. It is a sign of good in Buddhism and maybe the sign was painted above OP"s door to wish her well. The Buddhist sign is left facing while the Nazi's swastika is right facing. Don't make assumptions until you clarify things with your neighbors.

The Buddhist symbol has been around for thousands of years before the Nazis' co-opted it for their own evil purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "swastika" symbol was exploited by the Nazis. It is a sign of good in Buddhism and maybe the sign was painted above OP"s door to wish her well. The Buddhist sign is left facing while the Nazi's swastika is right facing. Don't make assumptions until you clarify things with your neighbors.

The Buddhist symbol has been around for thousands of years before the Nazis' co-opted it for their own evil purposes.

You don’t think a Jewish person is capable of telling the difference between a swastika and the Buddhist symbol?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most folks have covered the move out part..

On the swastika:

https://journalsofindia.com/ancient-indian-symbol-of-the-swastika/

The swastika is commonly seen in India today as a ubiquitous symbol adorning temples, homes, vehicles, and on walls above entrances and doors and it carries a purely auspicious and welcoming meaning.

Unlike the black hakenkreuz of the Nazis, the swastika used by Indians is usually red or yellow in colour, is not tilted to the right, and has dots at each corner, which are believed to represent the four Vedas.
Swastika symbol adoption by Hitler-

Despite its association for centuries with the symbolism and practice of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religions, many people in Europe and America see the swastika only as the defining symbol of the antisemitic, racist, fascist Third Reich (1933-1945) of Adolf Hitler.

Yes, I understand what the swastika means in India. But Dubai is NOT INDIA. Just like the US is NOT INDIA. If drawing swastikas over someone's door is wrong in the US, which is not India, then it should be wrong in any country that is...not India.

The problem is that it’s not just India. Temple are marked on maps in most of Asia with swastikas. So you can’t just say it’s neutral/positive symbol in India but a hate sign everywhere else. It’s clearly a symbol of hate in Europe and North American but the Middle East is not Europe or North America.

All of which is to say I don’t know if OP would have local popular opinion on her side if she raised it with anyone local, especially seeing as the Middle East is often very anti semetic. I think someone is trying to threaten OP and I would absolutely try to break her lease and move ASAP. I’m so sorry this happened to you and I really hope you’re somewhere safe soon.

[Anonymous]

Canadian here who has lived in Dubai - As you know, a lot of the service staff in the UAE are from India, Sri Lanka etc. The swastika in Sanskrit means well-being, and is often placed or written above the door to invite luck and prosperity into the home. I think it’s really suspicious this was placed above your door after you moved in, when you are clearly not Indian, however do they know for sure you are Jewish? I remember being really shocked when I saw the swastika above doors in Indonesia, the Maldives, and the UAE, but for Hindus this is a sign of peace…… HOWEVER, most people also understand the connotations and it’s not as popular as it used to be.