I'm the Houston woman who was detained in Dubai for 'screaming.' Here's what really went down.
A Houston woman was detained in Dubai for more than three months after her arrest for shouting.
Tierra Allen had gone to Dubai in the hopes of starting her own trucking business.
Instead, she became the victim of a possible scam and a convoluted legal system.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tierra Allen, a 29-year-old truck driver from Houston, Texas, who was detained in Dubai for shouting and then banned from leaving the country for several months. It's been edited for length and clarity.
When I went to the United Arab Emirates with some friends in September of 2022, I liked the environment. I went back again in April because I wanted to start my own trucking business there. I wanted to get a feel for the place because everybody in the UAE has their own business, and I thought it was very lucrative. I was doing normal things like going out to the club and out to dinner, so I got to experience what it was really like to be one of the locals. It's a lot different from the tourists.
And then, everything just happened.
I was in a minor fender bender while my friend was driving, and when the police asked my friend for their physical driver's license, they didn't have it. We both got arrested. They let me go when they realized that I was only a passenger. I asked for my belongings, like my wallet and passport. The police said my stuff could be in the car that was returned to the rental agency.
"Go to the rental car agency," the police said. "We called them. We told them you're coming over, so head on over there right now."
I was told this was a common scam in Dubai
When I got to the rental agency, they told me I had to wait because the impound was closed. Then, the employee said, "Unfortunately, you have to pay $5,000 US dollars to get your things." They said it was their protocol. When I pushed back, he told me to figure it out and that my friend shouldn't have crashed the car.
I apologized, told them I was in the country by myself and asked what I could do. They were becoming very aggressive with me, and with me being a lady going out by myself, they didn't like that. Thinking that you can stand up to them and talk back to them, they don't allow those things.
He got loud with me, and I raised my voice back at him. I walked out of the office, and he chased me outside. I guess he called the police.
I didn't know I had a warrant out for my arrest until I went to check on my friend, who was still in jail. I ended up getting arrested myself. When I asked what I did, the police said it was for shouting at the rental car employee.
I thought it was a joke at first. I felt like I was in a movie. It was embarrassing. Meanwhile, my mom didn't know what happened to me and didn't have a way to contact me. When the police let me leave the jail, they placed a travel ban on me so I couldn't leave the UAE. I thought I was never going to see my mom again for 5 or 10 years, and that just put me in a deep depression.
I wasn't able to work. I also do YouTube, so I wasn't able to do that. I didn't have funds. I didn't have anything. The rental agency had my passport, my wallet, and my phone for three months, and later, they started raising the amount they wanted from $5,000 to $10,000 to retrieve them.
Here's how I finally got out of Dubai
I had access to a computer at my residence, and my mom sent me some money. Both of us emailed the US Embassy, but it was really hard to get help. We got in contact with Radha Stirling, a legal advocate that runs a company called Detained in Dubai, which helps foreigners who are in legal trouble there. She said this is a common scam in the UAE.
She stepped in and contacted the US Embassy and US lawmakers. She went to the news, and that's how I got the recognition and was able to be free from this. Once the case got media attention, everybody was working a little bit faster. Or else, I would still be there now.
In the end, I didn't have to pay anything to retrieve my stuff, so there really was no point. I had to pay $1,300 to get the travel ban lifted. When I was able to finally leave the country, it was a breeze, but I wouldn't believe I was actually home until I was on US soil. When I arrived in Houston, all the news cameras were there. Everyone was excited, especially my mom.
I don't think I'm going to any other Middle Eastern countries. I learned my lesson. But it's going to help me during my other travel plans if I ever get in a situation like that again. I can teach other people, "You got to know your Ps and Qs, or you could be just like me." I got lucky because some people don't make it out of this.
Now, I've been coping with the traumatizing experience. When I would sleep in Dubai, I always thought the police were coming to get me. So now, when I hear knocks on the door, I still think they're coming to get me. But I tell myself, "That's just things that happened in the past, and I'm free now."
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