We don’t like to think about this but the truth of the matter is, most of our children will eventually have sex one day. It’s a part of the human experience. While our children will always be our babies, they are their own people.
Some parents are better able to accept this than others. Some assume their child will wait until they’re married. Others ignore the topic all together. And when it came to two teenagers having a vacation fling, one mother decided to get international law enforcement involved.
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Marcus Fakana entered into a secret, romantic relationship with another Londoner.
Marcus Fakana, of Tottenham, north London, was on vacation with his family in Dubai when he met another teenager from the same city, the BBC reports. At the time, Fakana was 18 and the young woman he met was 17. Today, both Fakana and the young woman are 18. Before the end of the young lady’s trip with her family, she and Fakana engaged in a secret, romantic relationship. The truth came to light when the girl’s mother discovered pictures and chats between the two teens.
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Fakana and his family are 'extremely distressed' by the chain of events.
The girl’s mother reported the relationship to the authorities in the United Arab Emirates. Even though the two teenagers are only months apart in age, the fact that Fakana was 18 and the girl was 17, law enforcement in Dubai detained Fakana on the grounds that he had a sexual relationship with a minor.
A spokesperson from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said, “We are supporting a British man in the UAE and are in contact with his family.” Radha Stirling is the founder and chief executive of Detained in Dubai. The organization helps foreigners abroad and is an authority on UAE law. Stirling said Fakana and his parents are both “extremely distressed” by his arrest.
Stirling said the teens have been caught up because the girl's mother reported their relationship.
Fakana’s parents, one of whom works in a warehouse and the other as a cleaner, had to return to London to resume work. Marcus remains in Dubai, unable to leave the UAE, The Economic Times reports. Fakana told the Detained in Dubai group why the relationship was a secret. “We really liked each other,” he said according to The Guardian. “But she was secretive with her family because they were strict. My parents knew about our relationship but she couldn’t tell hers. She had to meet me without telling them it was to see a boy.” The two planned to continue seeing each other in London before Fakana was arrested and held for three days, unable to contact his parents.
'Is that worth it?' Stirling asked of Fakana's potential sentence.
Stirling said Fakana’s parents don’t know what to do. “It’s a unique case,” Stirling told the BBC. She said it’s the first where the age difference was so small. “We are not talking about any abuse or taking advantage of anyone,” she continued. “This is clearly just a case of two older teenagers, both of them now the same age, who have been caught up because a mother reported the behaviour.” The case has gone viral because so many consider it to be unfair. If convicted, the teen faces 20 years in a Dubai prison. “That would ruin their son’s life, the whole family’s lives. Is that worth it?”
Stirling mentioned the signifiant differences in laws between Western nations and the UAE. “UAE targets westerners for tourism, offers cheap flights, takes out expensive PR agents and marketing in newspapers but there’s very little warning us about what can happen to us if we go to Dubai,” Stirling said. She even claimed that the rules listed on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) website aren’t clear or thorough enough. “Dubai has only recently legalised out-of-wedlock sex for tourists but still hosts a strict Islamic legal system,” Stirling said. “The girl was just a few months younger than Marcus and he didn’t know that at the time,” Stirling explained. “Since his arrest, she has turned 18. “This is not something Dubai should be prosecuting.”
Marcus' father prays this nightmare will be over soon.
Fakana’s parents are incurring costs of £2,000 in AirBnb accommodation while they await the results of Fakana’s trial. He told Detained in Dubai, “[My family] saved up for this one-off holiday and have now used all of their savings.” His trial is set for December 9. According to the BBC, Marcus’ father previously said, “I pray this nightmare will be over and I’ll be home for Christmas.”
