Resolution: Detained Teacher
This is what is now appearing as “new statement” on the Bayan Bilingual School public announcement board on their website at the BBS website:
Due to the efforts of BBS management and the broader BBS community, in conjunction with expert Kuwaiti legal counsel, the situation regarding our Deputy Middle School Principal has been resolved.
We would like to thank every member of the Kuwait community and parents of the BBS students who have supported BBS throughout this process, and special thanks to the Kuwait Human Rights Society for their extraordinary support and empathy during this situation.
Thanks to blog commenter “Sailor” for keeping us up to date on this resolution. 🙂
Update on Chinese Seafood
From AOL Health Watch originally taken from an article by Andrew Martin at the New York Times. You can read that article, and several similar articles, there.
The problems with Chinese seafood are evident in a database of products that the FDA stops at the border. In May, for instance, the FDA. turned away 165 shipments from China, 49 of which were seafood.
Monkfish was rejected for being filthy. Frozen catfish nuggets were turned away because they contained veterinary drugs. Tilapia fillets were contaminated with salmonella.
The problems were even worse in April, when 257 shipments from China were rejected, including 68 of seafood. Frozen eel contained pesticides, frozen channel catfish had salmonella and frozen yellowfin steaks were filthy, the records show.
The word “filthy” resonates with me. I am going to stick with Kuwaiti fish!
More Souk Mubarakiyya Art
There’s just something about this market that feeds the photographer’s soul! I love the public art . . .
Whoda thunk that the butcher would be wearing glasses? I love the quirkiness of this art.
The flag the man is carrying says “Kuwait” (for my non-Kuwaiti readers).I think this one has to do with the liberation of Kuwait, but I am not sure . . . anyone? I remember from reading Jihan Rahab’s book on the Invasion of Kuwait that the market was totally trashed and at least partially burned, and a lot of damage was done out of sheer malice.
I have this thing about ships!
Just look how CLEAN this place is. Every time I go into any of the markets, I think of France. These markets in Kuwait are cleaner!
What is This all About?
There have been little articles in the Kuwait Times about this incident and similar incidents, but I don’t understand what the groups represent, and why they are opposing one another. Can anyone tell me what this is about?
KU Assault Case
KUWAIT: The dean of student affairs at Kuwait University Dr. Fayez Al Kandari decided to follow up the case of the assaulted Al-Qabas photographer to the legal committee of the university, reported Al-Qabas. The committee is going to summon the member of the students coalition group who assaulted the photographer for further investigations. The committee noted that the student may face expulsion for his acts.
What was the occassion of this assault? I remember in the original article there were two opposing groups of students – what was that all about? And how did Al-Qabas happen to be there?
Al-Enezi praises MOE’s Decision
This is from today’s Kuwait Times.
Does this decision by the Ministry of Education, applicable to all the private schools in Kuwait, mean that no expatriates can be hired for any administrative or assistant teacher positions in any of the private schools, only Kuwaitis? Is this a part of the Kuwaitization program?
By A Saleh
KUWAIT: The manager of the national labor ratio at the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP) Fares Al Enezi announced the preparations for a training course to qualify national laborers to work in administrative jobs and as assistant teachers in private schools.
Speaking at a press conference, Al Enezi praised the Ministry of Education’s decision on banning the hiring of expatriates in private schools as this move would help find hundreds of job opportunities for citizens.
Al Enezi stressed that the MGRP was ready to provide enough qualified national substitutes and he highlited that only 410 citizens currently worked in private schoools as compared to 1617 expatriates of various nationalities. Moreover, he noted that only 140 teachers worked ther versus 10,793 expatriates who worked there as well.
Kuwait: Chinese Seafood Imports?
First it was illegal – and poisonous – additives in pet foods, then in toothpaste. Pets and people died. Now, it is illegal antibiotics in the seafood – additions that exacerbate plagues like the MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) virus being fought in hospitals around the world, because it has become antibiotic resistant. My own father’s death was hastened by his vulnerability to this virus, and his lowered immune system couldn’t fight it off. For me, this is personal.
And I think a lot of the canned shrimp, frozen shrimp and scallops we buy here in Kuwait are also from China. Who is monitoring these foods?
US halts Chinese seafood imports
Chinese exports have surged as their prices have stayed low
The US has said it will halt imports of five types of farmed Chinese seafood, claiming they contain antibiotics that are not allowed in North America.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would detain shipments of catfish, basa, shrimp, dace and eel.
But the FDA said it was not recalling seafood already in the US, and that drug levels were not dangerous and only slightly above detectable levels.
This is the latest in a number of US warnings about Chinese products.
In past weeks there have been concerns about contaminated toothpaste, dog food and the paint used in toy trains.
China countered that its exports were no threat to health and “guaranteed” the safety of its products.
The FDA said it had found that Chinese seafood tested between October 2006 and May 2007 was repeatedly contaminated with antimicrobial agents.
Some of the substances included nitrofuran, malachite green and fluoroquinolone, which, according to the FDA, may help build up a resistance to antibiotics when used in food animals.
You can read the rest of the article HERE at BBC News.
Jimmie Rodgers on your Prayer List
This is an e-mail from the son of Jimmie Rodgers, who a thousand years ago sang a song called Honeycomb:
Jimmie Rodgers was a TCK – Third Culture Kid – a military brat who went to high school in Germany. He is facing a medical crisis, and major surgery tomorrow, June 28, and his family asks for your prayers:
Hello Everyone!
Perhaps we have not spoken for a while. Perhaps we have never even met but somehow we have been connected through this wonderful world of email. That being said if you are considering this to be SPAM consider it the best kind because there is an opportunity here to be kind if for just a moment and truly bless someone. My name is Michael Rodgers. My fathers name is Jimmie Rodgers. Some of you might remember him from his musical career that has now spanned fifty years.
In 1957 he recorded a song called “Honeycomb” and followed it up with a string of hit records totaling 25 top ten singles,eighty million records sold worldwide and concert appearances throughout the world. Through all of that he carried himself with grace, charm and an incredible sense of humor and style.
In 1967 when he was 33 years old my father was injured in what is now known as a road rage incident with an off duty Los Angeles Police Officer. He suffered severe head injuries and underwent three brain surgeries.
During one of those surgeries he lost 28 square inches of his skull on the right side of his head.
Since 1968 he has carried what is considered to be the largest steel plate ever implanted in someone’s head. For 39 years the entire right side of his head has been entirely made of steel.
It took Dad nearly 15 years to recover from the last surgery in 1968 as he had to learn to walk,speak and regain his motor skills. He was not suppose to live more than 10 years with this steel plate in his body as the body continually tries to reject these kind of implants. Over the years as he has gotten older the skin on his scalp has gotten thinner (as it does with everyone) and the steel has began to try to regain it’s original shape and the edges of the plate that overlap the remaining bone have become sharp and they continually cut his scalp open making the plate stick through the top of his head. When this happens his brain is exposed to air and possible infection, he has terrible mood swings and if left this way this situation will eventually lead to his death.
Over the last 15 years he has had the plate filed, snipped, cut, and reshaped, he has had over 60 different skin graphs and other surgeries to try and keep his head from opening up. The last such surgery was 18 months ago and it nearly killed him. He now has a hole in his head the size of a half dollar and it has been this way since February. There is not enough healthy skin left on his scalp to cover it over.
My dad is tough. He is the definition of the word. He has avoided what is about to take place and tried everything imaginable to live with the constant pain and discomfort and he has now made a decision that will define what will be the rest of his life.
On Thursday June 28, 2007 a team of Brain Surgeons in Hot Springs Arkansas will remove the steel plate that he has carried with him for 39 years. They plan to remove the outer layer of skin and lift the plate away from the position it has held covering the outer layer of his brain. If successful they will replace the plate with a new material that has been developed that will recreate the skull bone and will not be rejected by the body. They also plan to recreate new skin on his head using his own stem cells in a paste form so that no more skin graphs will be needed.
If this surgery works he will no longer have the worry that his head will open up and his brain will become exposed anymore. If this surgery works he will have the chance to live what is left of his life without pain and the ever present knowledge that at anytime his head will open up again.
If this surgery works there is also a very real chance that he might never recover from the intense trauma that he is about to go through. At 33 years of age it took him 15 years to recover. At 73 years of age who knows what the outcome might be. What we do know is that he cannot live with this in his body anymore and it needs to come out if he is going to have any chance to live whatsoever.
Dad has made the decision. The Doctors feel confident that all will be fine and we are stepping out on faith that this is the right course of action.
As someone who some of you know to be a fairly private person I am opening up to you about a very serious family issue. This is not an easy time and I need your help. I kindly ask of you to give of yourselves and help me and my family and most importantly my father through the next few days.
From now until the end of next week and beyond if possible I kindly ask you all to please do the following.
* Please pray for my father that his surgery and recovery will be successful and that his health will be completely restored.
* Please pray for the team of Doctors and Nurses that will be performing the surgery so that they might have guidance and wisdom during this time.
* Please pray for our family that we might have strength and courage to face the days ahead in helping Dad with his recovery.
* Please Pray whatever your heart tells you to pray to whatever higher power you feel guides your life.
* Please put my father Jimmie Rodgers on your prayer lists at church or through an email request such as this one. (Feel free to copy and send).
All of us are connected in this life in some way. I believe there is power in prayer and power in positive thought.
I believe and claim that my father will completely recover from this surgery and that his body will be restored.
I believe that together all of us through prayer and positive energy and thinking can help that to happen.
Thank you all for being a part of and playing a part (large or small) in my life.
Thank you for giving my request consideration.
Name: Jimmie Rodgers
Date of Surgery: June 28, 2007 Steel Plate Removal / Skull Replacement.
My family and I thank you.
And my father thanks you and will be most appreciative to you for your thoughts and prayers. Please click on this link to see my father so that you can see him vital and healthy in your prayers.
God Bless,
Michael Rodgers
Kuwait Detains Teacher
I received the following e-mail this morning; it is being forwarded throughout the Western communities. If this continues, it will make recruiting teachers for Kuwait much more difficult. And what does a child learn, when his parent exacts revenge for a mild – and justified – discipline? This was not a physical act of harm to the child, only an in-school suspension – for fighting!
It is shameful that this is happening, it is an outrage that the embassy is not outraged. I am sure they are doing their best to achieve an incremental diplomatic solution, and the injustice of it is palpable.
I have deleted names because I don’t want any trouble . . . I even considered not publishing it at all. I publish it because people read my blog and want to come to Kuwait to work – and it would not be even-handed not to reveal some of the risks involved. This woman was doing her job, and has become the focus of a vengeful, angry parent. Not good!
International Schools Review received this letter on June 23, 2007
from an international educator being detained in Kuwait. If you can
help her, or know of someone who can, please act immediately.
________________________________
FROM: Al-Bayan Bilingual School Middle School
Deputy Principal, Kuwait
TO: Whom It May Concern
DATE: June 21, 2007
RE: Detained in Kuwait/In Fear for My Safety
I am a Middle School Vice-Principal at Al-Bayan Bilingual School in
Kuwait. I have been employed in Kuwait for 6 years at the same
school.
One of my primary responsibilities is student discipline. On March 8,
2006, three boys in grade 5 were suspended for fighting. I
interviewed the boys, met with my principal and followed normal procedure. There
is no stigma here regarding suspension. Students spend the day in the
office where they study, are visited by teachers, and are taken to
the canteen, etc. It’s a normal consequence for fighting; all students
are aware of this and the procedure is clearly defined in our Parent
Handbook.
In the afternoon of March 8th, I received a phone call from one of
the boys’ fathers, (name deleted) who is a powerful man in Kuwait. He
called to inform me that this situation was “personal,” that he is
“friends with the emir” and that he planned to “destroy” me. This
conversation, which last about 9 minutes, was littered with
profanities and threats.
On March 11, 2006, the parents met with me, my principal and our
director, (name deleted), to discuss the suspension. The father
requested that if there was an issue involving his child that I would
call him immediately.
On April 27, 2006, I was requested to write a synopsis of events and
to visit the Ministry of Education to answer questions regarding the
suspension, describe the room in which the boys spent the school day
and provide a copy of our handbook.
In June 2006, the father transferred his children to a different
private school in Kuwait. Also, we received notification from the
Ministry of Education that in-school suspensions were no longer to be
applied; instead, parents must be contacted to take their children
home.
In February 2007, I learned that a case had been filed against me at
the Jabriya Police Department in Kuwait; the charge was “illegal
detainment” of his son on March 8, 2006. I answered questions in my
director’s presence and the Consul from the US Embassy, (name deleted). My lawyer was also present. The police did not suggest that
there was any reason for me to be concerned as all of the questions
were answered to the apparent satisfaction.
On June 13, 2007, I was at the Kuwait International Airport intending
to fly to Bahrain. I was stopped at immigration where I was informed
that there was a case against me, pending further investigation and
that a travel ban had been placed on me. I had not been informed. My
lawyer had not been informed. This travel ban was placed upon me
15 months after the boy was suspended. The parent said that he would
make this personal and this seems to be what he is intent upon doing.
On Saturday, June 16, 2007, I visited the American Embassy where I
met with the Vice Consul, (name deleted), who informed me that he
sympathized but could do nothing to lift the travel ban. He suggested
that I get an older Kuwaiti man to appeal to Mr. M. I was told
on Wednesday that my file would be transferred to another agency for
review so the ban could be lifted. Five working days later, the
whereabouts of my file are uncertain. I have been told that my file
is in 2 different places; this seems to be a delay tactic. Why? Because
I angered an influential Kuwaiti national who is at the top of the
social register both locally and at the US Embassy?
On I visited the office of a police inspector named (name deleted,)
whose office is in Salmiya. He is a police official who was to
evaluate my file and determine if I could leave or not. He stated
that he didn’t have my file. I visited him on June 17th and 18th. On June
18th, not five minutes after I left his office with my director, the
Business Officer of my school and another school representative, I
called Mr. C, Vice-Consul at the US Embassy to gain his
insight into the situation and to see if any progress had been made
to help me leave. He was completely aware of my visit to Mr. (name deleted)
office and instructed that I not return as it “interfered.”
Several Kuwaiti families are aware of my situation but they are not
in a position to help or they don’t want to get involved. They have ALL
said that I should go to my embassy because my embassy can help me.
The fact that the embassy can’t seems shocking to everyone. Many
people also question why this accusation from Mr. M is placed
solely on me – not the school, not the principal, not the director of
school. I feel that I am being used as an example because I am a
single, American woman and he wants to show others that he can do
what he said which is to “destroy” me.
Yesterday, June 20, 2007, I received a paper from Mr. (name deleted)
office in Salmiya which lifted the travel ban. This waiver had been
granted by the Kuwait Minister of the Interior. Not long after the
Minister released me, he reversed his decision at the request of the
(name deleted) family or his representatives. I went to the airport last
night, only to learn that I couldn’t leave.
I am in fear for my safety. If the Embassy can’t help me, then who
can? I contacted the FBI in Riyad, Saudi Arabia yesterday and talked
to (name deleted) who couldn’t give me his last name. He was non-committal
but did suggest that he thought the embassy should be able to get me out.
(name deleted) has informed me that they are “working on it.” That
seems a little vague and I am not sure if the US Embassy completely
realizes the level of danger that I feel that I am in. Why does Mr.
M want me in Kuwait during the summer when no one from my
school will be in country to offer their support? To make me feel
vulnerable?
He is well-connect and his friends are supporting his mission to
damage me in any way that he can. What’s next?
I do not feel safe. I am not safe. I need someone from the US to
acknowledge the urgency of my situation and coordinate my release. I
committed no crime. I am simply the victim of “wasta” which roughly
translates into “influence/pressure” at a high level.
For the inside word on International Schools
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Gulf History Source
Thank you, Kinan, for bringing this website to our attention yesterday on the Kuwait boats blog entry. I had been to the site before, while looking up information on Gulf Architecture. The blogger writes from a particularly Qatar point of view, but what he learns and documents applies greatly to all the countries along west side of the Arabian Gulf. And I am adding him to my blogroll.
I love this man’s attention to detail. I have lifted a photo from his page on Arab Gulf boats. This is the typical toilet on the bigger old boats. It is called a zuli. Ugh!
The website is catnaps.org and if you click here, it will take you to his fascinating and fairly thorough website on Arabian Gulf boats. If you click here, you will find a long article on Gulf Architecture but he has an entirely separate entry for Islamic Architecture. It is not easy reading, but it is not something you will be tested on at the end of the hour, either. It’s just a great opportunity to learn more about a subject you never considered.
On his About page, the author tells us his name is John Lockerbie and:
In addition to working in the areas of project management, architecture, planning and urban design I have taught architecture, graphic design and presentation. I have had a wide scale of design involvement ranging from the exciting design worlds of crockery, cutlery, glass and napery, rising in scale through other aspects of graphic, interior, architectural and urban design to strategic planning. I have also been lucky enough to have worked in change management and primary education.
On a hot, lazy day when you have nothing better to do, you can spend a couple hours getting lost on his website, and come away a more knowledgable person for having done so.
Again, thank you Kinan, for a truly GREAT weblink.
Stress Management
A friend sent this to me today – she knows I am going through a hard time. And she’s the kind of friend who would bail me out of jail and say “didn’t we have fun?!”
A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked “How heavy is this glass of water?”
Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter.
It depends on how long you try to hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance.
In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the h eavier it becomes.”
He continued,
“And that’s the way it is with stress management.
If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,
As the burden becomes increasingly heavy,
We won’t be able to carry on. ”
“As with the glass of water,
You have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.
When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.”
“So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down.
Don’t carry it home.
You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you’re carrying now,
Let them down for a moment if you can.”
So, my friend p ut down anything that may be a burden to you right now.
Don’t pick it up again until after you’ve rested a while.
Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
*Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.
*Always keep your words soft and sweet, Just in case you have to eat them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
* If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to others.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons… Some are sharp, some are p retty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, b ut they all have to live in the same box.
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
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