MP Al-Muhaibi Condemns Male Teaching Female Students
From today’s <a href=”“>Al Watan
MP Jaber AlـMuhailbi condemns school incident
Staff Writer
KUWAIT: MP Jaber AlـMuhailbi has denounced the fact that grade 12 girls at AlـSabahiya High School are being taught by a foreign, male teacher. According to him, “the incident reveals a great amount of recklessness on the part of the Ministry of Education,” which he says disregards the traditions and values of Kuwaiti society.
AlـMuhailbi expressed his apprehension that there might be forces planning to replace the conservative educational system in the country with a system that openly encouraged ”mixed” schools for boys and girls.
He held Minister of Education Nouriya AlـSubaih solely responsible for the incident, said that it proved she was incompetent to shoulder her responsibilities as a minister.
He finally announced that he would put forward a number of questions concerning the aforementioned incident to the minister, and would inquire as to whether this was an occurrence seen in other schools, and asserted that there were plenty of female teachers capable of teaching female students in Kuwait.
He expressed his displeasure about the presence of a male teacher in a girls” school, calling it “unacceptable.”
Last updated on Tuesday 17/3/2009
12th grade? Isn’t that like the year girls graduate and go on to university classes (God willing/insh’allah) where they will be taught, as likely as not, by male professors?
Do these girls go to restaurants with male waiters?
Do they shop in stores with male cashiers? Male customer service agents? Male managers?
Learning self-control is like any other skill; it requires practice. You practice by confronting the realities of the situation. Society – in and out of Kuwait – is mixed. We sit next to each other on airplanes, we are seated next to one another in restaurants, our paths cross, daily. Kuwaiti girls are well brought up and can control themselves; they also have skills at turning aside the unwanted attention of the rare teacher who might overstep.
Mr. MP, we must be suspicious of those who see sexual issues lurking in every corner; what is in the heart of a man who sees sex everywhere? Give these girls a little credit. They are after an education, not some male teacher.
St. Patrick’s Day Coming March 17
St. Patrick’s Day is coming – tomorrow – March 17th. St. Patrick’s Day is not, as it would sound, a particularly religious holiday. While it is a huge celebration, in the United States it is more about being Irish than it is about St. Patrick. Most of the Irish, when they came to America, had about as much status as the Bangladeshis in Kuwait – they were at the bottom of the social heap. It was a long long struggle to achieve respectability; even longer to be free of the prejudices against them.
The Irish celebrated the election of John F. Kennedy the same way the African Americans celebrated the election of Barak Obama – it was the ultimate sign of being part of a united America, full citizenship – “one of us” could be President.
Here are previous posts I have written telling more about St. Patrick, and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations:
St. Patrick and the Wearing of the Green
We visited Ireland several years ago, a visit AdventureMan recounts with relish. I made all the arrangements, bed and breakfasts, travel plans, etc. and AdventureMan was uncommonly unenthusiastic. Once we got there, I understood why. Being THE MAN, when we are in the car together, most of the time, he drives. Arriving in Ireland, you have to drive on the “other” side of the road (I did not say the “wrong” side!) Many roads in Ireland are narrow. Cool calm AdventureMan had met his match. He HATED driving in Ireland.
The part of the trip I loved the most was going to Cashel, one of the St. Patrick sights in Ireland:
It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. The weather was glorious, warm and sunny without being too hot.
From Cashel, Ireland, website:
Cashel has a very ancient history, albeit only documented since the 4th Century. The Rock of Cashel, with its well preserved ecclesiastical remains, is one of Ireland’s most spectacular landmarks, rising above the surrounding plain and dominating the land route southward.The large Cathedral, ancient round tower and the very early Romanesque Cormac’s Chapel , perched on a dramatic outcrop of rock, were silent witnesses to many of the stirring events of Irish History; St.Patrick converted the local King Aenghus, here in the 5th century; Brian Boru was crowned King of Ireland on this spot in the early 11th Century. The Vicar’s Choral has been restored and the site, one of the most visited in Ireland, now provides an interpretative centre, (multi lingual) an interesting museum, guided tours and superb views over the extensive and beautiful plains of Tipperary.
We were visiting in Mid-July. It rained a lot, but the day we drove to Cashel was gorgeous. Even on the rainy days, there were periods of blue sky and sunshine, and the air was crystal clear and sweet. I guess the rain is the reason Ireland is so green, so piercingly beautifully green. I would go again in a heartbeat, but I think this time we would hire a driver!
Requiring New Contracts
This is from today’s Al Watan, and is pertinent to the labor issues we have been discussing on Here, There and Everywhere. Bad surprises happen from top to bottom.
This applies to everyone – the contract you think you are signing when you come to Kuwait may not be what really happens. It depends a lot on the company, on how you are recruited, etc. For example, if you are recruited by a US company doing business with the government here, things are fairly straight-forward. Read your contract carefully before you sign. If you are recruited by one of the manpower agencies – be very very very careful.
Expat workers protest job contract fraud
Ricky Laxa
Staff Writer
KUWAIT: Embassies in Kuwait have been receiving many complaints from expatriate workers of being forced by employers to sign new job contracts with salaries that are far lesser than what they had initially agreed upon back in their countries before arriving in Kuwait. A number of Filipino workers, who recently arrived in Kuwait, have resorted to the Philippines Overseas Labor Office to file complaints against the agency that was responsible for their employment in Kuwait.
In an exclusive interview with Al Watan Daily on Thursday the complainants provided copies of contracts and other documents, which have been signed by the employer and the employees in the Philippines, in addition to another set of contracts, which indicate that their salaries have been reduced by more than half with totally different job descriptions.
A complainant said she has been asked to settle the amount of 40,000 Philippine pesos (335 Kuwaiti dinars) as placement fees. This amount does not include other expenses like medical checkـup, health insurance and other expenses. She added that most of the fees have been overpriced on receipts that are handwritten on ordinary sheets of paper “The receipts issued are not official ones as required by the Philippines” government, and the concerned authorities have ignored their malpractices,” she said. An embassy official indicated that most of these placement agencies are registered under Filipino representatives, who are usually the owners” wives, girlfriends or Filipino nationals who had previously worked in Kuwait and these are the people who make the manipulation of contracts an easy task.
Al Watan Daily managed to acquire some original copies of the contracts, which have been signed by the employers and the employees. In one of the job contracts, a salary of KD 200 has been signed by both parties with the job description cited as ”Receptionist” and in another contract bearing the same name the salary has been slashed to KD 100 with the job description cited as “Cashier.”
“Two hours prior to our departure, we were asked to sign letters of undertaking stating that we have agreed to the alterations on the contracts. We refused to sign the new contract s yet for some of us, we had no choice but to agree to the amount,” added another complainant.
Al Watan Daily spoke to the agency”s representative who was asked by the Philippines labor official to meet the complainants and resolve the cases. The representative initially denied the allegations but fearing being exposed she admitted to the change in contracts.
She stated that the employer called a few hours before the scheduled flights and she was told to reduce the salaries under the pretext of the global economic crisis, which the labor official ignored and dismissed.
Al Watan Daily also found out that the license of the said agency to recruit workers from the Philippines has been suspended for unknown reasons. “Our company is employing fifty medical staff at the end of the month and we have signed agreements with other big companies,” said the representative.
A settlement has been reached between the complainants and the employer in the presence of the labor official on Thursday and some of the complainants have agreed to accept KD 150 instead of KD 200. Other workers opted to be repatriated without a refund of the placement fees that were paid to the Philippine agency.
“How many more agencies such as this will continue to mislead and cheat overseas workers? Agencies are literally taking undue advantage of the poor situation that these people are faced with back in their countries. Most of them leave their countries after paying huge amounts just to be able to finance the requirements needed to work abroad. These agencies should not be allowed to recruit locally and internationally. Strict legal measures must be taken against those who violate the terms and conditions drawn in the original contracts,” stressed an embassy official.
Informed sources also told Al Watan Daily that an alarming number of Western nationals also experience similar situations. In a lecture concerning employees and employers” rights that was held recently by a local organization, a relatively large number of Western nationals raised questions on the alteration of articles drafted in contracts.
“My contract stipulates specified allowances for house rent and education fees for my children. I agreed to sign the contract and came to Kuwait with my family only to find out that education fees for my children will not be provided,” complained a British national who attended the lecture.
He also said that school fees allowance is an important factor, which made him agree to sign the contract knowing that the salary he agreed on will not be sufficient to finance the education of his children. The company eventually agreed to provide half of the amount.
Meanwhile, an American teacher complained that the accommodation provided by the school is being relocated to a remote area and that traveling between the two places is very time consuming. She was also said that she would be given her own flat only to find out that she would have to share with another teacher.
“These conditions were not mentioned in the contract and we were informed that the situation is temporary but it has been a year since. I am definitely not renewing my contract,” stressed the teacher. Similarly, a South American manager of a spa complained about extra working hours being imposed on her, in addition to a 24ـhour onـcall policy. Her contract clearly stipulates nine working hours and a day off per week. During an orientation, she was handed over a company handbook, which defines her job functions. Rules require her to manage the spa and administer treatments as well. She recently resigned from work.
When you read articles like these, you can understand how some employer/employee relationships are doomed from the start. A family asks an agency for a maid, and when she arrives, having been told she will earn far less than she expected, she will not be a receptionist or a cashier, but a housecleaner / cook / nanny, and her working conditions are not covered nor guaranteed by labor law, she shows up sullen and angry. The family, expecting someone who is happy to be earning a good salary, (and who often paid those fees that the maid is also being charged for) are dismayed at this ill-tempered and sullen employee, and the employee is resentful and depressed at being tricked and in servitude. It’s not a great start for a good relationship.
The same is true for higher level professional positions. Once hired, some employers here seem to think that the employee is a human resource – on call. It’s like they think the contract implies some kind of ownership. When people complain, salaries are late, conditions worsen and the employee is STUCK. Worst case, you have a travel ban placed against you and you can’t even get out of Kuwait.
About 85 – 90% of the population of Kuwait is from somewhere else. You have few rights. This is a true story – a western employee driving on a ring road – a fast road – hit a man who ran across the road. The western employee had to go to jail while they waited to find out if the man hit would survive. The man survived, and was discovered to be here in Kuwait illegally, and was deported. The western man was allowed out of jail, but when his contract ended, could not leave the country because a travel ban was posted against him. He could not be brought to trial because the witness against him – the man who had run in front of his car – could not be found. He could not be found because he had been deported. It took forever for this poor man to leave Kuwait, and it was pressure brought by the newspapers publishing his story that finally got the case . . . resolved? dropped? There is no explanation. Maybe someone had to cross an official’s palm, who knows?
It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you are from, it doesn’t matter if you are a maid, a cashier, a waiter, an accountant, a teacher, a consultant; if you are an expat worker, the law and the enforcement of the law, at the current time in Kuwait, is not your friend.
Final Entry Bu Yousef: The Great Kuwait National Holiday Challenge
Just one entry from Bu Yousef, but oh, what a great one! Thank you, Bu Yousef and Umm Yousef! 🙂
You know, I think I am going to skip the voting. The photos are all so different, and all so good. Thank you, all, for your participation. You had some truly spectacular photos.
Wild Blue Yonder
Today was the Kuwait show of military might. No sandstorm, thanks be to God. Somehow, I had thought yesterday was Wednesday and thought how sad it was it would have had to be cancelled. When I woke up today and realized it was Wednesday, I could hardly wait.
Just the sound of the roaring jets gives me a grin. I once lived near a huge airbase, and we lived with the sound day and night. It never bothered me. I always knew these were men and women who sacrificed their lives to serve their country in a profession that looks a lot more glamorous than it is. Flying can be exciting, but it can also be very tedious. You are away from your family for long hours. It gets old. They persevere.
The young men and women chosen to fly these fighter planes have to have superior physical condition and reflexes. Think about you and the car your daddy gave you – it may be expensive, but it didn’t cost billions. These planes do. It’s an amazing responsibility, a privilege and an honor to be selected.
Bu Yousef, tell your friend he was supposed to waggle his wings when he flew by so I would know which one he was! 😉
Macaholic, it was a little hazy, but the attack helicopters are for you. 🙂
The Most Dangerous Job in Kuwait
From today’s Al Watan:
KUWAIT: The operations room received a call informing them that an Asian domestic maid tried to commit suicide by stabbing herself while at her sponsor”s house in the Salmiya area. Police officers and medical teams rushed to the scene where paramedics administered emergency medical aid and rushed her to Mubarak Hospital, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit. However, on interrogating her, she alleged that she did not attempt suicide but that she had been stabbed. Investigations are underway to ascertain the authenticity of the statement.
OK. Stop and think about it. How do you stab yourself? I can imagine, if I were wanting to commit suicide, a hundred ways easier than trying to stab oneself. Don’t you think the police would have been suspicious from the very beginning?
Every time I read about another domestic committing suicide, I wonder. I have heard many many things.
I wonder how many women commit suicide by “jumping” off the balcony? Those who survive often say they were thrown, or pushed, by “the madam.”
One girl told me that every maid brought into the household where she works immediately has to have her hair cut very short (and unflattering) and to wear voluminous and ugly uniforms, because “the madam” is afraid her husband and sons will be attracted to the maids.
I wonder how many slaps, how much screaming, how many humiliations, how many approaches or attacks from male members of the household one endures before absconding?
Think about it. You’re from a really really poor country, and you leave behind family, even your own children, for the hope of earning enough money so that the children can go to school, and have a better life, so that maybe you can build your own little bungalow one day, not fancy, just a roof over your head. People who come here to earn a living have a lot of incentive to make it work. They will endure a great deal before seeking a way out.
I have so many friends who treat their household help like members of the family, teaching them new skills, helping them earn extra money, giving them food and clothing. I believe they are in the majority, the kind employers.
But so many stories of domestics being abused! Even if it is a mere, say 5%, what options does the domestic have? The brave ones, the self-confident ones, might go to the police, only to have her employers state that she stole something, and she finds herself under arrest, or quickly deported. Many cannot even leave the house, and have no telephone with which to call a friend in an emergency situation.
Will the new labor law have anything to say about protecting these very vulnerable family helpers from a dangerous or abusive employer? What effect does it have on children to see their parents treating employees like mere possessions? How does it impact our souls and our entrance into paradise when we don’t (as the Quran instructs) pay our employees their promised salary at the agreed upon time?
What will happen to this poor woman, stabbed, in a strange hospital, whose employers claim she stabbed herself?
QC Misses AdventureMan
When AdventureMan goes out the door, the Qatteri Cat doesn’t alway realize he is gone for a few minutes. Then I hear him crying, crying as he runs in to our bed, grabs his teddy-bear-baby and takes it to the door. He cries for a few minutes, and then leaves the baby there.
He is always sad when AdventureMan leaves. He sleeps a lot, just waiting for him to come home. He knows when it is about time. I always know when he is nearby because suddenly Qatteri Cat is on full alert, ears straight up, eyes big – and he jumps down and runs to the door, even before the key is in the lock.
Hurry home, AdventureMan!
Sheer Bliss: The Great Kuwait National Holiday Challenge
Q8Dutchie gave permission to add this one National Day Holiday Challenge photo, which in my heart I call Sheer Bliss. Grown-ups think the foam thing is awful. Children think the foam thing is wonderful (unless they get some in they eyes, or some jerk is spraying insecticide, or hair removal creme, or . . .)
OOps! Not the time and place for my soapbox! Especially with the joy in this photo!
I love the way she captured the action going in the background while, for one instant, this one little girl stands still. 🙂 Well done, Q8Dutchie!
The Wedding at Cana
This is one of my favorite readings in the Gospels, for all it’s humanity. Some scholars theorize that the wedding was close family – from living here, I had to eliminate all the European paintings which show the men and women celebrating together – I am guessing the wedding feast would be more like the ones held here; men and women celebrating separately.
Disaster – there isn’t enough wine for the guests. Mary goes to her son and tells him “there isn’t enough wine.” He responds with “Mom! I’m not ready!” I imagine her giving him a long, level look and then turning to the servants and saying “Do whatever he tells you to do.” She is his Mom, after all. And, ready or not, he honors his Mom, and the wine is good.
The Wedding at Cana
John 2:1-12
2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ 4 And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ 5 His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ 6 Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there for a few days.
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