Update: Teacher Detained
My niece, Little Diamond reports that the following story has been pickd up nationally by Reuters and has gone world-wide:
KUWAIT (Reuters) – The United States is trying to help an American
teacher to leave Kuwait after the Gulf Arab state imposed a travel
ban on her, the U.S. embassy said on Saturday.
The case of Katherine Phillips has made headlines in the local press
after the teacher posted on the Internet a letter, asking for help
after she fell out with the family of a student she had suspended
after a fight.
Philipps, a former vice-principal of a private school in Kuwait,
said that the authorities had slapped a travel ban on her at the
request of the son’s family who had been angered by her decision,
according to the letter posted on the Web and quoted by the Arab
Times daily.
The U.S. embassy confirmed in a statement a travel ban had been
imposed on her, adding its consular section was in contact with the
authorities to help Phillips leave Kuwait as soon as possible.
Kuwait, a staunch U.S. ally, was the launch pad for the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq in 2003 and is home to several thousands of U.S.
troops.
Reuters My niece speculates that this was the official version of the US Embassy, as it is very much positive on their “actions.”
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!
Glitz, Bling, Flamboyance and Glam
Today when Adventure Man called at lunch, I was telling him I bought some bling for fun gifts. He said he didn’t think my family did “bling” and I said we didn’t, but this was just a little glitz, just for fun.
“What’s the difference between ‘glitz’ and ‘bling?’ he asked.
I said ‘glitz’ is like a little decoration, a little frosting, but ‘bling’ is ostentatious.
“I consider myself ‘flamboyant.’ he said.
“Oh no!” I protested. “Flamboyant is over the top, it’s that color that is just a little too bright, the gesture that is a little too large, the voice or laughter just a little to high, a little too loud.”
Then it nagged at me until I had to go look it up. As it turns out, bling MIGHT be expensive, but it has the origination of new riches that the owner is afraid he might lose, so he turns it into jewelry that he can keep close to his person, as well as showy and ostentatious. So, I was wrong.
As it turns out, all the following words have a connotation of excessiveness, ostentation and a little over the top.
glitz (glts) Informal n.
Ostentatious showiness; flashiness: “a garish barrage of show-biz glitz” Peter G. Davis.
tr.v. glitz·ed, glitz·ing, glitz·es
To invest with an ostentatiously showy quality: “have started to glitz up their shows with filmed backdrops” Bill Barol.
[Back-formation from glitzy, flashy, showy, probably from German glitzern, to glitter, from Middle High German glitzen, to shine, from Old High German glzan; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
glitzi·ness n.
glitzy adj.
From The Free Dictionary.
Bling
“Bling-bling” (usually shortened to simply “bling”) is a hip hop slang term which refers to expensive jewelry and other accoutrements, and also to an entire lifestyle built around excess spending and ostentation. In its essence, the term refers to the exterior manifestation of one’s interior state of character, normally displayed through various forms of visual stimuli.
The first apparent use of the term ‘bling bling’ in mainstream culture was in reference to the L-3 badge (real gold) and also a hip hop track of the same title, by rapper B.G., along with Baby Birdman, Juvenile et al [1], celebrating their wealth (as many of their tracks do). “Bling Bling,” released in 1998, led later in the 2000’s to the term proliferating through mainstream hip hop and eventually spilling over into popular culture as a sarcastic term used to mock the perceived vacuousness of hip hop culture. Comedians such as Ali G in the UK, exploited this for humour.
Bling can also be plastic, or fake, jewelry. Many people who cannot afford, or do not wish to buy, real diamonds, gold, etc, opt for fake glass or plastic jewelry. This makes them look big, and bling-bling.
In 2005, the rapper B.G. remarked that he ‘wished he’d patented the term’ so that he would have profited from its extensive use. In interviews, he has stated that the term refers to the imaginary sound that light makes when it hits a diamond. However, the term was in use for several years prior as a reference to getting rich quickly inspired by the sound made when collecting gold coins in popular Nintendo video games such as Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers and when collecting gold rings in Sega’s Sonic Hedgehog.
The culture of ostentatious display of wealth was ingrained in street culture long before the 90’s, however: it is thought that wearing expensive jewelry was the one way in which young previously impoverished men, who had acquired riches through crime, could be sure of holding on to their wealth by keeping it about their person. This marks out the wearer of such jewelry as a person with ghetto roots, as it shows that the source of their wealth or their personal prejudices prevent them from investing in more stable assets such as cash in the bank or property. Hence ‘bling bling’, while widely regarded as a faddish slang phrase, has been seen by some as manifestation of a deeper socioeconomic problem in the US, trivialised by mainstream media and hip hop. For comparison, see chav.
Related meaning
In the Middle East, counterfeit brand-name goods (such as Rolex watches) may be known as bling bling specials.
From The Free Dictionary.
flam·boy·ant (flm-boint)
adj.
1. Highly elaborate; ornate.
2. Richly colored; resplendent.
3. Architecture Of, relating to, or having wavy lines and flamelike forms characteristic of 15th- and 16th-century French Gothic architecture.
4. Given to ostentatious or audacious display. See Synonyms at showy.
n.
See royal poinciana.
[French, from Old French, present participle of flamboyer, to blaze, from flambe, flame; see flame.]
flam·boyance, flam·boyan·cy n.
flam·boyant·ly adv.
From The Free Dictionary.
Aren’t these great words?
And last but not least:
Definition:
Glam
Glamorous; wearing fashionable clothes and make-up, particularly when done to excess.
Example:
1) She’s so glam that people think she’s a model.
2) I love David Bowie and all of those glam rockers.
Etymology:
‘Glam’ is short for ‘glamorous’. Glam and glamorous refer to the magical attraction and excitement produced by celebrities.
From English Daily – Slang
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.
For Sparkle
Cool palm tree, huh, Sparkle?
But yes, yes, it IS strangely tall.
This is how they disguise communication towers in Kuwait. No! It isn’t really a palm tree, but I knew you would love the whimsey and creativity of it all.
Soor Street
One of the earliest exploration trips I made in Kuwait was along Soor Street (Wall Street) because I wanted to see the old gates to Old Kuwait City. I could find most of them, but not all of them. Soor Street has continued to fascinate me – and I wonder if one day soon, it won’t be all new construction.
This is one of those buildings-with-a-twist going up; I think Tijaria Real Estate is calling it the Kuwait World Trade Center. I get the two companies confused, there is another company, Tijara, that built The Mermaid of Mangaf. I don’t think the companies are related, but they both do more interesting buildings than these:
Like why even bother? These are so boring you just want to look away.
The dumps on the left have about 10 men in every apartment; they hang their wash on any available fixture and shave on the balcony. I wonder how much longer these places will stand once the building on the right opens? I am guessing the owner of this prime property will also want to tear down the dumps and build something more high-rent.
Some of you have asked for photos of some of the older places in downtown Kuwait. There isn’t much “old” but there is older. The intense heat is hard on paint and hard on maintenance, so I am guessing these buildings are only about 30 – 40 years old.
111° and Dust
This is for my Mom. You might think it is a cloudy Pacific Northwest day, Mom, but it is already 95° F. at seven in the morning, and expected to climb to 111° F – which is the lowest expected temperature this week.
The dust evidently keeps the heat down.
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.
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