Job Discussion Forums

[Geronimo]

"Lauren Patterson was last seen in the early hours of Saturday after she had returned to Doha where she was working as a teacher. She had been in the UK for her grandmother’s funeral.

The 24-year-old was feared dead after a body was found on Monday evening and her family and boyfriend posted messages in tribute to her.

Her mother Alison Patterson was thought to be on her way to Doha on Monday to help police formally identify her body..."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/qatar/10378553/Missing-teacher-feared-dead-in-Doha.html

This terrible discovery is being reported upon by most of the British online newspapers today.

Dreadful!

Geronimo

[scot47]

La Cigale, where she was drinking is a place best avoided.

[millie18]

Unfortunately, singling out the one hotel is not particularly salient.

There are lots of hotels in Doha where the unscrupulous hang around outside waiting for those who believe Doha is "safe" as compared with their home countries.

Where women are in vulnerable positions, there are always predators waiting to pounce (waiting outside a hotel in the early morning hours alone being a case in point). I don't know what happened but even if there were a "real" taxi going by, the drivers also have poor reputations in how they treat women in Doha at any time of day. Especially if they view those women as being sexually promiscuous. Based solely on where they are located and/or their ethnicity.

The poor girl and the poor girl's mother and family. We're still waiting to see what happens to the security guard who attacked and killed the American teacher nearly a year ago.

And these are just a few of such crimes that are reported. If the victims had been Asian or Oriental or of a colour not considered significant, the news wouldn't have reached the local news outlets, let alone the outside world. The Asian women probably wouldn't even file a case with police. Sad.

[Geronimo]

More details are emerging of this case and more tributes are being paid.
The identity of the body has been confirmed as that of Lauren Patterson.
She taught at the Newton British School in Doha.

The duty manager of La Cigale has told the "Daily Mail"
that the Doha police have not interviewed staff there
or asked him for the CCTV coverage yet.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2460699/Lauren-Patterson-British-teacher-murdered-Qatar.html

The Kenyan accused of killing the American teacher earlier this year
will face trial shortly.

Will Lauren's killer be brought to trial?

Geronimo

[Geronimo]

The local newspaper, "The Gulf Times",
has selected a few bits of the British media's reports..
http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/368743/missing-teacher%E2%80%99s-body-%E2%80%98found%E2%80%99

The "Daily Mail" now reports....

"Two men were yesterday arrested for the murder
of a British teacher hours after she flew back
to the Middle East from her grandmother’s funeral."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2460699/Lauren-Patterson-2-held-murder-British-teacher-Qatar.html

Geronimo

[millie18]

Per dohanews website authorities are awaiting dna testing now to confirm the identity of a burned body found in the desert.

This story is getting more frightening and tragic by the hour.

[Geronimo]

The "Daily Mail" has updated its report on this murder case..

"The mother of a British teacher murdered in Qatar yesterday vowed to ‘fight for justice’.

Alison Patterson said 24-year-old Lauren was having the ‘time of her life’ working in Doha before she disappeared on a night out.

Her body was found dumped in the desert, it emerged yesterday.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the murder, Mrs Patterson, 48, she said it had been ‘extremely stressful’ waiting for forensic results to confirm the body was her daughter’s.

But she praised authorities in the Gulf state for their thorough investigation – which saw police arrest two local men who have now made confessions."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2463665/Lauren-Pattersons-mother-tributes-daughter-murdered-Qatar.html

[veiledsentiments]

But one must always be wary of believing "confessions" made in the hands of police who have no real rules...

VS

[Redcar24]

My heart pours out to your family may Allah be with you and also may Allah bring peace into your lives. Thank you Dave's Cafe for allowing posters freedom to share our opinions. It is making a difference in peoples lives...

[jaffa]

A bit late for allah to bring peace into their lives. Surely it's the will of allah anyway.

[okedata]

[BabeEdna The Leg End]

yehhhh
annnarWill wonnar
Babe

[dragonpiwo]

A truly tragic case, poor girl. The family must be going through hell. I hope they find peace.

I lived in Doha for 3 years. During that time, my then wife got chased down the road near the Marriot by 4 guys who got out of a car. She'd been visiting friends who were doing some work there. Another female friend of mine had a relationship with a Qatari, who refused to accept when it was over and became a real nightmare. She repeated the mistake in Kuwait years later. My friend had a Filipina maid and her daughter got raped. There are endless stories.

The truth of it is this; men in the Middle East view foreign women as 'easy'. This is made worse by the fact that most local men get their 'jollies' with ladies of the night in Bahrain and Dubai and most of these women are 'foreign'.This is all seedy enough but when you add the heady mix of religion into it, you get the perfect storm. Rape requires the witness testimony of 4 pious men. This makes it a hard thing to prove. Therefore locals feel like they can do what they want.

The trouble with Doha is that it appears modern and safe. Young and naive foreigners often go there and think that, like Dubai, it's the most 'western' of Middle Eastern countries. Doha is many things and there's loads that is good there. However, local attitudes to foreign women in the Gulf are appalling.

So let's stop this happening again and say something explicit.

If you are a woman in any Arab/Muslim country-

1-Don't date a local. There are many reasons for this from the religious, to the cultural, to the historic.
2-If you go out late, have a western male friend take you home.
3-Let friends know where you are going before you leave.
4-Don't wear short skirts.
5-Don't trust taxi drivers.
6-When drinking, always leave in groups.
7-If you do use a taxi, use your mobile to take a picture of the driver and make a point of letting him see you do it. Then send it to someone.

RIP.

[veiledsentiments]

[bulgogiboy]