Job Discussion Forums

[crewmeal1]

This is dreadful. My thoughts go out to his family.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17420106

It just proves that no matter how hard foreigners try to help build up a country these sort of acts will always happen.

[nomad soul]

Taiz has seen quite a bit of violence since the anti-government protests started over a year ago. But this is why Yemen is not the place to go right now, regardless of how "safe" those job ads claim. The country is still incredibly unsettled. Horrible news but thank you for posting this information.

[ryan1981]

"A Swiss woman, also believed to be a language school teacher, was kidnapped on Wednesday in the coastal city of Hodeida, and is reportedly being held in in Shabwa province, which neighbours Abyan province."

In this article about the kidnapping it states...

"Militants believed to be linked to al-Qaeda have exploited a security vacuum in the region after months of protests demanding the resignation of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh."

"...recently distributed leaflets across Aden threatening to attack English-language institutes in the city.

The leaflet asked for "immediate cessation of study in these centres", which would otherwise be "vulnerable to attacks"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17399703

[crewmeal1]

All in all it makes pretty grim reading. It's such a shame because Yemeni people are some of the kindest I've ever met and still have the privilege of teaching some of those who have been lucky enough to escape the war torn country.

[Prof.Gringo]

[xiguagua]

[sliim]

Prof.Gringo and crewmeal1 are actually both correct. Like every society, one cannot paint with too broad of strokes.

I too had students in Yemen that were absolutely fantastic: young people working hard with big hopes about becoming doctors and engineers so they could improve their society, and so on. Some of their writing assignments would bring me to tears. At the same time there are people that lament the end of slavery (Yemen abolished slavery in 1962) and despise everything foreign--and everything that does not belong to their own particular brand of Islam.

Some may then tend to separate Yemen between its more religious and more secular components, but that would also be a mistake. There are people in Yemen who are very devout yet have heads on their shoulders, and the opposite as well. Yemen is insular, but it is not unaware of the world. It has (or parts of it at least) been a kingdom, a republic, and a Marxist state all within the past 100 years. It is not so easy to pin down. However, people like Prof.Gringo mentioned do exist and are not considered abnormal.

As far as this demand for the "cessation of studies" at such institutes, the reasoning is actually quite clear. Some Yemenis are offended by people studying at private language institutes. These places are coed, so young men and women regularly mix. This means that "language lessons" for the more permissive youth is considered a nice place to meet the opposite sex. Some parents are keen to send their kids to these places precisely for this reason, especially the girls, so they can meet boys and find a husband. But this doesn't sit well with the more conservative elements of society. It is seen as a dating ground and an arena of licentiousness.

Then there are the lessons themselves. Some "scholars" in Saudi Arabia frown upon the idea of people learning English at all and have issued fatwas (how does one make "fatwa" plural?) against learning it except when absolutely necessary. I can't explain the reasoning for this, but I assume it is finely worded gibberish designed to preserve the social insularity that Prof. Gingo is reffering to.

That said, the English lessons themselves are a sore point. Books like Headway, with big shiny cars, pretty girls, hamburgers, and other "temptations" are seen by some as propaganda sent to lead the youth astray.

This is actually a manifestation of what one hears in ESL courses when we are told that not everyone loves the idea of learning English; some people will react to your presence with hostility. Some will view you as the peace wing of the great colonial project, regardless of how well-meaning your intentions are--and thus, the inimicality.

This killing, however, just takes things too far. Good students or no good students. It's just not worth it.

[veiledsentiments]

The media has released his name: via Reuters:

A police source in Taiz said a gunman riding on the motorcycle driven by an accomplice shot a U.S. English language teacher who was also deputy director of a language school, the Swedish Institute.

Officials from the institute identified the victim as Joel Shrun and said he was born in 1983.

The gunmen, who escaped after the attack, were believed to be linked to al Qaeda, the police source said. A group affiliated with the militant network claimed responsibility.

"This operation comes as a response to the campaign of Christian proselytising that the West has launched against Muslims," an unidentified person said in a text message to journalists, claiming responsibility on behalf of the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law).

http://news.yahoo.com/militants-kill-american-teacher-yemen-123744524.html

VS