Job Discussion Forums

[mishmumkin]

[Stephen Jones]

Racism in Saudi is linked with class. Within the same social class there is definitely a hierarchy (it probably goes Saudi or GCC, Westerner, Black, other Arab, Philippino, Black, South Asian) but an upper-middle class Bangladeshi will be considered superior to a lower class Saudi.

Note that I put Blacks in two places. That is because the average working black in Saudi was a Sudani, Somali or Eritrean middle class professional. They kept the banking sector working for a long time before Saudiization, and are still well represented in the Education Sector. On the other hand you also have the West African overstayers that are such a problem in Jeddah.

[veiledsentiments]

Using the term 'black' in the list makes it a bit simplistic though. What about an African-American? Or an African with a British passport? How about a Saudi (or other GCC national or Egyptian) who looks African rather than Arab? I expect that passport sometimes trumps race.

Wheels within wheels...

VS

[Cleopatra]

[007]

Where do you find Classlessness in this world?

[mishmumkin]

[sliim]

Just thought I'd put my two cents in...

Racism is a difficult thing to gauge anywhere you go. I knew an African American who lived and worked in Yemen and was loved and accepted by most of the people he knew. At the same time, there was an institute in the city where we worked that would never hire him because he was black--not that the admin had any problems with "blackness," no, no, ukhm, but the students--yes that was it--the students wanted white native speakers. Funny, I never knew any of his students who felt that way.

That said, there are troubling and sad truths about the way some foreign workers are treated in the ME, and underlying race issues often have something to do with it. Sudanese and Somali workers in Saudi have a hard time, for example, while many foreign teachers see first hand the way some local staff is treated. Much is in need of improvement, and things need to be done about it, no doubt.

I haven't taught in Oman, but, as has been mentioned above, I have heard good things.

So, with regards to finding a good place to work, sometimes the only way to really know is to try. You may find people very accepting and you may not. Two people in the same city can have two radically different experiences and draw opposite conclusions about the very same place.

Hope your experience is a pleasant one.

Best,

Sliim

[veiledsentiments]