Job Discussion Forums

[stabnkill]

Recently, an single female American teacher was hired by the recruiter Globenet. She was hired to teach at the government college in Ibri. Globenet brought her into Oman on a tourist visa and stuck her in a hotel in Seeb until her paperwork could be sorted out. She met two men. The two men were very friendly and wanted to show her (a new teacher) around Oman and help her to feel comfortable. They took her to Muttrah to see the suq. They took her home to meet their families. She had lunch with their mothers. Then they took her somewhere to down a bottle of vodka between the three of them. They proceeded to beat her to the point of concussion, and put glue in her hair. They left her body on Seeb beach. She was found the next morning and taken to the hospital. After she recovered (she had to cut most of her hair off and her face was badly bruised), she filed a police report. She took the police to the house of these men (where she had innocently sat with their mothers, remember) At the house, the police found her handbag. The men were arrested. Globenet moved her to another location, one more appropriate for a single woman. And then Globenet fired her. Or, rather, Globenet refused to let her sign the contract. Now, it is clear that she shouldn't have had a drink with locals. However, she had met their families. She felt safe. We all see locals populating the bars. We know that drinking does sometimes occur. She was very badly beaten by those men--brutalized. On what grounds can Globenet refuse to give a contract to someone they brought to Oman to work? Are they in their legal right? Are they in their moral right?

This poor woman's story has been circulating around Muscat in the form of rumor and gossip. And there are many differert versions in current circulation. I am not repeating rumor or gossip. I am telling her story as best and as accurately as I am able to. My focus is not on her. My focus is on Globenet. Globenet has had many complaints lodged against it lately. I would hate to think that blaming the victim is the latest one. Globenet should never have housed a single woman in a hotel in Seeb, first of all. Second, teachers new to Oman need to be made aware of the social norms here. It is well publicized that one should not drink with locals, as drinking is against their religion. However, what is commonly seen in bars here may give a rather different impression--an impresssion that having a drink with people who have led you to trust them is as normal as in the West.

[lall]

Dear stabnkill, Your post was lucid and your command of the language is excellent. It (your post) gave a clear picture of what you wanted to say, which is more than I can say of the quality of the language of many on this forum. This is not to say that I've not been guilty of of a gaffe, now and then.

[camelman]

Globnet is not the best company to work for. The man who runs the show has just retired from the police, you would think having been a police officer he would be a little more understanding. There have been many reports of teachers leaving over the past few months because of office admin problems.

A few lucky teachers get to meet parents and family members and never come across such problems, but then there is always the chance you will fall in with the wrong �family�. The teacher was wrong/stupid to go drinking on the beach with men alone in the first place, however that does not make what happened right.

I hope the poor lady recovers from her ordeal. This is very very rare and Oman is one of the safest places to live. Women should always play on the safe side here, like anywhere else in the world, women are normally very safe here and reports like this are very few. Please don�t let this report tarnish Oman and put one off coming here, just be careful.

I expect, knowing Globnet, she had to pay for her own flight home. I have known of three teachers who had to pay to return home because of some clause in the contract.
Most of the �new hire� teachers that they are bringing in now come from Iraq and the Philippines, they are struggling to bring in native speakers and have not filled their quota in most colleges.

Does anyone know what happened to the men?

[windstar]

Is globenet legally or morally in the wrong?
Yes
No
etc

When you say YES, which part do you accept -is it legally wrong? or is it morally wrong? do you mean yes for both parts? for measurement purposes, this question is wrong, alternatively, choice a (yes and b (no) are wrong. If it was "Is globenet legally and morally in the wrong?" then it would get a more concrete result.

[lall]

"Is globenet legally and morally in the wrong?" would have been better.

From the Omani point of view, I suspect that Globenet might position its action not to let the teacher continue, especially to the parents, as morally right.

It's a tricky question to answer. Given my understanding of social life in Oman, I'd say that it was morally right.

Here's an analogy. Would most Italians or Poles side with a school in their country that let go a teacher who was suspected (I said suspected) of being a paedophile, even if the dismissal was illegal?

[desertrat]

I dont think she could really be held responsible for socialising with the locals (as you put it) Almost all the websites relating to travel to Oman clearly state that Oman is one of the safest countries in the world and for the most part this is true. Sadly there are always the exception to the rule. Unless someone had explained this to her, how could she possibly have known that occasionally crimes are committed here? She would have had a false sense of security.

I think all employers need to inform their staff that although Oman is safer than most places, it is not exempt from the occasional loon. I feel awful for this poor woman - what an ordeal!

BTW the men have been arrested and the ROP were non too gentle on them. They are currently being sentenced and word is theyre lookin at 10years each for their actions. Love Oman!

[lall]

[desertrat]

Uhh yeah I am serious. Get on line and check out what 99% of the sites on Oman say - "Little or no crime" or "limited to petty crime such as pick pockets..." Shall I go on? dont know what youre employers told you but when I came out here they told me I neednt worry about anything... The ppl are extremely friendly and will go to any lengths to make you feel at home..... If I didnt know and a lot of other ppl I know didnt know, how could she have known?

I know now because Ive been here for so long but as a newbie? It could have been me

[lall]

[veiledsentiments]

Let me step in as a woman who has traveled the world alone... including many places that are probably presented on websites as extremely safe like Oman and Japan.

What happened to her was awful - assuming that the details presented here are accurate. To be honest, they do not add up very well. BUT, how could she have been so foolish to take off with two strange men in a country where she had only been for a short time - in a culture where an unaccompanied woman who takes off with two strange men and proceeds to share a bottle of vodka with them is obviously - to them - nothing but a prostitute?? She has to share the guilt for arriving with such ignorance of the traditional Muslim culture.

And these two men have to be the most hapless rapists ever... take her home to meet the family first?? I suspect that their original intentions were not rape, but the fact that she went to a beach and drank with them completely changed the dynamics. In Oman's defense, criminals like these are almost always punished severely, which is likely why this is such an uncommon tale.

As to why her employer fired her... here is where we are completely in the dark as to details. They may very well have been told to do so by the Ministry. This is a crime that brings shame and embarrassment to the country, and the victim is always felt to have been the cause in rape cases. Thus, she had to go so that she didn't remind them. Personally I am amazed that she didn't choose to go immediately. I can't imagine any woman that would stay in a place after an experience like this, especially in a small place like Ibri. I would have been on the next plane out...

VS

[007]

[stabnkill]

It seems that some individuals feel that the lady in question is insane and undignified. What an interesting take on the situation. It just goes to show how differently people think from each other.

I would like to clarify some points. First, she was not raped; she was beaten and glue-sticked. Second, this attack occurred in Muscat, not in the city she was meant to teach in. The students in the city she was meant to teach in, and the parents, would have no way to connect this teacher with the tale, and in fact will probably never hear the tale.

Third, not all people see being the victim of a crime as an omen to move to another country. Some victims even feel that running away would be tantamount to letting the criminals further destroy their lives. I think that it is probably obvious that this kind of violent crime is not as common an occurrence in Oman as it is in some other cities, so it is not like someone would arrive in Oman, be the victim of a crime, and then have a flash of inspiration that Oman is too dangerous a place to live. If you moved to a new city and fell victim to a crime, perhaps a violent crime, would you pick up and move to another city because you felt that you had been robbed of your dignity? Wow. Maybe I've had a difficult life, or maybe I might yet need to check into a facility, but to me it seems odd that someone would decide to move to another country in order to preserve their bruised dignity. To me, the decision to stay in a place where you were victimized takes much more personal strength than packing up and running home.

[desertrat]

Fantasy Island strikes again....... If this were the case, then North America would be unpopulated as would most of Africa. people dont have to be insane and undignified to stay in a country where they have been attacked, they just need to be human.

[Frank&Sense]

As originally posted, the �focus is on Globenet.� Read on and you�ll understand why you should steer clear of Globenet, although I understand that even a good company may not have signed after all that sordid mess.

I was not at all surprised to read such a horrible tale was connected to Globenet. What did surprise me was that the two men were not connected to Globenet as well. From the story I assume that they materialized around the hotel she was placed in. But I am like VS and feel there is something missing or wrong with the story as presented. It�s unusual that they even paid for her to be in a hotel. They normally put them in one of the many sleazy places they leased. I always paid myself to stay at the Bowshar Hotel and didn�t bother with them.

First, Globenet is notorious for bringing teachers into Oman in a very bad way. I say this from first hand experience. No one met me at the airport and I was new to Oman. I went to Al Kuwair and contacted Globenet, was met and put in a rather sleazy guest house situation. Did not hear from them for the next three days and there was not a shop, restaurant, or anything nearby. Normally I would have been on the next plane, but I had a good job: taking over as director of Occidental Oil�s Community Language Center in Haima, which was for young bedouin in central Oman. So I put up with Globenet because I knew I would be dealing mainly with Oxy from out in the desert.

When a teacher had to go on medical leave for at least three months a new teacher was coming in, and on my time I drove up to Muscat(from halfway to Salalah) to take care of him so he would be okay. So I came in and took care of him, he was in a guesthouse. Saturday I took him in to the Globenet office. After one day with Globenet he disappeared and wasn�t heard from again. You see, Globenet thought the one on medical leave would be back in three months and brought the incoming teacher on a tourist visa. So he got a free ticket to Oman and went elsewhere because they were so rude to him.

At that point I took over, put an ad on Dave�s, got a good, experienced Canadian who was finishing in Sohar, he went to Global and because of my pressure on Oxy he got a normal 12 month contract, ticket, etc. He came out to Haima and did a great job. About three months later Oxy decided to close the Haima center and move the students into HCT Al Kuwair into a special program(Oxy paid HCT dearly). I gave the highest recommendation to the Canadian teacher hired. One day before we moved in to Muscat, and one day before his probation period was complete(90 days), Globenet called him and informed him that he was terminated and that he would get nothing, absolutely nothing from that day on. But he wasn�t one to be cheated and knew his legal contract rights in Oman. We drove in to the Globenet office. The owner of Globenet told him he would be quiet and leave or he would be put in jail and charges would be brought against him based on what students had testified and there was other �evidence�. When he didn�t budge the owner told us that he was royalty in Oman, that his brother was the highest police official in the country and he would be very sorry if he pursued the matter further. Then the Nigerian office manager(thug) told him to come outside and settle things! He kept his cool and we left. I appealed to the bosses at Oxy, who liked this man a lot, but in the end they were no help. He didn�t get a month�s pay or a ticket or anything, and he paid for a hotel until he could arrange to leave Oman. Fortunately for me, my contract was finished when the Haima center closed and I moved on. Oxy no longer uses Globenet because of the above and other headaches Globenet gave them.

The battered and abused lady should be entitled to a ticket home, but I�m not aware of anything in Oman Labour Law that applies here. Even if it did, Globenet is above the law and the best thing for her is to get away from them asap. If she came on a tourist visa she�s free to find another job and without a recruiter. Knowing Globenet, I cannot help but feel they are more involved with this tragedy than anyone here knows.

[Borealis]

Hmmm. Very interesting. And it's good that you have posted these details as a warning to others. The infamous Majali wasn't involved in Globenet recruiting by any chance? It might be worth mentioning that in similar cases of blatant abuse teachers have been able to enlist the help of their embassies.
B