Job Discussion Forums

[chemdah]

Hi,

I have been offered a job in KSA, but have some last minute questions.

I have friends & relatives in Israel who I correspond with on:

1. Skype

2. Facebook

Are they traceable in KSA?

No Israeli stamps on my US passport.

Would it be safe to assume that if I maintain these contacts from the privacy of my own home/computer in KSA, I shouldn't have any problems?

Thanks in advance.

[caliph]

No, that wouldn't safe to assume.

You need to get a proxy server like silentsurf or megaproxy which you might not be able to download in the KSA, and even it you load it in your home country, it may not recognize you when you get to KSA.

Personally, I think contact to "the country with no name", (Israel) from KSA is a recipe for disaster. You might be accused of espionage, the consequences would be quite dire.

BTW, there is no such thing as "the privacy of your own home" in KSA.

Are you sure you know what you're getting into?

[chemdah]

"Are you sure you know what you're getting into?"

Not really sure at all. That is why I am consulting with the board here.

I am actually an Arab myself, but a Christian one - raised in the USA and have many Jewish friends as well.

I assumed Facebook would be the least of my concerns in getting caught because after all, Arab Spring was organized on FB and Twitter without the authorities being able to step in and identify the users.

But your comment about espionage is very concerning to me, especially since I was in Eastern Turkey hiking just around the same time the three Americans accidentally drifted into Iran from N. Iraq and are still being held (with exception to the woman). I don't want to make headlines on something as trivial as keeping my Israeli friends on Facebook.

Crazy and unfortunate world we live in.

[scot47]

With your background you will almoist certainly be under surveillance from Istakhbarat and Mukhabarat as well as from others.

I would not go.

[Al-Mansoor]

Be careful if you have contacts in occupied Palestine.

[Al-Mansoor]

Be careful if you have contacts in occupied Palestine.

[veiledsentiments]

Facebook would be especially problematic if you are using your real name as most people do. The "Arab Spring" has changed nothing in the Gulf except that you are more likely to be watched. The reality is that the only people these governments trust as little as the Israelis are the Palestinians.

An internet email address would be the best way to keep in touch with them.

VS

[blackwellben]

[veiledsentiments]

[chemdah]

[In my experience, the order of emnity is Iran-->Israel-->Palestine]

You are probably correct. Just recently I came by this report on KSA giving Israel the right of way if it intends to attack Iran:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7148555.ece

I also heard from several Iraqi and Omani Arab friends that while the Palestinian cause is a popular one in the Arab world, when it comes down to it, Palestinians as a cultural group among Arabs themselves are very low ranking, and not to be trusted.

Anyways, I appreciate the comments and feedback. Since I first posted, I have been offered two more job positions and consulted with my father about it (who is an Arab himself) and his answer was, "What are you CRAZY?"

Anyways, I guess I'm leaning more and more in the direction of taking a pass.....money is tempting, but so is keeping my sanity.

Good luck y'all!![/quote]

[veiledsentiments]

[blackwellben]

[chemdah]

I just recently came across this, concerning Facebook accounts and whether they are traceable, assuming one does not use their real name:

"A Facebook account does not have an IP address. A person does not have an IP address. An IP address is assigned to an Internet connection. If I log in from home, I'll have one IP address. If I log in from a coffee shop, I'll have a different address. And if I unplug my modem and then plug it back in again, I'll have a 3rd IP address. If I have a cell phone that's connected to Wi-Fi and the 3G broadband, that phone has 2 IP addresses. Even worse, an IP address is assigned per-modem, not per-device. So every single person connected to that coffee shop's Wi-Fi has the same IP address.

The way IP addresses work is that they're assigned by your Internet Service Provider when you connect. And they're used when you send messages across the Internet. Every computer you directly communicate with knows your IP address. And the only way to know your IP address is to get a message directly from your computer. So Facebook has logs of which IP addresses logged in to that account, but they're buried beneath the millions of other entries Facebook has. And you'd need a court subpoena to get them to go look."

I guess I am still trying to find a safe way to be able to express my thoughts, opinions and have discussions without feeling paranoid that some larger authoritative body can behead me....lol This is in case I decide against my father's "Are you crazy?" opinion of me teaching in the KS of A.

Veiled Sentiments wrote, "An internet email address would be the best way to keep in touch with them." Does that mean there is no way to trace the private emails? Hmmm....

"If you have a US passport, it makes it easier to get a job assuming that your background is Palestinian." Yes, I am born and raised in the USA. My father is an Arab Christian from Iraq, but left long ago when the British pulled out. Once the British left, he said it all sent downhill. The Iraqi nationalists expressed their newfound freedom by lynching minorities such as the Kurds, Christians and Jews. My father has no emotional or political connection to Iraq whatsoever, and would scold me if I ever spoke ill of the USA. His friends and coworkers include other Iraqis, Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian and Israelis...just not Iranians...lol Apparently, there is an Iraqi/Iranian cultural rivalry going on.


blackwellben wrote, " If I've read you correctly, you're merely reporting that Omanis and Iraqis can be (to employ western terms) snobby toward Palestinians, but I've witnessed pretty much every nationality of the ME asserting some position relative to its Arab brother. I've compared it to the rivalry of British cities and US states." Yes, well said! There is definitely a 'cultural snobbery'.

Returning to my original point about Skyping, Emailing and/or Facebooking others in Palestine or Israel - my main concern is my safety. Arabs are lynching fellow Arabs all the time about being "Israeli collaborators". Is there a real cause for concern with this in the KSA? Even to those Americans who live in the less conservative areas and live among other foreigners in the compounds?

[veiledsentiments]

I don't recall any lynchings at all in the Gulf outside Saudi, which beheads, not lynches... other than convicted murderers and very few of them. If you are an expat with a Western passport and step on the wrong toes or break a minor law, you normally just end up deported. If you get into political discussions with the wrong people, again... you end up deported.

If you make it over to this part of the world, you will find great variance among the countries. Saudi is little like Oman, Iraq is nothing like Egypt, Iran is a world onto itself... etc etc... and the US media pretty consistently lies about the whole area.

Many (most? all?) of the countries block both Skype and Facebook. You need to spring for a good proxy (a few can recommend the good US ones here... their fee is nominal).

VS
(Have you read Dalrymple's book "From the Holy Mountain"? ...an interesting analysis of Christians in the Middle East written before the US invasion)

[mashkif]