Job Discussion Forums

[desmond]

Can anyone enlighten me regarding that niggling of issues: skin colour? I am a British national, who with his Indonesian wife and child will be seeking employment in K.S.A. I am half-Jamaican and half-British. Can I expect any negative reactions, broadly speaking, from employers and students? Am I being unduly concerned?

[Longton]

I think you can face negative reactions from Saudis who I find are very racist towards most non-whites. People will assume that your Indonesian wife is your housemaid.

[Cleopatra]

Unfortunately, the above poster is correct, but I don't think you will encounter any outright hostility.

Your students will likely be "confused" by your identity. I have colleagues who are, for example, British but of Pakistani origin - they have a hard time convincing the locals that they were indeed born and raised in Britain, and did not simply acquire the passport by marriage or immigration. I have also had the rather uncomfortable experience of going shopping with one of my British-Pakistani friends, only to have all the shop assistants ignore my friend, assuming she was my maid. So, although you're unlikely to be the victim of verbal - much less physical - abuse directly linked to your (perceived) race, you should unfortunately expect that both you and your wife will be treated with less respect than your "white" colleagues. BTW, dont' expect all your "Western" colleagues to be paragons of political correctness either.

[pklocek]

I was surprised when my student openly stated our school was better than others in Riyadh because we employed "white" English teachers. Now, I have always known that I am a fabulous teacher but I didn't know it was because I have a mild deficiency in melanin.