Job Discussion Forums

[grab-bag]

Does anyone know how QU teachers partying at some kind of costume party got splashed all over Facebook? The students are sending these all over the place. Definitely not a good idea to post pictures of teachers partying on Facebook. I wonder who did this and why. Cleary a newbie or an irresponsible type.

[mesquite]

Somebody was very idiotic to post such explicit photos on Facebook and give students access. Students from all over Qatar were sending them to each other and to the newspapers. There was quite an outpouring of hostility and anger in some of the newspapers against western teachers.
Each picture had a negative comment written in Arabic; some pictures were even published in the Arabic papers and discussed on a radio talk show. You'd think a teacher would have more common sense. Bottom line: don't put any pictures on Facebook that you would be embarrassed to see later. And don't give your students access to your Facebook.

[Stephen Jones]

And don't go to a fancy dress party, even at the embassy.

[Citizenkane]

I've known quite a few teachers do this sort of thing in KSA - giving students access to Facebook and other sites which show them engaged in clearly 'inappropriate' activities. I would say teacher orientation sessions (where they exist, which is by no means at every institution) should be updated to include a specific warning against this kind of thing, and teachers told that when it comes to the reputation of their employers, this is not a 'personal' matter. Also, teachers should be told never to discuss their social life with students - however innocent it seems to them, it probably wont' seem that way to the students however tolerant they might like us to believe they are.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Citizenkane: Altho I agree with you, you'll always have that idiot subset who think that they CAN be "friends" with their students. They'll never get that still waters run deep. I observed the same moron class in Saudi who would sell Siddiqi to Saudi acquaitances who then, would flip in a heartbeat when they were discovered by their more pious brethern.

Like rats, you'll NEVER get rid of them...

NCTBA

[littleoldlady]

NCTA - have you gone from being amazed to doing the AMAZING all by yourself??

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

My dear! What ever are you referring to? It's almost like you're suggesting that I made a typing mistake! Perish the thought!

NCTBA (At least it wasn't 20,000 teats!)

[Stephen Jones]

[Citizenkane]

[wilberforce]

I fully agree. Teachers are supposed to have common sense. We should know where to draw the line.

[veiledsentiments]

These revelers made the fatal error in the Middle East. No one really cares what you do in private. But once it is in the public sphere you can easily get yourself in deep trouble.

The thing that I dislike about Facebook (other than the fact that I don't really care what any of my friends ate for breakfast) is that it is all terribly public.

VS

[wilberforce]

I stopped posting on Facebook a few years ago once I realized people not on your list could get access to it just by hitting the right buttons. Pretty scary. I've heard certain federal organizations in the US regularly look up people on this site; this happened to a friend's nephew.

I didn't actually see these pictures on Facebook, I've heard they were removed after the scandal broke out. My students told me they had been deleted. I saw the pictures in emails I received from at least 10 current and former students and one teacher who used to work with me. The students were either angry or upset or highly aggressive about those photos. The comments in Arabic were pretty strong and very critical.

I have deleted all of them from my account. The teachers probably had fun at that party but at whose expense? Dressing up like streetwalkers and then posing for pictures makes you a target. There were loads of teachers in those pictures; some teachers weren't doing anything but sitting at tables, but others were really being provocative and explicit in some pretty racy poses that you might see in men's magazine. I recognized a gal I had met at Garveys.

The teachers should have punched the guy who posted the pictures without their permission. I would bet 100% he didn't ask any of them for it. It must have been really bad for them when the pictures started making the rounds. I have no idea who the teacher who posted them is but let's hope he was given a proper warning and advice on how to behave here. He must have been a new teacher; anyone who's been around the region for awhile should know better. Do what you want in private but don't take pictures, no matter where you live, but especially in this part of the world.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

The U.S. Embassy missive didn't include the most important line and underlying reason for the warning:

...or they'll throw our arses out of al-Udaid AB like the saudis did at prince sultan AB.

NCTBA

[ntropy]

I agree; the poster really should have known better. As someone said above, no one cares what you do in private, it's only when it goes public that the stink starts.

I haven't seen the photos, but all the hullaballoo makes me wish I had just to see how racy they were.

A reminder to all new teachers to the area about where you are living: this might seem like a modern/developed area of the world, but it is extremely conservative, the same branch of wahhabi that dominates KSA. Don't be fooled. Act accordingly.

[grab-bag]

Absolutely. Qatar is the only other Wahabi country in the world. It is a very conservative and cautious place, despite what expats might think when first arriving here. I worked here over twenty years ago when Doha was a very small and orthodox city; foreigners had to respect the status quo or we were quickly booted out. I remember at least one instructor having to leave for having �illicit� relations, i.e. a live-in relationship and at least one teacher I knew ended up in the police station for his private habit. People may be getting away with such things now but it�s still risky behavior.

Having worked in Qatar and Kuwait as a teacher and consultant and now returning regularly to Qatar to work as an educational advisor (very well paid and excellent hotel accomodation) for a big educational reform project, I have seen many changes in this country. Some are mainly superficial- cell phones and laptops don�t mean people have changed the way they think, their faith is at the foundation of this society. Fundamentally, the Qatari people are the same as before: they are very tolerant of foreigners but at the same time they value their customs, religion and social system and resent any effort to change them or corrupt their values and traditions. Encroach upon or insult their values and traditions or beliefs and you are in for trouble. We also received these ridiculous photos in emails as they were sent to many educators and institutions in Qatar and other places; I saw them in Kuwait as well as here.

The pictures were tasteless to say the least and they infuriated many people, teachers, parents, religious leaders, students, expats, etc. Parents are very worried about having the people in those pictures teaching their youth. This incident has provoked a lot of social controversy, discussions and decisions. The US Embassy advice is one result of this. Working with local educators, principles, teachers, trainers, etc., it is clear they are very concerned about what kind of teachers are being brought to Qatar. There is a call by some to have more Arabs here and fewer Americans. People who want to work here in Qatar or other Gulf countries to take a good look at the society they are working in; if they can�t accept the way things are and respect the religion, then they�d be better off going to a country that suits their raunchy lifestyle.