Job Discussion Forums

[BillCowher]

The following article was taken from the pages of the Arab Times on Dec. 29. While it does not actually relate to the ESL industry it does bring attention to some of the fraudulent practices and contract situations expats get themselves into when entering this land of no culture or honor.

Indian who came to work as driver gets job of a cook
Arjuwan Lakkdawala | Arab News


JEDDAH: Mohammed Mateen, 24, a native of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, has been in a ward on the fourth floor of the King Fahd Hospital for several months having suffered kidney failure.

Mateen, the only son of a fruit seller, came to Hafr Al-Baten 18 months ago to work as a house driver. His sponsor instead employed him as a cook. �He made me work as a cook, but gave me practically no food to eat, no room to stay and no salary,� said Mateen.

The Indian national said that labor recruitment agents in India are tricking workers. �I was told that my salary would be SR1,000, but when I came here the sponsor told me he would give me SR400 and that this is what is in my contract. He also failed to give me that,� he said.

Mateen had no previous cooking experience and so failed miserably to prepare dishes. Fearing his poor culinary skills would lead to his sponsor sending him back to India and the inhumane treatment he suffered at the hands of his sponsor, Mateen ran away.

Mateen said he also fled because he had borrowed money to come to the Kingdom and that he would not be able to repay the debt if he returned to India. As a lone brother with four sisters, he is concerned about his sisters getting married.

For his eldest sister�s marriage, Mateen�s father sold the family home in Islampura, his only asset. The marriage, however, ended in a tragic way with his sister returning home after suffering at the hands of her in laws.

Mateen�s situation in the Kingdom worsened dramatically when he suddenly fell sick and could not get treatment at private clinics because he did not have a passport or iqama.

When his condition became severe, his friends took him to King Fahd Hospital where he was admitted in the intensive care unit as an �unknown patient.� It was here that he was diagnosed with kidney failure; both of his kidneys have stopped working leaving him in need of dialysis.

The King Fahd Hospital has provided Mateen with adequate medical treatment, including dialysis three times a week. The Indian Consulate has also issued him with a passport and, with the help of a social worker at the hospital, Mateen has been provided with immigration clearance and an air ticket to India.

[scot47]

Arab News

Yes

If you have no Iqama you may well be refused medical treatment even if you have the money to pay as a private patient.

Before deciding to come here to work as an illegal on a "Business Visa" or a "Visitor Visa" think about all the implications of working here like a wetback.

Medical treatment is only part of it. No driving licenece. No bank account. No legal rights.

[BillCowher]

So how would a legitimate business person on a business visa doing normal business functions survive in this place with no iqama? There ARE such people engaged in business transactions etc. here, not just ESL teachers being fed fraudulent contracts & third world people being enslaved after trying to simply better the conditions in their home countries?

[Kalima Shahada]

[BillCowher]

Quote:
No bank account.
You can always keep your bank accounts in other countries and transfer money there. It is not essential to have a Saudi bank account.

Quote:

I appreciate the apparent support but the one statement I quoted is only half accurate. You need an iqama to transfer money TO that foreign account. Isn't that the whole reason why we come to this godforsaken place in the first place? To enrich those foreign accounts? I most certainly dis NOT come here for a vacation or to be a volunteer for no money.

[johnslat]

Dear Kalima Shahada,

"Quote:
Before deciding to come here to work as an illegal on a "Business Visa" or a "Visitor Visa" think about all the implications of working here like a wetback
. The same can be said of someone who decides to come to Saudi on a proper work visa. Regardless of your visa status you can still be treated "like a wetback."

Quote:
Medical treatment is only part of it.
It's a big part of it, in my view. And your work visa along with your work contract guarantees you exactly nothing. Yes, nothing!

Quote:
No driving licenece.
People can always have an international DL, but that will do women in Saudi absolutely no good whatsoever. Why? Because if women get caught driving by the police, they go to jail or worse.

Quote:
No bank account.
You can always keep your bank accounts in other countries and transfer money there. It is not essential to have a Saudi bank account.

Quote:
No legal rights.
That is right. As a foreigner in Saudi, you have no enforcable rights, period! I don't care what visa status you have. I take that back! Under a business/government visa, you have the right to leave. Not so under a work visa unless your employer will let you leave and process a proper exit visa for you!"


As Mr. Cowher has already posted, you DO need an iqama to transfer money to a foreign account.

In all the items quoted above, you seem to be implying that there's really NO difference between a "legitimate work visa" and all the other - illegal - visas (except that you thing the "illegal visas" are better since you have "the right to leave."

This is not only misleading information, but by your posts and due to your lack of experience, you may be encouraging prospective teachers to get themselves into very bad situations.

Teachers with legitimate work visas are MUCH more likely not to find themselves in such disagreeable circumstances.

Your post is both very inaccurate and very irresponsible.

John

[Cleopatra]

[Kalima Shahada]

[BillCowher]

At my first & only other position in this country I searched the main webpage of the company I was to work for and they are legitimate worldwide. I even asked people who were affiliated with them in other countries. My TEFL instructor in Vancouver told me International House was a very good company. What I failed to do was research them in KSA and find out the entire country was operating as a single franchise owned by one snake of a sun-human creature.

Before accepting my current position I did attempt to research the company I now work for and they also seemed legitimate and I mistakenly assumed (yes I know about ASS U ME) that since I was being granted a heretofore unknown Government visa and my contract stated I was working at a GOVERNMENT university that they would obtain the proper work visa in short order as stated in the contract and in all correspondence.

That present company does not have either the wasta or cash necessary to obtain work visas and iqamas. Nor does Education Experts have the money to pay salaries and the accommodation rentals. It is one thing to work for jerks who won't pay, but to work for jerks UNABLE to pay is another matter entirely. At least the return ticket is paid for & still valid.

It seems I climbed out of one sewer only to fall in the septic tank. Of course KSA would make a good septic tank for the rest of the world.

The next people contemplating working for EdEx at least now know that the company has no money & they should not work for them with ANY kind of visa & most certainly NOT come on their own dime!