Job Discussion Forums

[rosemachinegun]

Hello, my girlfriend and I are interested in working in Turkey, but we've been broadsided with a variety of frightening tales.

Her father is a Greek, and he's adamant that for someone with a Greek name to go to live in Turkey is a foolish and suicidal act.
He also insists that ESL job offers in Turkey are largely scams for luring people to the country to be sold into sex slavery, or to simply steal western passports.

Is there any truth to these claims? Can we be confident that most people we're corresponding with are acting in good faith? We're naturally very skeptical of what we've been told, and are still interested in working in Turkey, but we want to be sure that we'll be safe as we explore the options available.

We were recently offered contract teaching positions at an elementary school in Konya, but turned it down as we wanted to be sure of our safety first, and the acceptance process seemed too easy.

Thanks for reading!

[SAM31]

Er- perhaps a little paranoid?? I'm sure that kind of thing does happen every now and then (although I haven'T heard of anything in the 12 years I have been here)- just make sure you check out the school you are accepting a job with- google them, ask to have contact details of former or current teachers, post a question about them on this forum, or check old threads. As you said- the selection process shouldn't be too easy- especially if you are inexperienced teachers.
As for having a Greek surname, I seriously doubt it would make any difference at all in the major cities- couldn't speak for anywhere else, but I think there's a very small likelihood of having a problem because of this. Good luck!

[rosemachinegun]

Yeah, he's a pretty paranoid guy. Totally into conspiracy theories too. I find the stories to be very far-fetched, but I try to take him a little seriously because I do believe that he sincerely wants to protect his daughter.
Thanks for the advice and for sharing your experience.

[tanzania]

If you're worried (unreasonably so), you could contact one of the British consulates to ask for recommended schools in the area you are looking at.

[jamessmart50]

I wouldn't worry, I haven't heard of TEFL sex-slavery, although it's certainly an interesting option. From what I gather, the Greek national media indoctrinate people into thinking that Turkey is way more messed up than it really is. You remember the bird flu incident near Van about 3-4 years ago, a couple of kids died, well apparently Greek TV had 24-hour blanket coverage for a whole week. Oh and they just make stuff up too. *sweeping statement alert* Greeks dislike Turks for historical reasons. Your father in law probably views Turkey as being like Somalia.

[rgrider]

I have never heard of such a thing but it sounds like there might be some bias against Turks.

[eclectic]

[teacherdude]

I've met some Turks who fought in a war against the Greeks and they blame almost everything bad in Turkey on the Greeks

Your father-in-law might have the Turkish version of that.

Most Turks don't give a damn if you are Greek or not. I've actually met some that have a great love for Greek culture, food and music, to the point where they are studying Greek.

You have nothing to worry about. Never heard of a teacher being lured here and sold into sex slavery.

TD

[PC Parrot]

The OP is right to be worried about the Turks behaviour towards the Greeks.

Several years ago as I was strolling around the back streets of a small fishing town on the Turkish Aegean coast. Rounding one particular corner, I surprised an enormous Turkish gentleman into hastily swallowing the last of his meal. Something about the toe I saw vanishing into his cavernous throat suggested to me that he had swallowed his meal whole, much like a boa consuming its prey.

Nothing suspicious in this you might say. Well, after beating a haphazard retreat to the nearest bushes, I found myself standing over a pile of discarded clothes that resembled those worn by the greek fishermen of the region. Indeed, sewn into the 'captain's hat' was the name tag of a Kaptan Kostos Alexidies. I was confused because everything looked in too good a condition to simply be thrown away.

Unwilling to put the pieces of the ghastly puzzle together, my horror was finally unleashed in the bar that evening when a mug-shot flashed onto the TV. Looking right at me was a picture of the missing greek fisherman, Kostos Alexidies.

Needless to say I didn't return to my hotel room that night. I caught a taxi directly to the airport and flew back home as soon as I could.

Reflecting on the incident, I often wonder if the British woman sat next to me at the bar, apparently married to a Turk, was in on the act as she twice described the Kaptan as looking 'tasty' or 'dishy'.

[eclectic]

[bulgogiboy]

Haha I like the story about the devoured Greek fisherman. True story?

Honestly, I did TEFL for 6 years across Asia, including an 18 month stint in Turkey, and that's the first time I've ever heard anything about sexual slavery within the industry. You might feel like a regular slave in terms of wages and working conditions sometimes, but nobody is going to sell you for sexually-deviant purposes

Having said that, if you are a beautiful young woman wanting to teach abroad in countries you dont know ( I didnt meet many within the TEFL industry but nevermind ) , it's common sense to be extremely careful about who your employer is and how secure you will be. It sounds ridiculous, but even western women can occasionally get themselves into these situations. I read a story a few years ago where two British women went to work in a bar in Greece (I think it was one of the islands) and were forced into stripping/lap-dancing. This kind of situation must be extremely rare however.

On the whole, sexual slaves are women from poor and corrupt countries where their disappearance can easily be covered up, usually through bribery and acquiescance of the local authorities. They are picked because the gangsters involved know it'll be easy for them to get away with it. There's no incentive for them to try and coerce/abduct western women, who will be missed and searched for, who speak English as their first language, and who usually have families with enough money/access to media to kick up a stink.

About the Greek thing: Even my first gf in Turkey, who's father was a 1st class emniyet muduru, and had been raised a fierce, fierce nationalist (read: fascist) had no problems with Greek people. She seemed to have much more against Iranians/Arabs for their headscarf culture. I taught adults for all my time in Turkey, quite a broad cross-section of people as well, and this attitude towards Iranian/Arab culture was mirrored in them, it seemed to be the dominant concern (because of the 'bogeymen' of the AKP hehe) and I heard almost nothing about the Greeks at all, nevermind any malice towards them.

The only time I heard anything uttered against Greeks was when some students took me to anitkabir, and we saw some pics of Turks killed by Greeks, one student said she hated Greek people, but even that came across as largely banal and not particularly impassioned. Oh, and my second gf had a grudge because British supermarkets labelled Turkish-inspired foodstuffs wrongly, like 'Greek yoghurt'. And dont get into the baklava argument, it wont do any good hehe. All very petty stuff, you wont get any molotov cocktails through your window

I think if you made a big deal about your Greek/Armenian/Iranian heritage you might get into an argument or too, but that can happen anywhere.

And why would you choose Konya? I had some students from there, and was told it was conservative for the western part of Turkey. Do you want to become a Dervish or something?

See if you can get a job in Izmir, that'll be much nicer for you!