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gelynch52ph · Joined: 15 Feb 2011 Posts: 132

I was in Najran where that woman was and flew from Najran to Riyadh with her. Due to family obligations in The Philippines I did not argue with Education Experts when they paid me only to date and not the total 90 days they were required to pay me. She refused to accept less than she was offered and stayed behind. Then she told me in an e-mail a couple days later that her flight out was very early in the morning and she could not get a taxi to stop for her and she missed the flight out. Maybe this detention is why she has not returned e-mails this past year. I left KSA on New Years Eve 2009 if I recall correctly.

I had a visitor visa for King Saud University but was shipped by bus to Najran after buying a months worth of perishable groceries in anticipation of being moved across town on a Friday when all the shops would be closed. All that food was left behind in Riyadh and then I was paid 8 days late to boot. My separation was less than pleasant from Education Experts

(MOD edit to remove names)

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

You could have posted this on the running thread rather than starting a new one. It is always better to have all the information together for those that are searching later.

I see that they had to edit out using names. One of the policies here is that real names should be avoided. Some use initials instead.

VS

gelynch52ph · Joined: 15 Feb 2011 Posts: 132

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

There is an edex thread running... probably would have been better there. Same group of thieves. Laughing

VS

Warning Bells · Joined: 10 Mar 2011 Posts: 87 Location: Always Changes

Dear gelynch52ph,

Good of you to post your side of events! Since you have personal experience with this woman, woud you say she is 'normal' or abnormal? Some people on here seem to have painted a picture of her as being a type of very strange character who deserves the trouble she creates for herself? Would you agree?

Do you think EdEx is responsible for her being held in Saudi Arabia for so long? And do you think they paid her enough money so she could have bought another ticket to get out?

How many days pay did they owe you for?

Do you know anyone still in Saudi who might know more about her whereabouts?

I'm very concerned and disturbed by this whole story and I don't even know her. Confused

gelynch52ph · Joined: 15 Feb 2011 Posts: 132

I would say that woman is a bit strange but I only knew her a couple of days. I need to say here that I was essentially fired by EdEx so that needs to be factored into what I say. I was fired for getting loud when I was not paid and there was no pay in sight anytime soon. I suppose I should have just suffered in silence but that is not my nature when I'm hungry. The hotel we had suites in as apartments also had not been paid in months and the possibility we were never going to be paid loomed large in many minds. That woman lived in a hotel different from the one I shared with several other EdEx teachers but I'm told the rent was an issue there as well.

The "contract" we all worked on illegally stated that EdEx was required to give us 30 days written notice of any termination. I left KSA on Dec. 31, 2009 and have yet to receive that notice. My entire time "employed" by EdEx was about 40 days and I was paid only those days and not any of the required advance notice required by contract. I did not, however, as some have stated, have it in my contract that I could be placed in any of a number of universities. My contract and my visa said King Saud University in Riyadh, not Najran University where I was placed.

The woman in question (I guess I'm not supposed to name her) was in frequent contact with me via sms and internet in the 3 or 4 days immediately prior to our removal to Riyadh for repatriation. I was on the internet chatting her when the EdEx people tried to break into her room and she took a video of them using her camera or phone. They were men and even going into a woman's room is against the law so what they expected to accomplish is beyond my comprehension.

It is my understanding that somehow EdEx capitulated and payed her for her outstanding time left but that she was stranded with no ride to the airport and EdEx just hung her out to dry. Now I've no idea where she is in KSA if she is still there. She did tell me, "I'm a human rights activist" and KSA is just NOT the place for an outspoken female human rights activist to be active.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

gelynch52ph · Joined: 15 Feb 2011 Posts: 132

Warning Bells · Joined: 10 Mar 2011 Posts: 87 Location: Always Changes

This isn't the first time I've heard teachers complain about this company, especially with regards to their pay and overall treatment. That being said, this woman was responsible for her own ride to the airport. If she had at least a 24 hour notice, she could have arranged a ride through her hotel or other contacts and started out at a decent hour even if she had to stay at the airport for five hours before her flight took off. So I think she is the one who is responsible for missing her own flight.

I really don't care about her being a human rights activist and I don't see it as a 'problem.' However, if her intent was to be stuck in Saudi Arabia, she has certainly achieved her goal. I'm not sure if she has made a wise choice. I think not!

What concerns me most is that males from this company broke into her hotel room. What on earth for?! Can you elaborate? Were they just yelling at her to open the door or did they actually cause physical damage from trying to get inside?

gelynch52ph · Joined: 15 Feb 2011 Posts: 132

However, I was on the phone with her while it happened. The company paid her in the evening and told her the company driver would take her to the airport @ 3:30 AM and failed to show. Then the hotel driver was not summoned and the hotel even denied having one. I was in the same hotel & they DID have a driver and van. Since the ticket was paid by the company the airline refused to reissue a new one and why she remained behind is unknown to me.

Somewhere in the links in other threads are other links to actual e-mails exchanged between her and EdEx. The fact that they were read was evident because I had told her about a website called DidTheyReadIt.com that will secretly tell you when an e-mail has been opened. I used it myself with them because they were not replying to my requests for information.

johnslat · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 12:13 pm Post subject:

Dear Warning Bells,

"I really don't care about her being a human rights activist and I don't see it as a 'problem.'"

Have you ever been to the Kingdom? Being a "human rights ACTIVIST" there
is as likely to cause "problems" as being, say, a Black Panther at a Klu Klux Klan convention would.

Regards,
John

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

And what exactly does one mean when one says that one is a "human rights activist"? Does that mean that one goes around fighting the status quo for no other reason than to get oneself into situations like this? And then one can complain about how one is mistreated and abused? Rolling Eyes

In my knowledge of her activities in Kuwait, I would not describe her as an "activist" but as a trouble maker. I will not be specific as to why as this is a public board, but let me just say that mostly what she did was make life more difficult for every other expat female that arrived after her.

This negatives of this employer have been listed on this board for a long time. These days with the internet, there is no reason why people can't check before putting themselves under their power. The ability of bad employers to entrap one in Saudi Arabia is also well covered here. Considering that she had already had a similar situation claiming entrapment by an employer in Kuwait... one sees a pattern.

VS

Warning Bells · Joined: 10 Mar 2011 Posts: 87 Location: Always Changes

johnslat · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 6:40 pm Post subject:

Dear Warning Bells,

"Now if she did this on purpose, it still doesn't justify her disappearance . . ."

Justify???? Nobody here, I believe, is trying to "justify" her situation, only to explain or understand it. But being a "human rights activist" in Saudi Arabia in ANY sense of the word "activist" would, I'd say, demonstrate a profound lack of common sense.
When you're a guest in someone else's country, you have to play by their rules. If you don't like the rules, if you can't live with those rules, don't go there to teach.

Regards,
John