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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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indytrucks
Joined: 09 Apr 2003
Location: The Shelf
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 Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:34 pm Post subject: This is interesting |
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Here's an email I received today. I deleted the names of the individuals involved.
I'd actually forgotten all about applying to this position. A somewhat illuminating look into a small sliver of the ESL world outside of here.
To those who like to slag off Korea for being disorganised, corrupt, racist, dodgy recruiters, blah blah blah, well, guess what? Shit happens elsewhere as well. What a shock! 
The part about Yemen intrigues me. Wasn't there an old poster here who went to Yemen? Bucheon Bum maybe?
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If you receive this email it means that you emailed me during 12/06-1/07 about an ESL job in Haima, Oman. I apologize for not getting back to you but I was inundated with applications and was in dire straits alone in the desert doing the work of 3 teachers. Because of this I hired a teacher who could be there in a week, someone who was working in Oman and could get a letter of release immediately.
I have kept your email in that folder on my email account since then, always intending to reply. I am replying at this time because 1) I should have before, 2) I want you to know what happened with that job, and 3) some advice about Oman, a warning about the people that I worked for and what happened to the person who was hired. Very complex, but I will try to be brief.
I went to Oman in August 06, hired by the teacher who went to Haima village to set up a training center for Occidental Petroleum. The director, the teacher who set it up and taught one session of students before, had throat problems and after 2 plus months of tests it was cancer and he had to return to Canada for what he thought would be three months of treatment, and then return to Haima. I took his position (temporarily) and I was to hire a teacher for three months. Who exactly was hiring? Well, we didn�t work directly for Occidental (unfortunately), the middleman, recruiter was Global Business Network Systems L.L.C. who actually hired us and would have been the one to hire you. Not �Oxy.� So we had two sets of bosses, but the one that mattered and the one that wasn�t too bad was Oxy. In fact, I would say if you can ever work directly for Oxy, grab it and go. But if Global Business Network is involved don�t touch it, for reasons I will explain. Oman is a great place to work IF you have a good employer. For most people in ESL it�s not so good anymore.
So there I was in the desert, almost exactly midway between Muscat and Salalah, having a good time with the bedouin there, in my new furnished two-BR apartment over the training center in the large building Oxy leased. Every weekend I drove to new territory, usually where some students were from. But I had to have another teacher and fast. I got a good Canadian man who was in Sohar and he went to Muscat , negotiated a 12 month contract with all the usual. The teacher that was hired by the director before he left, came and was treated so badly by Globenet staff that he disappeared before signing a contract. So he got a free ticket to Oman and knew where to go. This is too long and I�ll cut to the chase.
My teacher did very well, weathered some severe storms (esecially after I terminated all the troublemakers who happened to have serious wasta. Oxy stood with me.). Then, one day we were told to move the center and the students and ourselves to HCT! We just managed to finish the session, gave exams before the move. At that point my colleague (could have been you!) was informed by Global, one day before his 3 months probation was up, that he was no good and he was terminated.
We packed and moved to Muscat . On arrival my colleague went to Global and explained the contract and the law to the owner of Global and his office manager(a Nigerian, really!). Well, and they explained to him that the owner�s brother was the top security official in Oman and if the teacher made a legal problem he would simply be thrown in jail or worse, and that they had a case against him and evidence, etc. The Nigerian told him if he had a problem they could go outside and finish it then and there(this large Canadian would have killed him). They didn�t even give him a month of severance pay(the contract said three)or anything, they just said �bye and be quiet.� They put us in a crummy guest house full of Indians in our kitchen stealing our food. The old director was given a nice place. I realized that they could do the same to me as they had my teacher; I decided to get out. In fact, my teacher got a good job in Malaysia and we left on the same plane to Bangkok . What really threw me was that the Oxy bosses didn�t come to the teacher�s rescue like they knew they should have. My Oxy bosses had always been good to me, had backed me up even against Global bullshit. That�s what scared me off.
My advice. Oman is good and you should go there IF. Tertiary school standards are going down and unless there is a major rethinking at the top(If students fail it�s the teacher�s fault, etc. I could enforce standards only because the top Oxy bosses backed me. ), don�t.
Please heed this�DO NOT EVER WORK FOR OR BE CONNECTED WITH GLOBAL BUSINESS NETWORK SYSTEMS in Muscat , Oman . THE OWNER�S NAME IS xxx. THE NIGERIAN DEMON�S NAME IS xxx.
Oxy is great if you are working directly for them. If not, it depends on who the recruiter is. Do your homework. If you are involved with Oxy and want some advice, email me. If not GOOD LUCK TO YOU and thank God you didn�t get that Haima job.
--xxx
P.S. I had a great time in Oman and saw almost every corner. After that I went to Yemen and had one of the wildest times of my life. Viva ESL! |
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Scotticus
Joined: 18 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:12 am Post subject: |
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| As you said above, we slag off on Korea alot, but it's really not too bad of a place. I try to keep an open mind about stuff, but you'd have to pay me some SERIOUS dough to get me living and working anywhere in the Middle East. There's "adventure" and then there's "stupidity." |
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IMF crisis
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:13 am Post subject: |
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All info from Wiki:
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| In terms of GDP per capita, Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. |
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| The human rights situation in Yemen is poor. The government and its security forces, often considered to suffer from rampant corruption, have been responsible for torture, inhumane treatment and even extra judicial executions. |
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| Human Rights Watch reported on discrimination and violence against women as well as on the abolition of the minimum marriage age of the age of fifteen for woman. The onset of puberty (interpreted by conservatives to be at the age of nine) was set as a requirement for marriage instead.[14] Reports of other forms of hostile prejudice directed towards disabled people, and ethnic and religious minorities were also reported. Censorship is actively practiced and in 2005 legislation was passed requiring journalists to reveal their sources under certain circumstances, and the government has raised the start-up costs for newspapers and websites significantly. In violation of the Yemeni constitution, the security forces often monitor telephone, postal, and Internet communications. Journalists who tend to be critical of the government are often harassed and threatened by the police.[4] |
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Yemen now ranks 113 on the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" index.[6]
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I don't think a person would have the same expectations of Yemen as they would of Korea. |
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