Don’t go to Kuwait, ISR tells teachers

KUWAIT CITY: International Schools Review (ISR), an online travel advisory for international teachers, on Wednesday posted a message advising all foreign teachers and administrators in Kuwaiti schools to consider not returning to Kuwait or honoring their contracts until a travel ban placed on an American school teacher is withdrawn. Earlier, ISR had carried a letter from the American teacher at one of Kuwait’s private schools, appealing for help from a number of organizations alleging she has been prevented from leaving the country against her will. The site said “We encourage all teachers to contact their Kuwaiti schools, calling for an immediate resolution of the teacher’s situation, one that will lift the travel ban and allow her to return home to her family.

“We further encourage all teachers/administrators in Kuwaiti schools to consider not returning to Kuwait or honoring their contracts in Kuwait until this situation has been resolved.” The teacher, in her appeal, had mentioned that she is working in an international school, and her responsibilities included student discipline. “In March, 2006, three boys in grade five were suspended for fighting. I interviewed the boys, met with my principal and followed normal procedure. There is no stigma here regarding suspension. Students spend the day in the office where they study, are visited by teachers, and are taken to the canteen and so on.”

However, this incident, she alleged, angered the parents of a suspended boy, who filed a case against her. She alleges the result is that now there is a travel ban on her and she can’t leave the country.
The website has also published a letter sent by another teacher to an American senator regarding the issue, saying arresting teachers is not uncommon in Kuwait. Following is the text of the letter.
“I am an American teacher working in Kuwait. To date, this year, I know for a fact that one school has had two teachers go to jail and one teaching assistant flown out of the country overnight due to a politically charged situation. Now (the travel-banned teacher’s) incident is taking place at another school. We need help from our government representatives to provide some semblance of protection. We are there in good faith as contract international teachers, and would expect help from our embassy when this type of situation emerges. We don’t get help. The US embassy staff repeatedly have said there is nothing that they can do in these situations.

“If this is true, why do we have an American Embassy there at all? I understood that being an American citizen meant that we could at least call upon our embassy for assistance and intervention when there is clearly a wrong being committed. Surely a little ‘behind the scenes’ intervention, or inquiry from our government would not be out of line. This is the third case of an American citizen being told by the US embassy that they cannot help, and two of them are going to jail this year. Now the teacher is in danger.

“Others of us have been threatened by parents that if we fail their students, try alternate placements to meet the students’ educational needs or institute disciplinary action, they will go to their government.
“Kuwait is supposedly our friend as we fought to free the country and we have given tremendous military support to this government. When we follow the rules and procedures of the school, shouldn’t they be the ones held responsible, not the individual employee who has done nothing wrong. “I request that you intervene on this person’s behalf. If there truly is nothing that can be done, then all American citizens should be given State Department warning not to work in Kuwait, and we should all be taken out as being in danger as provided for in our teaching contracts. “I eagerly await your intervention and assistance for a fellow teaching staff member at the mercy of Kuwait’s lack of support for contract-hired American citizens. We are here to do the job we were contracted to do.”


International School Review had another letter sent to them holding a different perspective on the issue. The following is the exact, full text of that letter. “the issue regarding the (American teacher), I don’t think it is so logic that she would be banned to travel or afraid of being in kuwait since we all noticed that the rate of crime in usa is more and regading the students behaivor well i guess if the school contacted the parents instintly without having the students kept in a jail room this situation wouldnt be like that and if this is true that they are kept togther why would the father be so upset and does that thing with you as we all know kuwaiti families and espacially this family is educated and very well behaived so i guess you should reconsider the whole issue your sef (teacher) and face the damage you did to the student u r a teacher and should be aware how to behave in such matter.”


In response to this letter ISR issued the following note: “ISR received the above letter from an unknown party regarding the teacher’s situation. It is clear to the ISR staff that this letter sets a very dangerous precedence for teachers considering working in Kuwait. Our assumption is that this letter came from a parent in the school or from the general Kuwait community. In any case, we want all international teachers to consider whether or not you would want to work in this climate. Clearly there is no human compassion or logic within this letter but rather an underlying tone or threat. Please choose wisely.”

By Arab Times Staff