Pas Faux Pas: International Danger
by Rebecca Falkoff
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Send in Your Faux Pas
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The Monster Work Abroad would like to thank those of you who have submitted your stories of international cultural misunderstandings. We only have space for a few horror stories in this column, but keep them coming because we will run a new Faux Pas column during the last week of every month.
Share your pain online.
Or e-mail your stories to: internationalnews@monster.com
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The following tales are not light anecdotes about intercultural blunders. In fact, they are not faux pas at all. The incidents, described by Monster Work Abroad members, paint a frightening picture of some of the dangers that lurk overseas. These stories are not intended to scare you away from an international assignment but should underscore the importance of thorough research.
Terror on the Congo River
I was working as an electrical superintendent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa. One day, I decided to take a raft trip down the Congo River. That afternoon, an Angolan gunboat came over to my raft with guns drawn. They pulled me out of the raft and took me to a holding facility on the Angolan side of the river. They thought I was a mercenary trying to make my way into their country.
The next morning, about 20 men came to my cell and dragged me out and tied me with wires. I was taken to Luanda and put in a box for three days. In the middle of the night people would come take me to be interrogated by a Cuban officer. He would lie out a large map of the river and say other mercenaries were captured in the area and try to get me to say I was with them.
One day, the officer asked whether I wanted to go home. Apparently, the US Department of State had heard about me and cut off trade negotiations until I was released. The Red Cross arranged a flight back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for me. I went back to work, but the next time I went down the river, I made sure the boat had a big enough motor to get away from a gunboat.
International Career Columnist responds: I'm amazed you continued to work there after such a traumatic experience! Although I've never been to the Democratic Republic of the Congo or rafted on the Congo River, I question your decision to return to the river.
The US Department of State's Web site is an excellent place to research international safety concerns. In fact, this experience corresponds to those described on the Consular Information Sheet for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Often entrepreneurs living in countries with such unstable conditions employ heavily armed bodyguards and live in walled communities. While this may not sound as tranquil as rafting trip along the Congo River, it may be safer.
Same Medicine, Different Theory
I was recently in Israel, teaching nursing theory courses. Within two weeks of being there, I contracted a serious intestinal bacterial infection. I was admitted into the hospital. I was alone and very sick.
The hospital staff was not trained to address the patients' emotional needs. I also think they were threatened by me, an American nurse who taught nurses. Eventually we bonded over late night language lessons. After a few weeks of trying to recuperate in Israel, I've come home to get my strength back. It was not the experience I had expected, of course, but I loved Israel and learned a lot about the people and the culture. I would even go back -- though I would be more careful about what I eat.
International Career Columnist sympathizes: It must have been a scary and lonely experience. You are wise to plan to be careful about what you eat if you return to Israel.
But some things are beyond your control -- like intestinal bacterial infection or your recruiter's love life.
Never Give up Your Passport
I accepted a job in Europe as a consultant for a high-profile security company. My passport was taken from me the first day for a security check. The next day, the man who hired me was murdered, and I was not able to leave the country until the investigation concluded. Since the man who hired me was no longer with the company, I was told the job was no longer available. I had to stay in a foreign country with no passport and no job for eight months. Once they determined he was murdered because of a love triangle gone bad, I was allowed to leave.
International Career Columnist presses pause: That is the rare sort of story that can distract me from even the best noir flick. But your situation could have been worse: Better to not work and not get paid than to work and not get paid.
Taken Advantage of in Turkey
I worked for a security company for a year and a half in Istanbul, Turkey. From the beginning, my employer paid me late or half my salary with the promise to catch up. I quit, but my former employer still owes me $21,000, which he has no intention of paying.
International Career Columnist comments: Your experience is not uncommon. Expatriates, lacking in knowledge about local law and far from their native networks of colleagues, friends and family, are particularly vulnerable to that brand of exploitation. Connections can provide some degree of protection.
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