Employment Terrorism: the Case of Dr. Hamza and al-Yemenia Airlines
Victim of Corporate Torture
Dr. Hamza
These are some arabic links in here, and here and one more here. This has been going on for a while.
Dr. Hamza is from Aden. Before unification he worked in the South at Alyemda Airlines, and at the same time he was also a scientific consultant for the South and a lecturer at Aden University. The highly educated Dr. Hamza is among the experts in his field. After unity, the airlines of the North and South merged and Dr. Hamza found himself working for al-Yemenia. The chairman of of al-Yemenia Airlines is Adbulkhalik al-Qaid, President Saleh’s son-in law. Dr. Hamza has faced a variety of harrassments and targeting through the years at his place of employment. The latest outrage is the gate pass story.
It goes something like this: In early May, the airlines security office tells Dr. Hamza his gate pass has expired and has to be turned in. Then somebody plays a game for a month about where the new gate pass is, who has it, who is holding it up and when is he getting it. Everyday when he goes to work at al-Yemenia, he gets hasseled at the gate because they are not supposed to let anyone in without the pass. Keep in mind this is one of the premier aviaiton experts in Yemen. Sometimes Dr. Hamza gets in with the intervention of some person or another, other days he has to go home. On the days he does get in, he gets hasseled for being late. It is beyond bizarre, some strange charade, corporate torture. With Dr. Hamza hailing from Aden, the situtation is described in Yemen as another example of regional discrimination against Southerners considering the national airlines is run by a member of President Saleh’s family.
The Political Security Organization is holding the gate pass. The PSO reports directly to the President and has been linked the the violent targeting of journalists as well. Dr. Hamza continues to get some story that he’ll get the pass tomorrow or its in a different location. This bizarre corporate behaivor could be retribution for some articles he’s written or personal targeting by the management or targeting by Southern identity. But whatever is going on, its a month later, and still no gate pass. And this poor guy who is renouned in his field shows up for work everyday just to get another slap in the face, another stupid story, and another round of fustrations. So now we have a new term: employment tribalism. How can an country run like that when employment is politicized and a means of for retribution and harassment? Just like with the teachers, in Yemen’s unipolar configuration, there is no recourse for the victims. This is a major national corporation, al-Yemenia Airlines, that is operating like a bully on the playground to its own employees, playing mean games for no purpose other than torture and humiliation. Its just outragous.
