That is my new phrase of the day, and my decision of the day to ponder. What do you think I should do?
One thing I HATE about living here, is being forced to be someone I am not. I am not by nature an aggressive driver, I follow the rules and give people lots of room who don’t. But here, if I want to get in the flow of traffic, when NO ONE will move left to a clear lane to accommodate new traffic, where no one uses the nifty European ‘zipper’ method of merging, I will go fast with a big car and force my way in. It goes against my nature, and I resent it.
Another thing I hate is men who think I would be attracted by their staring, gross tongues, and grosser sexual invitations. Even in front of my kids. In order to appear ‘strong’ and not weak, I have to get in their face and act like a you-know-what to defend my honor. I am a nice person, a moral woman of deep faith, a faithful wife, and their innuendo makes me want to throw up (all over them).
My latest thing I hate is the attitude of a certain magazine owner who has chosen not to pay his free-lancers for four months, letting his admin girl be the fall-gal to deliver the: ‘insha’allah next week’ refrain. For twelve weeks I had been kind, understanding and cooperative. But to him, a mild-mannered marshmallow to take advantage of. This marshmallow finally got singed to the point she is discovering her inner-Erin Brockovich.
A month ago ago I called a couple of the other free-lancers and discovered they were getting the same run-around. We decided to stop submitting articles until we were paid. It didn’t help, the mag just started advertising for more suckers to string along. I decided we may be stronger as a unit than as individuals, and began to think class-action. One of them asked me to start a union for them. Chuckle. Me, the Republican, Right-Wing Bottom-Feeder, starting a free-lance writers union. 
Mostly, I just want to handle this like Jesus would want me to.
I used my developing super-sleuth /journalistic skills to track the guy down, and discovered he is hardly a starving entrepreneur. He is a man of means and assets. I brought little Kinz with me and waited for him to open his store (I figured he wouldn’t yell at me if I had her with me). I sat down and kindly explained there must be some mistake, I’m sure he just forgot, but he has been remiss in paying his free-lancers, and it is time to make it right. He frowned: “How do you know them?” I said: “We are all bloggers, we have websites that thousands of Jordanians read”. He looked startled, then stood up and said: “Next week, insha’allah”. I told him, with a smile, I am tired of insha’allah, my trust has been broken and I would be happy to take goods from his store in the amount I am owed. He sat back down and smiled and said: “But no, you will have a check next week”.
A week passed. No call, no check. I asked blogger El 3atel what he thought I should do, since he had been well-acquainted with the non-paying-company-syndrome. He said “Be a lion”. ROARR!!! I roared to God in prayer asking for wisdom, hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, but it seems a part of my character development He desires done.
I sent and email yesterday saying exactly what I wanted. I got one back saying the check would be ready Sunday, but that they forgot the raise per piece they had given in December and didn’t include the latest issue’s work. I sent an email back saying I wanted the full amount as I submitted the latest issue’s work early and they were the ones who were late to print.
Today, I got the answer to my prayer. Two actually. One friend who has royal wasta said she could arrange a little phone call. The father of another friend offered his company legal counsel and advised me to file an “Inthar 3adileh”, to give the man two weeks notice before I actually start legal action against him for all the free-lancers, including fines, interest, and reimbursement for Tylenol. I sent the owner another email saying if the full amount I requested was not available Sunday, we would proceed to file the Inthar 3adileh on Monday. One of the other writers laughed that I seem to have more wasta than he does. Bizarre.
This is so scary (not nearly as scary as previous Mafia connections. But that is another story 
).
But, I think I am doing the right thing. If any of you have anything to add, please speak up! And what does Inthar 3adileh mean, anyway?
“Blessed are the meek” never meant timid, but strong and pious. Being protective of your person and your faith is not wrong. No, no, no; on the contrary, you have a right as a human being to be treated with respect and dignity.
But some men along react to a good kick in the rear.
Good luck and you are doing the right thing. COD next time.
But some men ‘only’ react to a good kick in the rear.
So I can’t spell.
Ya go for it.
Yeah you definitely did the right thing, but it’s “Inthar” not “Anthar” :p
KOL HA KAVOD!!!!! Good for you. It sounds to me like you are doing the right thing–standing up for yourself and the other writers.
Listen, I am hardly an expert, but I do not think you have to be too worried about whether this conflicts with Christianity. Jesus was Jewish, right? Jewish law covers this issue. I am not an expert in that either (’cause I am not that well educated in that area of Jewish law), but one is not allowed to hold back a worker’s wages. So if Jesus were here, he would be right there beside you, kicking some ass and hounding that guy for the money.
On a related note, you may be familiar with the concept of kosher food, yes? Restaurants that want to advertise themselves as kosher get a certificate of Kashrut, certifying that the food is kosher. So the food is holy…but the employees are often treated like crap. As I can attest from my summer here back when I was a student, working conditions in restaurants here leave something to be desired. To combat that, someone started a movement to give restaurants and businesses certificates of “kosher behavior”—as in not screwing over their employees! I recently saw one of those in a Tel Aviv ice cream shop. Now I can love them both for the low-cal soya ice cream AND the fact that they treat their employees well. Truly a win-win situation.
Seriously, you should be really proud of yourself.
Okay, I really should be going to bed, but instead, I am learning how to do smileys on wordpress….. Let me see if this works….
:shocked:
:ugly:
::P:
Noooooooo!!!!!! They did not work! They were supposed to be lovely green smileys! Grrrr!
Okay. I am going to bed now. Clearly, I have spent just a little too much time on the computer.
Kinzi I’m so disappointed by you , you have lived in Jordan that long and haven’t figured what insha’alla really means !
Go tell him insha’allah I’ll sue you , you’re protecting yourself and those who may work under this guy in the future. Good luck!
Anthar Adlay= legal warning
Best of luck Kinzi!!
The question is: Will you be seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages? Or both?
In my opinion 4 months is not long enough of a period to establish pernicious intent on the part of your employer to withhold your payment. He might be able to counter your claim with encumbering circumstances of his own.
I don’t know if you have a contract or not and whether there was a breach of contract. Nevertheless, and barring all other unforeseen facts, this is a clear cut of cost versus benefits case.
When everything is said and done the residual question that begs for an answer will be: Will the reaped benefits outweigh the cost? If the answer is yes then I’ll say go for it, and if the answer is no, then I suggested that you eschew for now.
I know “Inthar” means warning. Maybe Anthar is the same? I am at a complete loss for Adlay. I will take a stab and say “Legal”, but I would pronounce it Adli, still we can go on for hours discussing proper phonetic pronounciation. So in other words ‘Legal Warning,’ not sure of there is such a process exists in Amman or not.
I am saddened for what has happened, but I am glad you are taking steps towards collecting what is righfully yours. Please keep us abreast and I hope for the best as usual.
Cheer up please!
Kinzi,
On a lighter note: Do you still see that Saudi with a see through robe standing infront of your house? I though that post was hilarious.
LOL @ the compensation for tylenol…:) so cute…good luck…u give it to him kinzi..:)
If you don’t stand up for yourself, who will? I think my biggest lesson in Jordan has been to stand up for yourself, and speak out. People are ignorant of their rights and they are taken advantage of by the rich, powerful and ingenious. And most folks just don’t care how their actions affect those of others. You can see it in the grocery store line, parking lots, streets, etc. I love to see the face of the guy who thinks he is ‘all that’ when I call him on his poor manners. At least I have called him on it and I hope he will think twice the second time. InshAllah khair.
Brian, thanks for the good words. I’m learning that meekness is power under control
I can’t spell either, the dyslexic bunny is always bopping me on da head – or the keyboard.
Hamede, I will!!!
Hamzeh, thanks dude, I fixed it.
Summer, thanks for being my on-line qamoose!
Gila, I receive those little green smileys in the spirit in which they were sent! Hope you got some sleep. Heh-heh, thanks for the kosher lesson! Pretty smart folks those, going after the spirit of the letter of the law and not just the jot and tittle.
“So if Jesus were here, he would be right there beside you, kicking some ass and hounding that guy for the money” girl, you are too funny! what an image! Yup, he was pretty clear about paying folks for their work. It’s just that the Apostle Paul later said don’t sue a brother in Christ (paraphrase), and it’s not like I can go ask what his religion is, ya know? BUT, I can threaten no matter WHAT it is!
Hareega, LOL! “Insha’allah, I’ll sue you” AAAHHHHH! Thanks guy, I would hate to disappoint you.
Hatem, WOW, you win for ‘biggest words used in one comment” today. You sound well acquainted with legalities as such? No, I don’t have a contract, never have, and from now on, wont’ leave home without it. The previous ‘understanding’ was within ten days of publication, as with most of the other mags around, it is industry standard. Since he is doing this to all of us, and it looks like there could be a closure coming, I think the benefits of pushing now outweigh waiting longer for the ‘insha’allah’. Insha’allah
Ziad, thanks! I wondered if it was like “3adil” justice oo shu hayki. I will keep you posted, and i am cheered. It is actually a bit empowering.
Hatem, LOL, I should update you all on him
Glad you enjoyed it, it sortof pushed the envelope on my PG rated blog.
Sam, lol back at ya! Heh-heh, I wont’ really ask for all that, just what I am do and the cost of filing the paperwork. If he doesn’t pay, though, I will go public and start some snarky Facebook group.
thanks Um Omar…I knew you’d back me up. Amazing, no one said anything about lawsuit-crazy Americans!!! good for you bringing that man back to planet earth and the dust from which he was created. Once I nearly threw a McD’s milkshake back into the lovely Mercedes convertible from which it was thrown. i actually got out of my car at the light, picked it up and started yelling at the guy about trashing his country (that was right before I went back for a US visit, too).
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