By Jesse Robitaille
This column originally appeared in the now-defunct Bullet News Niagara in April 2014.
Are you a straight man who wants to study abroad?
Are you a devout follower of Sunni Islam?
Are you sick of the harsh Canadian winter?
Then Niagara College’s Taif campus might be right for you!
Located in sunny Saudi Arabia, the Taif campus will open its doors to about 300 male students next year in a story of commerce versus conscious.
Last fall, Saudi Arabia’s Colleges of Excellence (COE) issued a worldwide tender as part of an initiative to provide vocational training to the Saudi labour force and attract more skilled workers to the local job market.
In February, Niagara College beat out 20 other institutions with its bid to run a hospitality, tourism, culinary and business campus in Taif over a five-year contact.
Niagara College topped the technical scores, but how much money did it bid for a chance to venture into Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy known as one of the world’s most repressive regimes?
Sean Kennedy, Niagara College’s vice-president of student and external relations, declined to disclose the exact cost due to a “confidential bidding process,” but he assured the college would recoup on all of its costs.
Kennedy estimated the new international business venture could return to the college between $5 million and $10 million—money that can be reinvested into the school’s local programming in Niagara. The school could also repurpose the Taif campus for other customized training in the future, Kennedy added.
If all goes to plan, school starts in September with up to 300 male students undergoing English language and academic skills training. The smart ones can then go on to business, hospitality and tourism diploma programs later in 2015.
In response to any potential cultural differences, Kennedy hopes the college can bring “a little bit of Canada” to Saudi Arabia, which restricts almost all political rights and civil liberties.
Similar to Canada, the college places "respect for diversity and inclusion" high on its list of values.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia follows the legal system known as Sharia, which advocates public executions, considers women as property and denies LGBTQ rights—instead punishing gays with death.
The college will abide by Saudi laws throughout the five-year contract, during which time staff will ensure the experience is “one that the Saudi government has sought out,” Kennedy said.
Keep in mind the Saudi’s believe education's goal is to teach the youth about Sharia and Islamic culture.
CANADA IS COMING
Niagara College may be able to bring "a little bit of Canada" to Saudi Arabia while bridging the gap between democracy and repressive theocratic monarchy.
Or perhaps the young Saudis, living under the strict enforcement of their hyper-violent religious police, won’t learn a thing about our culture and values because Sharia follows a fairly straightforward tradition: fuck around, find out. (And it doesn’t exempt foreigners.)
Overall, Sharia is a bit of a squirrely concept owing to the high number of executions, the long list of death-worthy offences, the poor treatment of LGBT communities, the zealous use of torture, the lack of religious freedom and the highly disadvantaged position of women, who won’t be attending the Taif campus because programming is only open to men.
To be fair, there are 26 campuses opening in the COE’s plan — 13 for men and 13 for women — and Niagara College will only operate the one in Taif. While student and faculty positions are reserved for males, women will be “allowed” on campus and are “expected to hold support staff positions,” according to a statement issued by the college.
While it’s nice of the men to allow the women some leeway in their daily lives, what’s the point when the Saudi’s guardianship system forbids women from travelling, doing business or undergoing medical procedures without permission from their male owners?
There is no point.
All that matters is money, and there will be plenty of it, so don’t worry.
Besides, the Saudi’s are our friends—and our second-largest export market in the Middle East. Just this year, Canada's federal government helped secure a $10 billion deal for a Canadian company to supply armoured vehicles, equipment and training to the Kingdom.
These weapons will surely end up killing something, so it’s unfortunate Canada has sold them to a wildly repressive regime that seems excited to execute its citizens. It’s unfortunate our government thinks it's OK simply because it creates jobs. Further down the line, the college considers it a good idea to operate a campus in Saudi Arabia because it’ll bring in some money.
Personally, I don’t think Taif is for me; however, if you end up going, you should heed these warnings.
It’s best if you’re a devout follower of Sunni Islam, Saudi Arabia’s state religion, because no other religion is tolerated.
There is certainly no atheism allowed either.
Do not under any circumstance be a woman, or they’ll consider you a second-class citizen.
If you are a woman and you get raped, you might be given 200 lashes as punishment for being alone with a man (as reported by the Clarion Project in 2007).
If someone thinks you’re doing any witchcraft or sorcery, they’ll cut your head off—no questions asked. Don’t be witchy.
You should definitely never be gay because they’ll kill you for that, too.
If you’re a journalist (!), you might get 600 lashes after inevitably questioning the Saudi way of life (as reported by the Daily Beast last year).
There’s a strange feeling in the pit of my soul knowing the college that taught me to be a journalist is doing business with a country that openly tortures and imprisons reporters.
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