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Domestic violence
Dear Annie: I have a neighbor whom I will call "Flo." Flo seems to enjoy and even thrive on the drama in her life. Her husband yells at her, throws things, and they just recently got into a physical fight. Since they were both swinging away, the police hauled both of them in.
They have two very young daughters who surely witnessed at least part of this altercation. Flo returned home that night. Two days later, her husband was back in the house, even though Flo informed all of her neighbors that had she not fought back, he would have killed her that night.
Flo makes sure everyone knows the details about every single fight they have and how horrible her husband is. Then the next minute, she says they are working things out and that she needs to spend more time with him.
I have sympathy for the little girls, and that is it. Annie, are there some people who just delight in this sort of upheaval? I am so sick of hearing her tales of woe. How do I handle it? -- Annoyed in Maryland
Dear Maryland: Flo is so desperate to be the center of attention that she will do whatever puts her in that spot, good or bad. The next time Flo tells you about a fight, run to the phone and say you are reporting the incident to the local child welfare department. Then do it. Those kids deserve a stable home life, and instead, they are getting lessons in provocation and abuse. Also give Flo the number of the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233) (ndvh.org) in case she decides to get her act together and put those children first for a change.
Dear Annie: You printed a letter from "Concerned Friend," whose friend perspired a great deal. Tell her to make sure to try an antiperspirant (not a deodorant) that contains an aluminum salt such as aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex. She needs to apply the antiperspirant immediately after bathing with soap for it to be most effective, and she needs to repeat the process every 24 hours.
I've had three or four patients who were cured by this approach without ever having to proceed any further. If this doesn't relieve the moisture to her satisfaction, she could then see a physician for additional treatment. -- Andrew Hardy, M.D.
Dear Dr. Hardy: Many thanks for sharing your expertise. Here's one more:
Dear Annie: While she is waiting to see the doctor, this girl can buy dress shields to protect her clothing and not show any perspiration spots. A lingerie store will likely have them, or she can find disposable shields at a fabric store. -- Anchorage, Alaska
2005.04.16
Illegal Companies in Public Schools By Eric Wilson
There is a growing industry in Korea teaching English in public elementary schools. There is a lot of money to be made in this industry and that means that large companies take advantage of this. There is nothing wrong with people making money through legitimate business but many of these companies engage in illegal activities. This article will outline how companies are taking advantage of Korean parents who want a good education for their children and their schools.
The English teaching business is very lucrative. That is why there are many language institutes and "hagwon." Often they engage in some form of suspicious activity whether it is not honoring their contracts, not paying their teachers properly, poor working conditions or using teachers without visas. This seems to be a common occurrence in the hagwon industry but the illegal activity in public schools goes way beyond this.
Some hagwon are legitimate. Some of them do a fair deal by their teachers and students. Unfortunately, legitimate hagwon are few and far between. The Korean government regulates them to make sure they do not engage in illegal activity and so for the most part they are kept in line.
The companies working in public schools are entirely different. They are set up illegally from the beginning. For example, it is common for the teachers to have contracts with the schools and the company that hires them. They also set up false bank accounts in the teacher's name using specially made name stamps or "tojang" to forge the teacher's signature. This is called fraud or identity theft and is highly illegal.
The schools and teachers are the victims of this crime. Often the teachers think they have a great job that is legitimate. The schools want a good English program so that their students can have a good education. Parents are happy because they can improve their children's English skills. The government recognizes this and so it turns a blind eye to some of the illegal activity. The government recognizes that there is a need for English education in schools but if it legalizes this form of education it will lose control of it. So the government allows small programs to operate in the public schools.
Unscrupulous companies take advantage of the generosity of the government to make a lot of money. They offer inferior programs because English teachers do not have access to tape recorders, photocopiers, teacher's manuals or sometimes even computers.
The schools try to keep the English program small by setting student and class quotas but this is easily gotten around. Sometimes there is up to three sets of books and student lists kept by the English program. One set of books is for the government, one for the school, and one for the company.
Sometimes teachers can be working in their schools for up to three months before they get a visa. This is not the teacher's fault. Most teachers want to work legally but the companies they work for are slow to organize the visas for them.
There are numerous government agencies with the job of finding these illegal companies but their job is difficult. It doesn't help that it is usually announced months before hand that there will be a crack down on a particular industry. This gives the criminals involved in that industry time to hide their activities and organize false records.
Immigration can get involved but they are more interested in finding illegal foreigners than stopping the companies that hire them. In fact, it is well known that immigration can be used by bad companies to punish disobedient foreign workers.
The tax department also keeps watch on some things but as mentioned before, false sets of books are kept to hide the real amount of money and students. The organization with the best reputation is the Labor Board because they have strict penalties if their staff take bribes and are very thorough.
The Korean government, parents, public schools and their teachers are the victims of these terrible crimes of fraud, identity theft and tax evasion. These crimes further compound themselves in a web of lies and deceit when the schools are investigated.
The Korean government should investigate these companies more thoroughly, specifically looking for false bank accounts in foreigner's names where large sums of money are transferred in and out in the same day. They should interview the teachers in private rooms so that they feel more comfortable and able to tell the truth without the school or their company co-workers being involved.
They should also do head counts of students rather than relying on the false records kept by the company. They should audit the companies properly to make sure they are paying the right tax. Finally, they should legalize and regulate the industry properly rather than allowing this organized crime to continue. 06-02-2005 19:28