Dubai: Sacked lecturer Dr Paul Buchanan has rejected suggestions that he ever singled out Asma Al Yamahi because she wore a headscarf.
Buchanan was fired by the University of Auckland over the contents of an e-mail he sent to Asma when she asked for an extension to an essay deadline.
In Gulf News yesterday, Asma told how she felt Buchanan was looking at her "very strangely" at the start of the course she was taking because she was the only person in the class wearing a headscarf.
'Strange'
However, Buchanan told Gulf News by telephone from New Zealand that Asma's comments were "quite unfortunate".
"As far as my looking at her strangely, I've no idea what she's talking about. To my mind that's strange," he said.
Buchanan also said that the deadline for the essay in question was May 29 - the day after Asma e-mailed him requesting an extension and he e-mailed her back - and not June 2, as Asma stated. He later said he had "no comment" on the issue before putting the phone down.
The 52-year-old New York-born lecturer, an expert on international security issues, taught in Arizona and Florida before moving to New Zealand in 1997.
Foreign countries 'broadened horizons'
Overseas Emirati students have said they have broadened their horizons by going abroad - and local people have often welcomed them with open arms.
A UAE national in his first year studying electrical engineering at the University of Technology in Sydney said he was happy to be living in Australia.
"It's given me a new experience. It's a change in environment and lifestyle from the one back home. And I feel very safe and welcome," he said.
He said his abilities as an English speaker were crucial for being able to complete his studies successfully and later on have good career opportunities.
However, he said that there were potential concerns for Muslims living in Australia. "There is an underlying charged current of politics here with us as part of a particular race or religion, and it is not something I am unaware of or oblivious to," he said.
An Emirati in Canada said he too had found most people to be welcoming. "I haven't had major fears about how other people might think of me, be they fellow students or professors, as they are all friendly people who easily put me at ease," he said.
- Suhail Al Rais, Staff Reporter
