Lecturer sacked over offensive e-mail to Emirati

Dubai: An Emirati woman studying in New Zealand has described as “racist'' a lecturer who was sacked because of an e-mail he sent her.

Asma Al Yamahi, 25, from Fujairah, was told by Auckland University lecturer Dr Paul Buchanan that she was “preying on some sort of Western liberal guilt'' when she asked for an essay deadline to be extended after her father died.

“He is a racist man and he deserved to be sacked from the university,'' Asma told Gulf News by telephone from Auckland.
“I am the only person wearing a scarf in the class and at the beginning of the course he was looking at me very strangely. He didn't like me.''

When her father died on May 19, Asma asked Buchanan for an extension to a June 2 deadline for an essay to be handed in.

Buchanan responded by saying she was “not suitable for a graduate degree'' and was the “worst-performer'' in her class.