Speaking against Saddam at embassy functions cost an Iraqi family its income

Evidence

Attending embassy cocktail parties and official functions was part of her duties, and Haythem would come along. But all the necessary worship of Saddam at these events was like gargling with motor oil. It disgusted him, and he would find himself unable to hold in his feelings. He would carelessly speak ill of the great leader in front of a horrified embassy staff until it became too much for them to tolerate. Haythem’s growing criticisms eventually led Maisa to lose her job in 1986, the same year his Kuwaiti grant ended. — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 592

Categorization

• SHARE: Niche detail for anyone interested in the reach of Baathist surveillance into diaspora communities — a man losing his wife’s job over careless anti-Saddam comments at embassy parties.
• XREF: Connects to the reading list around exilic/institutional surveillance of diaspora political loyalty (cf. Home Boy’s Pakistani immigrant community dynamics, though that’s a different context).