Please give some advice:

I have been an esl teacher for a relatively long period now. I completed my contract with my first school and received good references from them. I joined another school soon after but to my dismay the new school operates in a ruthless and unethical fashion leaving most (rather all) the teachers unhappy, disillusioned and disgruntled.

All attempts by teachers to discuss their grievances with the managers basically led to nothing being done although the false impression is created by management that they are paying attention to these problem areas. (not the case at all).

These problem areas just escalated and certain teachers resigned. (I will elaborate regarding these problems at a later stage and in more detail but they are similar and believe me worse than the ones I read about on this site). These teachers experienced terrible hardship and hostility from management after their resignation. As a result, the next bunch of teachers just made a run overnight as they did not want to face any possible traumatic incidents with management. They were all competent individuals who didn't actually want to leave in this fashion, but they felt they had no choice due to management's ruthless attitude.

I myself reached a stage now where I also want to leave and I also have to admit: I am considering to make a run too due to the unbearable conditions here, but I also don't want to be confronted with the possible consequences.

To start with: When I joined (along with all the others) we were requested to hand in all our original release letters and college certificates for inspection. We were told these documents will be returned after a few days. Well it never happened. When I requested mine I was told I will receive all my documents at the end of my contract. I was not happy, although I keep copies of all my documents.

My question is: What are the chances to find employment in the esl field again with only copies of previous companies' release letters? Is it true that companies want the original release letters? How will they react when you tell them you made a run due to unbearable circumstances? I worry about these aspects but at the same time, this place where I am now is absolute hell. How should one handle a situation like this in general? Most teachers who join leave soon after.

Thanks in advance