Maid Claims Slave Status in Household

[N.O.R.F]

Maid Claims Slave Status in Household

 

RIYADH, 14 August 2007 — The woman on the other end of the phone line had a disturbing story to tell. Speaking in Tamil, Anista Marie of Chilaw, a coastal town about 70 km from Colombo, says she has been imprisoned in a house in Riyadh for the past 10 years. Were it not for a sympathetic family member, she may not have been able to make the phone call to Arab News yesterday.

 

“When I came here I was 30 years of age,” she told this reporter. “Now I am 40 and I have never taken holiday leave, nor have I been paid in the past eight years.”

 

Marie is asking authorities to rescue her from the Saudi household, but she is unsure of her location. She said she only knows that she is in Riyadh because a maid from a visiting family told her.

 

After speaking to the woman, Arab News immediately contacted K.B.G. Premadasa, the Sri Lankan Embassy’s secretary of labor affairs, who called the number provided to Arab News by Marie, and spoke to whom he believes is the maid’s sponsor, a woman. “She refused to give her whereabouts,” he said, adding that the embassy was going to contact local authorities about the case.

 

Marie, whose voice was trembling, said she had four children back home. She says that her husband, a fisherman, has passed away. She said she learned of her husband’s fate from a third party two years after his death.

 

According to the woman, the household consists of three women with four teenage daughters. “There are no men in the house,” she said. “They assault me when I say that I want to go home. It’s worse when I talk about the salary.”

 

According to the maid, the first two years were relatively normal: She was paid her salary and went out with the family.

 

“Back then I bought things for my children,” she said. “They’re still packed in two suitcases and the clothes can’t be used now because they’ve grown out.”

 

Marie says that one of the teenage girls sympathizes with her, which is possibly why she was able to contact Arab News.

 

Food isn’t an issue, she pointed out, but she’s been living under false promises for so long that she says that at this point she’s only interested in escape.

 

“I believed them for so long. Now I have lost all hope,” she said. “Let me go home and see my children and die on my soil.”

 

Last year 64-year-old Filipino Leonora Somera was discovered to have worked 18 years without pay, partly as a shepherd in Al-Baha, about 275 km south of Jeddah. Her situation was exacerbated by the fact that the son of her sponsor, who had passed away, was also not providing her with sustenance. Somera is still in a women’s shelter in Jeddah, run by the Philippines Consulate, fighting to recoup nearly 20 years of back pay.

 

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=99783&d=14&m=8&y=2007&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom

[Thierry.]

Wallahi I hate to be one to stereotype and generalise and in fact hard to prevent brandishing people with the same brush, but some of the news coming out from the middle east is way to disturbing.

Even here in London when you go to Green park or edware road and you look at the maids that work for these wealthy arabs you cant but help to be disgusted. how can one treat a fellow human being like this.

Looks like their pagan ways are slowly creaping back into their society

[N.O.R.F]

Thierry, stereotype away saxib.

 

A Sri Lankan maid ran away from her sponsor because she was abused and made to work for three families instead of one. They made her work 24 hrs a day and visit three different homes to work for their kids and their grand kids as well.

 

She is now very happy with a Somali family and keeps stating Somalis are very good people. So we might be nasty to each other but to others who are less privileged we are fair.

[Ibtisam]

She is now very happy with a Somali family and keeps stating Somalis are very good people. So we might be nasty to each other but to others who are less privileged we are fair.

^^^So true. I keep seeing stories like these, they don't even shock me anymore. Indian, Sri Lankan and Filipinos get abused all over the Middle East. But i do think in some cases they are to blame, but then again poverty does make you do strange things.

[Jacaylbaro]

Once you work with those Arabs then you know everything about them. Even if they are the best ones they still love to use people as slaves.

[Jacpher]

^So are the non-Arabs.

 

Disturbing piece. Soomaalida & Afrikaanka kale saan miyey ula dhaqmaan?

[me]

I think peacenow should charge a membership fee.

[Malika]

^^Lol

 

A friend used to work in Saudi, in one of the palaces,as a nurse.She says, when examining the women they would insist you wear cotton gloves,because they dont want to be touched by the nurse..bisinkaa, alla kibiir badhaana!

 

Slavery is still alive and kicking in many countries,other human beings still believe another human being is a less of a person..subhanallah!

 

If they follow the guidelines of the sunnah of the Prophet[saw] on how to treat your servant they would understand the responsibilities that lies with having hired help..It sure isnt a simple thing to have servants..its a luxury with consequencies.

[me]

Disturbing piece. Soomaalida & Afrikaanka kale saan miyey ula dhaqmaan?

Maya wee naga jecelyihiin Carab baan nahay dee

 

Habaarka waan joojinayaa, eebe carab nagama dhigo.

[Jacaylbaro]

Yaa carab ah ??? ,,,, ha ina habaarin niyow

[N.O.R.F]

^^Yes I'm an Arab, sometimes

 

Maid writes letter to mother before committing suicide

By Nasouh Nazzal, Staff Reporter

Published: August 14, 2007, 23:35

 

 

Ras Al Khaimah: An African maid committed suicide on Tuesday in Al Rams area leaving a note addressed to her mother asking for her prayers.

 

The 26-year-old Ethiopian maid identified as A.S hanged herself to death with a rope fixed to the ceiling of a toilet at the house of her Emirati sponsor.

 

Police have started an investigation into the case. Captain Ahmad Abdullah, Acting Head of Al Rams Police Station said they received a report from the sponsor who was shocked to find her maid hanging.

 

Police found a letter written by the maid herself. She did not mention a reason for committing suicide.

 

Captain Abdullah said the investigations clearly showed that the maid did not have any motive to commit suicide.

 

The suicide of the maid was surprising for the sponsor who testified that her maid never demanded anything and that she led a normal life. The case was referred to the Public Prosecution.

 

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Police_and_The_Courts/10146684.html

[rudy-Diiriye]

we rescued so far 2 of them in la. one was somali gal who was married with kid and the other was a muslim gal from kenya. the african community in la helped them.

 

both are ok now. the somali gal knew some 1 in la who she called and i was the driver who picked her up from the hotel.... its something that i wanned to do. i gave the shiekh the middle finger. he was clueless.. he gave me high five!!

 

slavery does still exist in saudi arabia... these women are forced into sexual encounters by their masters. they take their passports away so they cant go no where. said situation.

[N.O.R.F]

Housemaids in LA?? I thought they were all Mexicans/Poertos?

[Jacaylbaro]

Crazy world indeed ......... I like the Philipinos

[N.O.R.F]

^^Dont tell me they work in SL?? I know there are 'Pino' waitresses there but not house maids surely??