Sunday, April 11, 2004
The End of the Road....
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has a wonderful immigration hall. Palm trees, fountains, marble; you really want to linger there. And if you don't have a Saudi passport, you will. For up to 3 hours, if you're unlucky. It's our bureacracy at work. You'll get checked thru the computer, which is slow. And if the immigration guard takes a call on his mobile from a friend, you'll have to wait until he finishes. A consultant came to our company from Norway; he said he was held for 20 miinutes at the desk because the guy had never heard of his country, couldn't find it in the database.
Anyway, a common sight there is a 747-load of newly-arrived Indonesian housemaids, all sitting patiently on the floor, and being herded by a Saudi "agent". They've just arrived from some small village on some island, where they were dirt-poor and no doubt a burden on their family, to seek a new life and the opportunity to send money home. This will be their first sight of a modern city, a washing mashine, a cooker, an electric kettle. Typically their own accomodation will be a windowless corrugated-iron box on top of the roof of the house where they work. Imagine that in the summer! And when the family go out, they are locked inside.
It is estimated that within 12 months, 20 - 30 % will have escaped. Why? A combination of 3 reasons:
- They never got paid. They got fed and housed, but not paid.
- the woman of the house got irritated at her slowness, and started hitting her. Or maybe she didn't need an excuse. Then the children join in.
- the man of the house, or the son, or both, raped her. Maybe she got pregnant, and was thrown out. Maybe she decided to get out before that happened.
So there's a stream of escaping housemaids. Where do they go?. Well, not the Indonesian Embassy, they're too craven towards the "Land of the Two Holy Mosques", looking out for the next handout so they can build another mosque. Some just move on to another household. Some are very lucky and fall in with unofficial charities that provide a safe house, somewhere to have the baby, and a ticket home. And some are not so lucky...
40 Arrested for Running Brothel in Jeddah District
- JEDDAH, 11 April 2004 — Police have arrested more than 40 men and women of different nationalities for allegedly running a brothel, Al-Watan reported yesterday.
The arrests were made in cooperation with officials of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice after a number of suspicious activities had been observed.
The alleged prostitutes, mostly Indonesians, were using flats in a residential building in Al-Salama neighborhood, the paper said. Police raided the building and arrested men and women suspected of engaging in immoral activity.
Initial investigations showed that an Indonesian woman was employing runaway maids in the business. According to a police official, the majority of those arrested were women.
Note the slightly sanctimonious tone of the article; this is Third World nationals running a brothel, nothing to do with we Saudis. But this is a problem that we make, and for these poor women, prostitution is the end of the line.
It's another national disgrace. If we were any other country, there would be investigative newspaper articles and TV documentaries. But we keep it swept under the carpet.
~~~
| Indonesian Maid's Tragedy Continues Maha Akeel, Arab News | ||||||
JEDDAH, 26 December 2005 — A Riyadh judge sentenced an Indonesian maid, who accused her sponsor and his wife of torturing her, to 79 lashes yesterday. "We have made our appeal to the court and we trust in the Saudi court system and have confidence in it," said Nour Miyati's lawyer, Nasser Al-Dandani, who was appointed to her by the Indonesian Embassy. In March, Miyati was brought to a hospital in Riyadh by her sponsor in a critical condition suffering from gangrene to her fingers, toes and a part of her right foot. Doctors had to remove some of her fingers and toes. At first Miyati claimed that her sponsor tied her up for a month in a bathroom and beat her severely injuring her eyes and knocking out several of her teeth. But Miyati later changed her testimony and was subsequently charged with making false accusations of torture against her sponsor. A judge later sentenced the sponsor's wife, who admitted to beating Miyati, to 35 lashes. The husband was found innocent due to lack of evidence against him. The judge is yet to issue a decision on Miyati's case against her sponsor for beating her. The sponsor will have to provide monetary compensation to the maid if the judge rules in her favor. In July, Saudi authorities imprisoned Miyati while she was still being treated at the Specialist Hospital in Riyadh for her wounds and amputations. Following complaints by her lawyer, Dandani, and the Indonesian Embassy, Miyati was released to the care of the Nahda Women's Charity Society by orders of Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman. Officials at the Indonesian Embassy refused to elaborate or comment on the sentencing until a final decision is made. The embassy remains in contact with Miyati at her lawyer's residence. "She is still in my house as a guest and receiving the medical treatment she needs," Dandani said. bonus prize: A Riyadh judge sentenced an Indonesian maid, who accused her sponsor and his wife of torturing her, to 79 lashes yesterday....In March, Miyati was brought to a hospital in Riyadh by her sponsor in a critical condition suffering from gangrene to her fingers, toes and a part of her right foot.Doctors had to remove some of her fingers and toes....A judge later sentenced the sponsor?s wife, who admitted to beating Miyati, to 35 lashes. The husband was found innocent due to lack of evidence against him. |
