[GOTFIVEONIT]

Tales of torture and abuse have emerged from the Gulf



Thousands of Sri Lankans head overseas for work each year

Last Updated: Wednesday, 14 November 2007, 07:20 GMT

Sri Lanka abuse 'rampant' in Gulf

Gulf states are failing to curb serious abuses of Sri Lankan migrant workers employed as maids in their countries, a Human Rights Watch report has said.

The US-based group says abuse of maids is rampant in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon.

Employers routinely confiscate domestic workers' passports and confine them to the workplace, the rights group says.

The UAE has denied the charges, saying Human Rights Watch has ignored its efforts to improve workers' conditions.

More than 660,000 Sri Lankan women work abroad as maids, nearly 90% of them in the Gulf countries.

Abusive employers

The 131-page report - called Exported and Exposed - documents the serious abuses that domestic workers face at every step of the migration process.

"Governments in the Gulf expose Sri Lankan domestic workers to abuse by refusing to guarantee a weekly rest day, limits to the workday freedom of movement and other rights that most workers take for granted," said Jennifer Turner, a women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"Too many abusive employers and unscrupulous labour agents get away with exploiting these workers without any real punishment."

The report is based on 170 interviews with domestic workers, government officials, and labour recruiters conducted in Sri Lanka and in the Middle East.

"Domestic workers typically labour for 16 to 21 hours a day, without rest breaks or days off, for extremely low wages of 15 to 30 US cents per hour," the report says.

'Reform laws'

Some domestic workers told Human Rights Watch how they were subjected to forced confinement, food deprivation, physical and verbal abuse, forced labour, and sexual harassment and rape by their employers.

"The Gulf countries need to do a lot more to stop abuse of domestic workers," Ms Turner said.

"The governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE should extend labour laws to domestic workers, ensure their complaints can be heard and reform immigration laws so that workers aren't tied to employers."

The rights group has also urged the Sri Lankan government to improve regulation and monitoring of recruitment agents, as well as services for abused workers in consulates abroad.

The UAE has dismissed the charges.

In response, it said Human Rights Watch has "once again chosen to ignore many of the positive steps adopted by the UAE in recent months to improve conditions for temporary foreign workers in the country".

Many of HRW's recommendations have already been met or are in progress, the UAE's state news agency WAM quoted Anwar Gargash, minister of state for Federal National Council affairs, as saying.

Migrant workers make up the largest net foreign exchange earner for Sri Lanka.

The country has a huge unemployment problem, and often cannot dictate terms to richer nations.

[Arabesque]

Wow. This is pretty horrible.

More often than not, the employers get away with this sort of abuse. It's true that the UAE has set up institutions to handle these sort of cases, except they haven't employed people to run them.

[psychoteddybear]

Gulf people suck in general...what goes around, comes around.

[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by psychoteddybear

Gulf people suck in general...what goes around, comes around.

I could say the same about the victims, no? What goes around comes around?

Next time you're hit with a calamity, do think that. What goes around, comes around. I hope you're not hit so hard though.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

well in all fairness, i had a far relative who worked as a maid and nanny in the gulf. she was treated very good by the family who sponsored her, and when i was on a trip to india, she had been visiting india too at the same time, so obviously they didnt take her passport away. and her's was a very tragic story. her husband was a drunk, he ran out on her leaving her with two kids. her son works in the gulf too now, probably in manual labor. they had no home, and she lived with her brother in a small little apartment, my dad gave him as a wedding gift for marrying my cousin in 84'. i heard she died two years ago, the funny thing is she is younger than my parents.

but house maids are abused everywhere, it could be the mexican or polish housemaid here in the united states, or look at india and pakistan. middle class homes are full of house servants and there is alot of abuse that goes on there.

but those servants can make some pretty good cash too. if they go around cleaning five different homes in a day, they make some spending money with it, and they go out shopping in the ghettos. on any given day in the week, you see throngs of these poor women out in the streets shopping for the junk being hawked by the dealers on the streets. .

[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by GOTFIVEONIT

but those servants can make some pretty good cash too. if they go around cleaning five different homes in a day, they make some spending money with it, and they go out shopping in the ghettos. on any given day in the week, you see throngs of these poor women out in the streets shopping for the junk being hawked by the dealers on the streets. .

These are the ones who get abused most of the time. They are illegals in the country, which means the country makes no effort to protect them. They are raped, beaten up, and sometimes go unpaid, simply because there isn't a "sponsor" who can stand trial. Quite frankly, the UAE doesn't nothing for them, even if they're abused. They're just deported right away.

The ones with sponsors receive more attention, especially by the media. Their stories are reported and their pictures published. The names of their sponsors are blacklisted and it becomes difficult for them to hire other maids. They're made to pay fines and the legal sponsor has to serve a sentence in jail (unless he's got connections, but those who have connections and are biggies in the social hierarchy don't do this.)

And just something I think I must mention: in the UAE, all sorts of people hire maids, not just UAE nationals. I've seen one of my Indian friends beat her helper one time - something I haven't seen happen in my whole family (including my extended one). In fact, our helpers have been with us for more than 20 years now. That should tell you something.

[psychoteddybear]

Originally Posted by Arabesque

I could say the same about the victims, no? What goes around comes around?

Next time you're hit with a calamity, do think that. What goes around, comes around. I hope you're not hit so hard though.

I'm assuming you got pissy because you're a Gulfi?

9 out of 10 of people I've met from this region are idiots. I'm sorry to say....ok I won't generalize after that, but this is what I've come across.

And what does my being hit with a calamity have to do with my thinking that Gulfi people need to stop acting like neanderthals?

And yes I believe in karma...so if I'm a jerk, I'll expect to have something like that happen to me in the future. I wake up every day with thoughts like this in my mind.

Thanks...

[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by psychoteddybear

I'm assuming you got pissy because you're a Gulfi?

9 out of 10 of people I've met from this region are idiots. I'm sorry to say....ok I won't generalize after that, but this is what I've come across.

And what does my being hit with a calamity have to do with my thinking that Gulfi people need to stop acting like neanderthals?

And yes I believe in karma...so if I'm a jerk, I'll expect to have something like that happen to me in the future. I wake up every day with thoughts like this in my mind.

Thanks...

Yes, of course I got upset because I'm a Khaleeji. And yes, I think you're generalising. I don't know how many Khaleejis you've met, but I don't think they qualify as a sample for the people of this region.

Instead, why don't you ask people who live here what they think of Khaleejis "in general". Those you read about in the news aren't the "general" Khaleejis.

It's sad for you as a Muslim to think that of fellow Muslims. It doesn't strengthen the unity of the not-so-united Ummah so much, you know? You just sound like a typical, bigoted Westerner.

And I also believe that Allah punishes wrong-doers.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

[quote=Arabesque;39268]

These are the ones who get abused most of the time. They are illegals in the country, which means the country makes no effort to protect them. They are raped, beaten up, and sometimes go unpaid, simply because there isn't a "sponsor" who can stand trial. Quite frankly, the UAE doesn't nothing for them, even if they're abused. They're just deported right away.

probably, but i was talking about the maid's in india. even your average middle class homes have cleaning women, even people living in condos/flats.

The ones with sponsors receive more attention, especially by the media. Their stories are reported and their pictures published. The names of their sponsors are blacklisted and it becomes difficult for them to hire other maids. They're made to pay fines and the legal sponsor has to serve a sentence in jail (unless he's got connections, but those who have connections and are biggies in the social hierarchy don't do this.)

i read that in the news articles too, about them being blacklisted by recruiting agencies.

And just something I think I must mention: in the UAE, all sorts of people hire maids, not just UAE nationals. I've seen one of my Indian friends beat her helper one time - something I haven't seen happen in my whole family (including my extended one). In fact, our helpers have been with us for more than 20 years now. That should tell you something.

im not surprised at all, thats what they do in india, and there was a recent case of an indian couple on nyc who was arrested for keeping thier indonesian maids in slave like labor and beating and torturing them.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

Originally Posted by Arabesque

Yes, of course I got upset because I'm a Khaleeji. And yes, I think you're generalising. I don't know how many Khaleejis you've met, but I don't think they qualify as a sample for the people of this region.

Instead, why don't you ask people who live here what they think of Khaleejis "in general". Those you read about in the news aren't the "general" Khaleejis.

It's sad for you as a Muslim to think that of fellow Muslims. It doesn't strengthen the unity of the not-so-united Ummah so much, you know? You just sound like a typical, bigoted Westerner.

And I also believe that Allah punishes wrong-doers.

i was treated pretty good on gulf airways. but i have to admit, when my flight landed in those gulf countries, like abu dhabi, bahrain, and even musqat, i was scared outta my mind, because i know that the laws are very strict and very different over there. even way more strict than in india. but i never left the airport.

once on a train ride across india, there were these two arab men from the gulf who were on the train. surprisingly it wasnt first class, it was second-class train, which means no a/c just a fan at best and fresh air from the windows. they were praying salat believe it or not on their sleeper's, because those trains have fold down chairs to sleep on. people were interested by them, and intrigued by them and were asking them questions and all that, and they never showed any type of superiority mentality or anything like that. but then again these were religious muslims full of beards and praying their salat on a train ride. i myself at one point had tried to apply for work in dubai, but i dont want to go that route anymore.

[psychoteddybear]

Originally Posted by Arabesque

Yes, of course I got upset because I'm a Khaleeji. And yes, I think you're generalising. I don't know how many Khaleejis you've met, but I don't think they qualify as a sample for the people of this region.

Instead, why don't you ask people who live here what they think of Khaleejis "in general". Those you read about in the news aren't the "general" Khaleejis.

It's sad for you as a Muslim to think that of fellow Muslims. It doesn't strengthen the unity of the not-so-united Ummah so much, you know? You just sound like a typical, bigoted Westerner.

And I also believe that Allah punishes wrong-doers.

So am I a wrong doer according to you?

P.S. I went to school with scores of people from the Gulf...and there are several in this region. That's where I got my opinion...but like I always say, there is good and bad in every culture. But generally, I try to be extra careful around particular people. Sorry if that rubs you the wrong way.
And to me....I respect all Muslims in general. BUT...Just because someone is Muslim doesn't mean that warrants my automatic love. A person should prove themselves worthy of respect and kindness. If they act like imbeciles, why am I wrong to dislike them? Muslim or not, if you're an idiot, you're an idiot, and I will keep my distance from you. I don't see what this has to do with uniting the Ummah thing. In general, I try to buy at Muslim places, and help people out...but once they've done me wrong, I don't see the point of "liking" them.

Maybe to you that means I'm an ignorant Westerner. To me, this is common sense.

[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by psychoteddybear

So am I a wrong doer according to you?

No, I meant that those who abuse their helpers will be punished, even if governments let them get away with it.

[psychoteddybear]

Originally Posted by Arabesque

No, I meant that those who abuse their helpers will be punished, even if governments let them get away with it.

Ameen........

[psychoteddybear]

Originally Posted by psychoteddybear

I'm assuming you got pissy because you're a Gulfi?

9 out of 10 of people I've met from this region are idiots. I'm sorry to say....ok I won't generalize after that, but this is what I've come across.

And what does my being hit with a calamity have to do with my thinking that Gulfi people need to stop acting like neanderthals?

And yes I believe in karma...so if I'm a jerk, I'll expect to have something like that happen to me in the future. I wake up every day with thoughts like this in my mind.

Thanks...

by the way...this is for one rabid individual in here. i believe in the "what goes around comes around" thing. doesn't mean i'm a hindu mmmmmmkay or believe in it. silly little people....dang.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

Originally Posted by psychoteddybear

by the way...this is for one rabid individual in here. i believe in the "what goes around comes around"