http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article473084.ece
Are recruitment agents hand in glove with runaway housemaids? By HANAN ATALLAH | AL-RIYADH Published: Jul 16, 2011 23:29 Updated: Jul 16, 2011 23:29 It appears that maids in the Gulf are becoming a compulsory part of families and our culture. If you want to draw a picture of a Gulf family, then the maid would be part of the image. Just go to a restaurant or supermarket and you will notice maids in abundance at all times of the day. Sometimes maids even travel abroad with their sponsors' families. The issue is becoming more cultural. If we are to define a Saudi family, then we must include the maid in the definition. A Saudi mother once told me about her young child who was wondering why their maid was leaving them. He asked his mother whether they would accompany her to Indonesia. I had heard many stories about maids running away before I experienced the same situation personally. I respect maids and treat them with respect. My previous maid worked in the house for six hours a day only. She finished her work at 4 p.m. She was entitled to the weekends off and had her own private room. She had her own television and cell phone. She accompanied me to the markets and restaurants and I allowed her to visit her friends. I raised her wage every year and I ensured that she could travel home annually like other foreign workers. I treated her nicely, as she is also a mother who needed to see her children from time to time. I then experienced what other families often go through when this Indonesian maid ran away two years ago. It was her first time in Saudi Arabia. I notified her recruiting agent of her escape. The agent then accused me of beating her. I would not harm a bird, let alone a person. I never heard from the man again, especially after I asked him if he knew where she was. Since then, I wonder whether these agents benefit somehow from recruiting maids then helping them escape their employers to earn a better salary in exchange for more commission. Last week, another maid I had hired ran away after two years of service. She had hinted that someone was offering her a higher wage if I let her go. When I went to report the case, I found many families suffering from a similar situation. Some of them reported that their maids had run away in their first working week. What is really happening? I just wonder. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
