MAEENA I am often amazed that in the land which gave Islam its birth and where so much emphasis is placed on religious adherence right from childhood, that it can also give birth to some Saudis who seem to flaunt their noses at their Islamic beliefs particularly when it comes to compensating their workers for their labor and dispensing with their dues. Reports of such exploitation over the years could fill volumes, and despite being reported and publicized in much of our press, it is unfortunate that this malicious practice seems to show no sign of fading. I recently learned of a situation involving three Indian female nurses who seem to have been stranded in this country for more than two years without their documents or any lawful means of employment. The nurses, all of whom hail from the state of Kerala, were employed by a clinic in Riyadh for several years under the sponsorship of the Saudi owner. In 2009, the Saudi passed away and that's when their terrible ordeal began. According to one of the nurses, following the owner's death, the management of the clinic was assumed by his son who was far less inclined than his father to make the business a success. It was obvious to the clinic staff that the son indeed had no interest to continue along his father's steps, and it wasn't long before he transferred and sold the business to another Saudi. The new owner spent a few months trying to make a go of it, but in January of 2010 he closed it down, leaving his staff high and dry and totally in the dark about their future. What added to their misery was the fact that all their documents - passports, Iqamas and such - were being held by the sponsor. S.V. the nurse stated: “We have been unemployed for more than two years, and are unable return to our homes because we do not have the papers. The clinic in which we worked suddenly closed down on 3 January 2010 without giving us any prior notice or options for job change. Since then we are stranded here and can neither work nor return home. “A labor court in May last year issued a judgment in our favor and ordered the sponsor to pay us our back wages and return all our documents with immediate effect. He filed an appeal in the High Court and our case was rejected in January this year and now we are helpless. Whenever we approach the Indian embassy, they ask us to wait.” Their plight and pleas for help eventually made it to the ears of their state's Chief Minister who has apparently used his political muscle to involve an NGO in Riyadh to fast forward an acceptable solution for their desperation. The NGO accordingly petitioned the Indian ambassador in Riyadh for the embassy's intervention in breaking the deadlock and setting the groundwork for returning the three nurses home. According to a representative of NORKA, the NGO for non-resident Keralite Affairs, there has been some progress and “things are moving”. Fortunately in the case of the three nurses, someone has taken a stand. But what about the many others in similar situations who have no chief minister to speak up for them? Or no embassy to pursue their case? We cannot remain in denial in the face of such human rights violations of our guest workers by some unscrupulous employers. These workers have left their countries with great hardship and sacrifices to come here and eke out an honest living. Sometimes there are families back home whose survival depends on the wages of the guest worker. And while most of them are being compensated fairly, there are many others who have been denied their dues and today live in fear, hunger and uncertainty far away from their homes. Wages are an earned right, not a charity. In a well circulated Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) had stated: “Pay the worker his dues before his sweat has dried up.” How difficult is it to understand that, and just how many of us adhere to such edicts? (The author can be reached at [email protected]) __
