Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH/RIYADH — A number of Indonesian expatriates and domestic workers have said the revenge message that spread through the popular instant messaging application, WhatsApp, is an attempt to ruin the reputation of Indonesian workers and create division in the relationship between them and their Saudi employers. In recent weeks, a message spread through the cross-platform messaging application that claimed Indonesian domestic workers had agreed to designate Oct. 8 as a day for vandalizing their employers' property and murdering their children to avenge the treatment of the maid who is accused of murdering four-year-old Tala Al-Shehri in Yanbu. Several Indonesian drivers and maids, who were aware of the message, said most Saudis knew that the message was nothing but a rumor. They also said the actions of the maid accused of murdering Tala were her own and they did not reflect on any other Indonesian working in the Kingdom. One Indonesian driver who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed his surprise at the rumor. “It (the rumor) did not represent the sentiments of the majority of Indonesian workers. Its goal was to ruin the reputation of Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia,” he said. Another maid who also spoke on condition of anonymity said the maid accused of murdering Tala committed a horrific crime for which she should be punished as her action against all laws and ethics. “Her crime was an individual one and most Indonesian workers are God-fearing and law-abiding people who want to earn a respectable living in the Kingdom.” Other workers also condemned Tala's murder and called for the maximum punishment to be imposed as her crime was unjustified and unforgivable. There have also been calls for authorities to find out what her motive was. “The truth needs to come out and her mental and psychological state needs to be verified because the decapitation of a child can only be committed by a deranged person,” said a maid in Jeddah. While there were no reports of citizens taking any measures against their Indonesian workers in the Kingdom's cities, the message caused some citizens in Yanbu, where the crime took place, to take precautionary measures for the safety of their children. One man in Yanbu said he confiscated his maid's cell phone after noticing her “suspicious” attachment to the phone. He said he got the message translated and was surprised that it said all domestic workers in the Kingdom should vandalize property, poison families and murder their children to avenge the jailing of the maid accused of murdering Tala. Dr. Zahra'a Al-Muabbi, a psychiatrist and consultant at King Abduaziz Center for National Dialogue, said Tala's murder caused panic among both mothers and domestic workers as many mothers had lost trust in their maids. “Many mothers have started looking for alternate child care. For the working mother, the incident increased paranoia and negative thoughts. This also applies to domestic workers who are worried about job security and confused as to what they can do to regain the trust of their employers. Caution is required, but trust and human treatment are inevitable,” she said.
