Mahmoud Ahmad Recently, Saudi Gazette published a story of a Sri Lankan maid who was forced to work without pay for three years. The sad story of this maid, as the newspaper reported, began as soon she arrived. Her sponsor took her to a big house where she was forced to work for three years without pay. She was not allowed to use the phone to call her family back home, or have any contacts with her compatriots here. She tried to escape the ordeal and her sponsor's prison many times, but repeatedly failed. After three years the maid got lucky. She managed a getaway and reached her embassy. The embassy intervened and contacted police to register a case and take action against the family. The police, after through scrutiny, helped the maid and managed to get her the SR22,600 of unpaid salary. However, the story did not mention what penal action was imposed on the Saudi family for their bad treatment of the maid. Another story that was highlighted in the papers involved another Saudi sponsor. The sponsor was a well-known Saudi businessman who was embroiled in a disagreement with his expatriate Yemeni worker. The case went to court and the ruling went against him and in favor of his Yemeni worker. The Saudi businessman refused to abide by the court ruling, and also decided to seize all papers and documents of his worker. He already had the passport, which is the property of the holder, in his custody and also took his birth certificate, Iqama and other documents that concerned the worker and his family. The court had issued the decision in favor of the worker two years ago but the businessman kept stalling in implementing the verdict. Finally after two years, the court decided to give the businessman ten more days to implement the decision and to return all papers and documents to the worker or he would be fined SR10,000 for each day he delayed. The businessman, the court said, would face jail time if he refused to return the documents. Facing a new reality, the businessman reached a settlement with the worker within 72 hours. The two stories have few things in common. In both cases, the expat workers were at a disadvantage against the sponsors, while the Saudi sponsors escaped punishment although they both deserved a severe one. We as human beings and Muslims should try to put ourselves in the maids' shoes. Imagine the horror of what the maid has gone through. The thought itself would leave most of us sick in our stomachs. It is clearly evident that the family is sick and enjoys torturing an innocent victim. It is scary to believe that there are people out there who still believe in slavery and equate the thought that since she was brought on a visa to work, then she is equal to a slave who was bought from the slave market in the earlier centuries. What is the appropriate punishment for such sick people? I am happy that justice was carried out, but I believe that she was not compensated for the pain and suffering she underwent under the hand of this sadistic family. It is known that a person who is in contempt of court and not respecting their decision should be punished, also that person should be made and example of. In the case of the Yemeni worker, the court's decision was not implemented for two years. If that is not considered contempt of court, then I don't know what is. The point here is basic. Whatever the disagreement, the businessman did not have the right to hold the documents of the worker. It is against basic human rights that a person and his family are living in the Kingdom without any identification. Again, imagine living in a similar condition as this expat worker. Most people would be sick at the thought of reliving those traumatic days. Another important question that arises here is why was this businessman not punished for not implementing a decision that was taken two years ago. Any person has the right to appeal a court's ruling. And only during the appeal period the decision is not implemented. But when a definite decision is issued, then implementation should be followed up by court. What is needed is stiffer punishment against violating sponsors and to make an example out of them so others will fear to commit the same act. Also people need to believe that delaying tactics would not be condoned. These could go a long way in setting up deterrents for erring sponsors. Remember, the relationship between a Saudi sponsor and an expat worker is determined by law. We just need to follow it in letter and spirit. But our reputation as Saudi citizens is always trashed by these violent sponsors. It is time that we should do this country a huge favor and show the world that such acts will not be tolerated anymore. — Mahmoud Ahmad can be reached at [email protected]
