The plight of runaway maids can be overwhelming if they are not handled lawfully. While the lack of official documents can be a stumbling block for seeking legal help, the greater problem is their unawareness of rights and a way to seek help from their respective consulate missions. Shainaz Begum, 38, who had come to the Kingdom in search of a livelihood, said she is living at the deportation center of the Passport Department in Jeddah for almost a year. “I could not prove my Indian nationality. I did not have any access to anyone outside my cell and did not know about my future,” said Begum, who is from Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) in India. She identified herself as an Umrah pilgrim. Begum said that officers at the deportation center of the Passport Department mistook her to be a runaway maid. “They kept asking my sponsor's name and my legal documents which I lost in Makkah. “Despite repeatedly telling them that I am an Indian the authorities weren't convinced,” she said. Begum claimed that she did not know the whereabouts of her brother who came with her for Umrah as a consort (Mahram). An Indian expatriate who helped Begum, said on conditions of anonymity, that she was indeed an absconding house maid. “Begum told me that her sponsor's wife was suspicious about her having an illegitimate relation with her husband. She feared that her sponsor's wife was planning to kill her with her brother's assistance and so she ran away,” he said. Begum managed to perform Umrah after which she arrived at a specific place under the ‘Kandara Bridge' in Jeddah near the deportation center of the Passport Department. Scores of illegal immigrants congregate here from where they are deported after arrest. An Indian social worker in Jeddah traced her home to Shankar Nagar, Hyderabad, and obtained her household card and voter ID card. “ However, authenticity of these documents could not be ascertained. According to Begum's documents, she is the widow of Shaikh Younus who was a porter and a rickshaw puller. After his death, Begum was shouldered with the responsibility of her five children, Nazia, 18, Rukhsar, 13, Sana, 12, Muhammad, 11, and 8-year old Usman. “She came to the Kingdom as a housemaid to support her family; she knew about her Saudi sponsor before signing the contract in India,” said the Indian expatriate who helped Begum. “The police officials did not have many details about her sponsor, guardian or her whereabouts. Begum was in custody for almost a year when she should have been presented much earlier in the Indian consulate as she claims to be an Indian and can even tell her residential address to the Consulate,” he said. Meanwhile, officials at the Consulate General of India in Jeddah said that the issue was brought to their notice only 15 days ago. “We do not know that she was in custody for almost a year,” said K.K. Vijayan, Consul of Community Welfare. He said the consulate officials visit the deportation center of the Passport Department on a daily basis to enquire about the Indian to be deported. “There are different cells in the deportation center and we have access only to the travel cell. Maybe Begum was kept at the interrogation cell,” Vijayan said. The consulate sends its officials for identification of the deportees immediately when the Saudi authority completes its procedures and sends the deportees to the travel cell, he said. An officer at the deportation center, on conditions of anonymity, stated: “Maybe Begum is an absconding housemaid but, she doesn't accept the truth. She should have approached the Indian Consulate if her sponsor didn't treat her well instead of surrendering to the Passport Department as an Umrah pilgrim.” “Either she was unaware of the proper channel to be taken (help from the Indian Consulate) or she was clever enough to pretend as a suffering pilgrim, who lost her legal documents, in an effort to go back to her country for free,” he said. The official noted that many domestic workers try to find their way out of the Kingdom through the free deportation channel of the Passport Department after committing crimes or deserting their sponsors. “We call their sponsors if we find that they are absconding,” he said. There are about1.7 million Indians residing in the Kingdom. Everyday over thousands of illegal persons of multiple nationalities are deported to their countries. “About 100 to 150 Indians are deported daily. It is a small number when compared to the population of Indian expatriates in the Kingdom. This ratio is insignificant,” said Vijayan. He lauded the deportation center of the Passport Department for their hard work in deporting large numbers of illegal people who are taken in custody by means of raids, street patrolling and surrendering activities.
