Saudi Arabia and modern-day slavery

[Prometheus Bound]

Two stories in the news this week.

1. The Indonesian helper for the Saudi ambassador to Germany has accused his family of enslaving her.
a. The whole family regularly punched and beat her with a stick, even the 5-year-old
b. He made her work 18-hr days 7 days a week
c. He didn't pay her.
d. He took away her passport.
e. They called her "shit" instead of using her name.
f. He claimed diplomatic immunity.

2. Saudi Arabia has banned domestic helpers from Indonesia and the Philippines. Why, you ask?
The govt of the Philippines demanded proof that that their domestic helpers would be paid and not abused.

They originally asked that the monthly wage be increased from $210 to $400. The Saudis just said no. But the second demand - that the helpers actually be paid and not abused - was evidently too much for the Saudis.

3. This follows the beheading of an Indonesian domestic helper last week.

Allegations Saudi Ambassador to Germany Enslaved Indonesian Maid
June 29, 2011
Dewi Ratnasari, the 30-year-old maid, began working for the Saudi diplomat and his family in April of 2009. For the next year and a half, she worked 18-hour days, seven days a week and never received her monthly wage of 750 euros, the German Institute for Human Rights reported.

She told police she was “humiliated like a serf,” and that she was punched and regularly beaten with a stick by everyone in the diplomat’s family, including the five-year-old son.

The diplomat had confiscated her passport and Dewi (a pseudonym) spoke no German, so she had few options but to remain and work. But in October of 2010 she escaped and sought help from Ban Ying, a Berlin-based human rights association assisting migrant women from Southeast Asia, and the GIHR.

“The worst part is they never called her by her name, but by the Arabic word for ‘shit,’” Ban Ying’s Nivedita Prasad told Deutsche Welle.

Because of diplomatic immunity, which shields embassy employees from criminal prosecution and most civil suits, Dewi had no way to hold her employer accountable.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/allegations-saudi-ambassador-to-germany-enslaved-indonesian-maid/449705

Saudi bans domestic workers from Indonesia, Philippines
(AFP) – 1 day ago

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday it would stop granting work permits to domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines, following hiring conditions imposed by the Asian countries.

The ministry of labour said it would "stop issuing work visas to bring domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines, effective from Saturday" due to "the terms of recruitment announced by the two countries," according to a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

...Last week Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denounced the beheading in Saudi Arabia of an Indonesian maid and accused Riyadh of breaking the "norms and manners" of international relations. His comments signalled Indonesia's growing anger over the treatment of its manual labourers in the Gulf countries, after a spate of cases of abuse and killings.

...Earlier this year the Philippines asked Saudi Arabia to guarantee higher pay for Filipina housemaids but the request was turned down. The Philippines demanded $400 in monthly wages for for housemaids but Saudi authorities offered a base monthly salary of $210, Filipino labour official Carlos Cao had told AFP in Manila in May.

Manila had also demanded proof that that Saudi households employing Filipina housemaids would pay and provide humane working conditions.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iRFom15Wp0kddIClvC2Pepc1_Phw?docId=CNG.7377148835dacd5239bbd9c00a6fcc81.6c1

[valerief]

1. Ah, the elite. God smiles on them apparently. nt