operation. After killing the man, the maid had turned to his 12-year-old child, who was able to run away. The second child locked himself inside a room to save himself from the attacker. There was nobody else inside the house at the time of the incident. The child, who ran away from home, informed his uncle living in the neighborhood about the incident. The uncle then called police, who cordoned off the house and arrested the woman who was hiding in a room. A women’s delegation from the Human Rights Commission visited the woman in Briman prison. Jawaher Al-Nahari, a member of the delegation, emphasized the need to issue a quick verdict on such cases. The incident has shocked people all over the Kingdom. There are about 1.5 million maids working in Saudi Arabia. They come from the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. “We have to be very careful in selecting maids,” said Abdullah Al-Shahri, owner of a recruitment office. “We don’t recruit any maidservant except after studying their social and criminal backgrounds through agencies in their countries.” Abdullah Ali, another Saudi engaged in recruitment of workers, said: “Themaid should have informed Saudi authorities or her country’s mission in the Kingdom if there was any abuse or mistreatment, nonpayment of salary, or abuse of other rights.” Marwan Barri Al-Sharief, consul general of Ethiopia, expressed his grief over the incident involving a maid who belongs to his country. He attributed such violence to mistreatment of maids. “We have taken a number of steps to prevent a repetition of such incidents. We have fixed the minimum age of a maid at 21, so that they will have enough awareness. We also provide them with necessary training.” Speaking to Al-Madinah, he emphasized the need to treat maids humanely. “It’s essential for the benefit of both sides.” Sponsors should provide medical treatment to maids suffering from mental problems, Al-Sharief added. The Eritrean Consulate in Jeddah received 44 maids suffering from mental problems.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 12:42:43 +0000