THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: International human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has implored Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to make more effort to protect its immigrant workers, after shocking stories emerged about the abuse of three domestic workers.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, HRW said that it had received allegations from a maid in Kuwait whose employer drove nails into her body, a maid in Saudi Arabia who had nails forced into her body, and a maid in Jordan who had been both beaten and forced to swallow nails.
The watchdog said the stories implied a “broader pattern of abuse”, and that the goverments of the three countries needed to create a stronger legal framework to protect their foreign workers.
"The wanton brutality alleged in these cases is shocking, but reports of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and labour exploitation such as non-payment of wages are nothing new,'' said Nisha Varia, a senior women's rights researcher at HRW.
Many domestic workers in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait come from Asia, Africa and other countries in the Middle East in the hope of receiving higher salaries. Because employers in Middle East countries often act as workers' "sponsors" however, they exert extreme power over their staff. Employers can prevent workers changing jobs or leaving the country, and often withold salaries for years. >>> Leah Hyslop | Thursday, November 18, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Doctors remove 19 nails from Sri Lankan maid: A Sri Lankan housemaid whose Saudi employer allegedly embedded 24 nails in her body was recovering in hospital on Friday after doctors removed 18 of them during a three-hour surgery. >>> | Friday, August 27, 2010
MIGRANT RIGHTS: Mission statement: Through the power of the web we wish to raise awareness about the plight of migrant workers in the Middle East and encourage social action to end the violations of their human rights and dignity. Unfortunately, very little is done to prevent the modern-day slavery many workers endure in the region. Our job is to change that. >>>
MIGRANT RIGHTS: This week, two cases of severe abuse of Indonesian maids by their Saudi sponsors have surfaced, one of them ending in death and the other in serious injuries.
The first case, of 23-year-old Sumiati BT Salan Mustapa was first reported by the Saudi Gazette. This initial report mentioned that Mustapa arrived in Saudi-Arabia in July to work for a family in Madina. On November 6th Mustapa was admitted to a private hospital in Madina injured from head to toe in an unconscious state. The private hospital was unable to treat her serious injuries and she was transferred to the King Fahd hospital. A worker there told the Gazette that Mustapa’s body “was burned on many places, both legs were almost motionless, some parts of her skin on her head were removed and strong marks of old wounds were on her body including skin loss on lips and head, a fractured middle finger and a cut near an eye.” Mustapa also showed signs of malnutrition or excessive blood loss. >>> | Friday, November 19, 2010
