I’m not saying we should provide a one-sided view about maids in the Gulf. Complaints will exist and some are legitimate. However, journalists, columnists, bloggers and editors need to be extremely alert and cautious about how they are framing these issues. Maids lack a lot of legal rights in our countries, thanks in part to the sponsorship system which leaves them completely vulnerable to abuse, but they also suffer from a considerable amount of racist discrimination throughout our societies. Look no further than an average mall or an airport anywhere from Doha to Manama to witness the despicable treatment of South Asian workers. It’s common enough that it’s impossible to deny.

We need to highlight our outrage to these editors who don’t know any better than to publish this propaganda that seemingly encourage racism and normalizes classism. Why push for the idea that maids are “pampered” when they have incredibly demanding jobs under little to no protection? Why complain about the expenses involved in hiring a maid when they get the least amount of compensation which amount to nothing in comparison to the average salary in the Gulf? And more importantly, why amplify these self-absorbed voices instead of the voices of victims and their families that are barely recognized? Thousands of families are still demanding justice for their siblings, mothers, fathers, sons or daughters who have disappeared without trace upon arriving to our countries. They are forgotten and dismissed.

In a previous article I took similar issue with one of the other pieces published by this same paper. Sadly other local papers appear to have been inspired to be following a similar trend. This is a grave problem.

For a publication called Emirates 24/7 the editors should consider creating a section to discuss the “24/7 workers” who work insane hours on a daily basis to provide for complete strangers, sometimes under deplorable conditions. They spend years doing this. Some don’t come out of it alive. Some take their own lives. Some patiently go through each day despite not having their salaries paid on time or in full. Some get beaten to death. Some get raped.

This isn’t to generalize and claim that all domestic workers go through these issues, but they do happen in such frequency that we should be alarmed and informed enough to take action. We should never dismiss these as the “few” cases – there’s enough of these cases that makes this OUR problem. Every single week for an entire year there’s one story after another about these incidents and yet the outcry remains largely invisible particularly in these media outlets, who instead publish these horrid stories about maids being “pampered.”

So I have a few questions for Shuchita Kapur, one of the authors of such offensive and unnecessary op-ed pieces. You think it’s tough having to “pamper” a maid? Having to provide for her the way she gave up years of her life to provide for you? Having to grant this individual who catered to your every need a decent request? Go through one day as a maid and I assure you, you will never complain again. I’m confident it will change the tone of your stories when you realize the challenges and physical/psychological pressures involved in the job. When you are turned away from public spaces, mocked, dismissed, and harassed because the entire community around you deems you so pitiful to the point of worthlessness. When the idea of reuniting with your family is a distant dream that may or may never happen depending on nothing but pure “luck” because your protection is never guaranteed.

Shuchita, I doubt you have the strength required to endure this pain.

It might appear from the influx of tragic stories that these maids are weak and helpless. Make no mistake in assuming that. Most have the inspiring courage, determination, and patience necessary to survive decades of abuse, imprisoned in a household where they are taken advantage of, mistreated and never appreciated, all the while missing out on watching their own families grow. How many of us can go through that?

It’s time for us to urgently take a stance against trivializing abuse of migrant workers in the media.

And yet it’s deeply disturbing that racism and discrimination in some Gulf papers do not raise any red flags amongst its editors. Some even get away with portraying maids as killers without much of an outcry. Is it because it has become common knowledge?

Inserting “Kuwait maid” on a Google search results in a viral video titled “Maid Stealing from wallet (Kuwait). BEWARE!!” – it has been viewed almost half a million times. Emirates 24/7 recently published this piece, titled: Five signs to spot a maid about to abscond.

The five signs? Your maid acting like a perfectly normal human being:

1) What if the maid is using a mobile phone? Perhaps to connect with the family that she is deprived from seeing or having any other form of communication with. For years. But wait, no! Can’t be. She is most likely conspiring with others to run away and leave you to clean your own damned dishes. “BEWARE!!”

2) Is your maid going outside? Maybe for some fresh air? Unbelievable! She needs air? Fuck off!

3) Your maid is sick? No. YOU’RE sick. For believing that she’s sick. She can’t be. She’s a maid. She needs to work. No sick days off. Get it done. Not gonna pay it min-wage for nothing. What’s the worst that can happen? She dies? Order another of her kind.

4) Buying travel bags. Or any kind of bags. Or food or water or any other necessities. Buying anything. Everything she needs is available. She really doesn’t need much. Just a uniform and like, a banana or something.

5) Meeting old and new friends during her weekly holiday. Oh wait, WHAT HOLIDAY? Who is she meeting? They’re conspiring to steal the house. The cars. Maybe even the husband? No way! Lock her in the room. Maids only need one friend. It’s called a broom.

In all seriousness, why should these be signs for anything other than having certain rights that can amount to a somewhat better life. None of these signs are anything short of completely reasonable.

It’s clear that the authorities do not take it seriously when a worker is killed or investigates causes of suicide, which persist at alarming rates. But a worker commits a crime and it’s frontpage material – meetings are immediately held to discuss collective punishments, often resulting in racist generalizations and further discriminatory policies that punishes not just the the worker who commits the crime but all other maids from that particular country or maids in general. As an example, look no further than this case.

Of course some maids commit crimes. That’s terrible. However, it’s not right to deny that the ratio is far less in comparison to the maids who return to their countries with their bodies completely disfigured beyond recognition – or the number of maids who don’t make it out of our countries alive.

Really, who needs to send the warnings to whom? Who really needs to “BEWARE!!”?

There are many steps to be taken to prevent this endless cycle of migrant rights violations – but amongst the first steps is to stop trivializing abuse and recognizing the simple fact that maids have human needs that must be respected and protected as well.

Two recent articles approach the role of Christianity and Islam in shaping migrant rights, in both social and legal spheres. One piece details global migrant discussions at the World Council of Churches conference in Beirut, which attracted migrants and migrant leaders from across the world. Themes contributors emphasized centered on the importance of inclusiveness in religious communities, as well as the use of religious space to promote multiculturism and equality.

An article featured in The National lays out an Islamic approach to foreign workers’ rights. The theological perspective highlights the roles of “justice, equality, safety, security, and human dignity” in Islam, concepts precursory to true labor justice. It also notes the disparities between the sponsorship system and Islam, offering potential resolutions with Islamic finance principles that balance the rights of employers and employees.

Both pieces focus not only on religious principles that support fair treatment of migrant workers, but on the community-based activism that religious groups should pursue. While religion is certainly not the only ethical guide, nor the only form of organization, it is an exceptionally comprehensive social apparatus that can potentially wield widespread influence in support of migrant rights.

Migrants in Libya face uncertain future:

A recent U.N. report estimates that over 7,000 prisoners remain detained in Libya. A substantial percentage of these men, women, and children are sub-Saharan African migrants caught up in the volatile transition of power. Accounts of arbitrary arrest and torture have been documented by human rights agencies throughout the revolution.
Read more.

Murder in Kuwait:

An Ethiopian maid was murdered by her employer on Tuesday. The man beat her for over a week because she allegedly refused to work, and her injuries were so severe that she suffered from internal bleeding. She collapsed after arguing with the man while he attempted to “return” her to the recruitment office.
Read more.

Lebanon: Suicide of an Ethiopian Domestic Worker in Tyr:

According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, an Ethiopian worker, Janet M. K., hung herself today using a laundry rope from the ceiling of the house of her employer in Bazourieh in Tyr, South Lebanon.
Read more.

All Eyes on Rizana Nafeek:

Saudi Arabia is set to behead another migrant worker unless Sri Lanka can persuade authorities to grant Rizana Nafeek amnesty. Media outlets worldwide are monitoring the story closely as part of the mounting attention Saudi’s policies have received since the June execution of Ruyati Binti Sapubi.
Read more.

Indonesia reevaluates bans, Saudi Arabia & related policies:

The Philippine’s 41-country ban (and subsequent deferral) made a splash last week, sparking discourse among different government agencies, migrants, and activist organizations. Though critics deemed the measures superficial, the sheer number of countries blacklisted have invigorated demands for more action from other nations. The Indonesian government subsequently responded to queries regarding recent changes to its own migration policies; Commentators speculate that the five month moratorium on labor export seems to have been lifted following informal agreements between the two nations.
Read more here and here.

Trivializing Abuse:

Headlines involving domestic workers in the Gulf often fall into one of two categories: the horrifying or the ‘quirky.’ Reactions to the former – a maid raped, a woman tortured and enslaved – are instantaneous: absolute revulsion. But condemnation of the latter is less apparent, less certain. The absurdity of these stories – for example, an employer complaining about a maid using her cell phone – appears somewhat lighthearted. Wrong, but essentially harmless; perhaps the product of a “funny” law, another oddity of the intersection between the Gulf’s culture and legal system.
Read more.

Perceptions & Rights in Lebanon:

Recent events in Lebanon illustrate the importance of social perceptions to migrant rights. An anonymous Lebanese resident is tackling the disparaging conception of road cleaners; the designer by trade has posted signs throughout Lebanese streets asking citizens to respect the Sukleen street cleaners, most of whom are migrant workers.
Read more.

Murder of a Kuwaiti woman may have lasting effects on migrants:

The murder of a Kuwaiti bride by her Ethiopian maid may have reverberating consequences for the nation’s migrants. The Ministry of Health intends to introduce a set of psychological evaluations that prospective foreigner workers must pass before their work visas are approved, adding to the already extensive and expensive medical procedures migrants are required to take.
Read more.

“Workers Emirates”:

WIth his lens, Chancel captures the Gulf’s theoretical ‘underside’, the part so visible yet so often excluded from the glossy magazine features and brochures.
Read more.

Embassy Acts as Sanctuary for Absconding Citizens:

Kuwaiti authorities are receiving complaints about an unnamed African Embassy protecting citizens that have absconded from their employers. Absconding, which involves leaving an employer in some manner without their consent, is a criminal offense under the Kuwaiti sponsorship system.
Read more.

Family of a maid who died in Jordan demanding investigation:

The family of Subhani M Lurdu, a Sri Lankan maid who reportedly died on the 17th of October during her employment in Jordan, is requesting an investigation. They’re also requesting that her body is sent back to Sri Lanka.
Read more.

Suicide of Detained Migrant Prompts Investigation:

The suicide of an Indonesian maid in Kuwaiti custody is drawing questions about the conditions of her imprisonment.The woman hung herself with her scarf, her severed neck indicating that she had not been checked up on for days. Current accounts of the case are conflicting; one reports that security officials attempted to save the woman, while another raises accusations of the neglect.
Read more.

UN urges Lebanon to Protect Domestic Workers:

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on modern day slavery is urging Lebanon to address the plight of its domestic workers. Gulnara Shahinian recounted conditions of the migrants she met in Lebanon; sexual abuse, contract violations, unfair hours, and domestic servitude regularly punctuated their experiences.
Read more.

For ongoing updates, follow us on Twitter @MigrantRights or on Facebook.

The conception of maids as disposable units of labor sanctions their inhumane treatment. Murder itself may not be normalized, but the attitudes and “casual”abuses that escalate into such violent behavior do seem to be tolerated. The absence of legal protections for domestic workers positions them in an even more vulnerable position. The reports of violence towards domestic workers that resurface weekly demonstrate that this case involves much more than a single unscrupulous man; Just last week, a sponsor broke the nose of an Ethiopian maid. Three weeks earlier, an Indonesian maid committed suicide after absconding from an abusive employer.

The attention paid to these cases by Gulf media outlets is a significant step forward in acknowledging and ultimately correcting human rights abuses. The more these stories are featured, the more that the apathy and the unintended tolerance of these crimes are overpowered – and eventually, the less horrifying stories there exist to be told.

This article first appeared on our website Migrant Rights.

In a case involving cash and jewelry theft, the article’s headline reads “Maid Stole her Employer’s Lingerie,” promoting a condescending, farcical image of domestic workers. In another article, two migrants imprisoned after sleeping together in an employer’s house are referred to as “Kuwait’s Romeo & Juliet.” The attention drawn to the ‘humor’ in these cases often mask the seriousness of the situation. Such severe criminalization of minor “violations” have become normalized, infantilizing domestic workers by denying them even the simplest independent decision making. Every inch of a domestic worker’s life becomes a point for government and employer control; “domestic dictatorships” and the legal systems that support them seek to dictate nearly the entirety of workers’ lives. These attitudes and laws work to mold workers into “robo-maids,” whose sole existence is committed to domestic service (despite salaries incommensurate with 24/7 labor).

This is not to say that domestic workers never commit serious crimes, or that sponsors are at fault when they do. But the severe responses to relatively unremarkable infractions – even if they are not life threatening, even if they do not result in extended jail times – are still attacks against the humanity of non-citizen workers. In a recent case, a maid was sentenced to one month in jail after leaving a sick toddler home alone, even though she called the child’s mother immediately after leaving. The worker was charged with “absconding” despite leaving only to attend her mother’s funeral in time, and only after her sponsors had denied her salary to return home.

These seemingly “minor” acts of legal aggression against domestic workers – in which the charges appear less serious, or the disproportionate punishment comparatively ‘soft’ – function as a part of the larger oppressive social structure by stripping migrants of their dignity and validating further human rights violations against them. The expression of total ownership, control and power over workers’ existence – the psychological enslavement – is the same dehumanization that occurs in more conspicuous cases of abuse.

The coverage of these stories is not necessarily reprehensible – though the intentionally bizarre headlines do contribute to the triviality – as awareness of such preposterous cases is essential to minimizing their occurrences. But we cannot scoff and stop at the headlines – we must recognize that concealed beneath the mirth likely lay another story of abuse and injustice.

[This article first appeared on our site Migrant-Rights.org]

But perceptions can also be negatively exaggerated; migrants in the Lebanese neighborhood Burj Hammoud are facing the backlash of a racially-skewed television report that depicts foreign workers as prostitutes and criminals. Migrants reported verbal as well as physical abuse by Lebanese residents, in addition to arbitrary arrests by security forces hoping to discover undocumented illegals. The Anti-Racism Movement criticized the prejudiced report as well as the heavy-handed response it sparked. One migrant argued the report unfairly depicted the crimes as purely foreign offensives, ignoring the native support necessary for such underground activities to have prospered. The numerous acts of ‘vigilantism’ and intimidation have put the migrant community on edge, restricting social outings and leaving the businesses that cater to foreign workers virtually empty.

Perceptions and attitudes form the social structures in which legal and human rights are determined. The work of many organizations like the Anti-Racism movement, as well as individual activists, is to challenge unbalanced social conceptions in pursuit of universal human rights. Though the Sukleen company recently requested the anonymous posters be removed, the designer remains determined to raise awareness about street cleaners through other means. The Daily Star’s inclusion of activist and migrant voices in their coverage of the Burj Hammoud violence is itself a powerful rebuttal to the original report. Resetting the narrative surrounding migrants embraces their co-existence with the wider citizen population, an essential precursor to guaranteeing their social and legal equality.

[This post was cross-posted on our Migrant Rights site.]

Please watch and share this video widely. Special thanks to Farah Salka from the Migrant Workers Task Force for her assistance.

To understand the severity of the situation, you can follow @MigrantRights on Twitter, which contains constant updates of migrant rights abuses in the region as well as this page on CrowdVoice:

Don’t forget to connect with us on Facebook:

This compilation of reports are only from the past few weeks:

A Filipina domestic helper rendered blind by her sponsor in Kuwait after working without pay for a year [Source]

Herath Menika, a young Sri Lankan maid who worked in Bahrain, recounts the story of her abusive employers [Source]

An Indian man committed suicide in the house of his sponsor in Waha, Kuwait, while a housemaid attempts suicide [Source]

Abeline Baholiarisoa, a maid from Madagascar, forced to work as a “slave maid” for wealthy families in Lebanon for 15 years [Source]

Indian migrant workers harassed in Saudi Arabia [Source]

In Kuwait, more maids commit suicide [Source], while an Indian driver attempts to kill himself by slitting his wrists [Source]

A Filipino maid in her mid-30s attempts suicide in Kuwait [Source]

A housemaid raped in Kuwait [Source]

“Raped, battered, made pregnant, then kicked out: a common story for maids” (in the Middle East.) This story is about a Nepali maid in Saudi Arabia [Source]

Two men kidnapped and raped an Asian housemaid in Kuwait [Source]

Indonesian autopsy reveals violence killed maid in Saudi Arabia [Source]

Unspeakable cruelty: abused Ethiopian nanny found at Gadhafi compound [Source]

New ordeal for Indonesian who escaped Saudi sword [Source]

Kenyan woman working in Saudi Arabia seeks assistance to leave the country due to abusive employers [Source]

Kuwait: Asian ‘dies’ in sponsor’s home [Source] while another attempts suicide [Source]

Kenyans suffer in slavery in Saudi Arabia [Source]

Indonesian maid attempts suicide in Farwaniya, Kuwait [Source]

A murdered maid in the UAE was abused regularly [Source]

Nepali housemaid without pay for 3 months in Bahrain [Source]

Nepali worker commits suicide in the UAE [Source]

2 Emiratis, one of them a policeman, rape and then beat to death an Indonesian maid [Source]

Indian slave who was imprisoned for 3 years without pay was repatriated from Saudi Arabia [Source]

Bahrain: 2 Filipinos working for the Al Khalifa royal family have not been paid in 13 months [Source]

Indonesian migrant worker endured years of abuse [Source]

Indonesian maid attempts suicide in Al Baha, Saudi Arabia [Source]

Filipino maid found hanging in employers’ home in UAE [Source]

Video: Saudi man whipping a Bangladeshi garbage collector [Source]

Saudi Arabia: Indian maid injured while escaping her sponsors who locked her up and mistreated her [Source]

Oman: Unpaid migrants reduced to begging for food [Source]

30 Sri Lankan migrants go on a hunger strike in Iraq over months of unpaid wages [Source]

All of these cases took place very recently. Many might read these incidents once or twice a week, and could dismiss the abuse as infrequent. But these are just the cases that made it out to the media. If we continue to compile such lists day after day, you may safely consider this to be a mass crime approved by society and our governments, a crime with root causes that includes racism.

Of relevance, please read the following reports:

Kuwaiti Authorities Torture Migrant Workers to Death:

Two separate instances of Kuwaiti policemen and Ministry of Defense officials torturing migrant workers to death have surfaced in recent days.

Unfortunately, abuse of migrants by police are not unique in Kuwait. Recently, the Court of Appeals acquitted a policemen of torturing and raping two Filipinas. In April 2010 we’ve documented a previous case of kidnapping and raping of an Indonesian maid by a Kuwait police officer. In January 2010 a police officer in Kuwait admitted to raping women migrant workers for 15 years and then sending them off to the deportation center. On November 29, 2009 the Arab Times reported about the case of two maids who were kidnapped and gang-raped by a policemen and his friend and then sent to the deportation center. These reports illustrate how Kuwait state officials are able to abuse migrants with impunity. In these cases and many unreported ones the Kuwaiti police, which is supposed to protect abused workers, turns into another mechanism of oppression.

Read the full report here.

Every Two Days a Migrant Worker Attempts or Commits Suicide in Kuwait:

In a little over a month (35 days: February 19 – March 25), there have been 17 reported cases of migrant workers who committed or attempted to commit suicide in Kuwait. Local papers usually provide two sentences about each suicide in the “Crime” section, and their death is soon forgotten. Their nationality is sometimes mentioned, but names are not – it seems to interest no one. This harrowing trend is a reflection of poor working conditions, abuse from sponsors and the little protection migrant workers are offered in Kuwait.

Read the full report, with countless evidence of abuse, here.

Saudi “Justice”: Maid Torturer Acquitted

The horrific case of abuse of 23-year-old Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa by her Saudi sponsor once again illustrates the injustice inherent in Saudi Arabia’s justice system. In January, Sumiati’s woman employer was sentenced to three years in prison for stabbing, beating and burning Sumiati. However, this week, a Saudi court acquitted the woman of all charges.

Read the full report here.

The list goes on. And on.

Further coverage from around the web can be found here:

What does it take to end this nightmare that millions of migrant workers are experiencing in our neighborhoods right this second?

Rough estimates suggest that there is a population of 5.6 millions foreign workers in Saudi Arabia and 0.1% of them makes Bangladeshi national. And of these 0.4 million Bangladeshis, if I am not wrong 98% of them does what Abdul Rahman do for living. Most of them doing regular jobs as tea boy or office cleaner, in afternoon selling Miswaaks or water bottles and mainly washing cars as side business. We have to admit one thing that they are business oriented; I wont be wrong in saying that Bangladeshi labour class is hired on just 400SAR per month salary but with their side businesses they do make more than 4000SAR per month; but surprisingly their lives never seems to have changed.

I have been seeing Abdul Rahman doing this work for more than 15 years now, and he is still sitting there selling Miswaak, he also does car washing in the evening which surprises that has he not earned enough in 15 years to elevate himself from this work and do something extra-ordinary or atleast go back home to Bangladesh and do decent investment to live a respectable decent life; it does amazes me. For example, if he sells 5 stick of Miswaaks in one day, 2 SAR piece so he must be making 300SAR per month; and if he washes 2 cars in one month on daily basis for 50SAR each, he must be making 100SAR; total being 400SAR in 30days period, 4800SAR in a year and 72000SAR in 15years i.e. 1368000BDT. Don’t you think 1368000BDT is enough to set up a decent earning business? I know I am getting crazy; but at least this much could have forced him to move out of street shop and car washing business. Yes it does surprise me.

But my surprise give me answer after I analyse the how world economy and businesses have been effected over 15 years. Rise in cost of living, food prices, real estate hike and Wars have no doubt affected every single person living on earth. But Mustafa a car technician from Pakistan has some other story to tell.

Mustafa a Pakistani national is in his late 40s and a professional car technician. I was told that my father has been his customer since 1983, i.e. even before I was born. At that time he uses hold his personal tools and standing outside different workshops just to grab a customer to fix minute faults in a car. But now to my surprise, after more than 25 years he owns 4 of his personal workshops with more than 20 employees working for him. He and his family are living a decent life with his kids studying to be professional engineer.

So what was different for Mustafa than Abdul Rahman, has he not been lucky enough, or the profession he selected was not worth paying or may be his the will power was not that strong? I don’t know what it is; but I know me and my family has spent more than 30 years living and working in Saudi Arabia. Thanks a million to God that HE gave us the best life we wished for and my parents has a very decent and respectable living environment back home in Pakistan which now we are enjoying. But there is always something which stops you; there is always an excuse that we should go on working before settling permanently to Pakistan. Excuse of political turmoil in Pakistan, economic instability, insecurity, lack of basic needs and facilities; I am sure Abdul Rahman also have a fair list of excuses which stops him from doing something different and stops Mustafa to leave Saudi Arabia. World is no doubt a messy place to live in.