I have kept away from commenting on the Indonesian maid’s story. I simply am too embarrassed by the whole affair as a human being and as a Saudi. The claims, counter-claims, the accusations, the holier-than-thou attitudes, and worst of all the justifications (or attempts at justification) are simply nauseating.
Yet, we still get endless articles on the subject that verge on the pathetic. I would have thought silence is the best answer to this whole affair till something concrete is done to right the wrong. Some are even drawing parallels with what goes on in American prisons in Cuba or Abu Ghraib. Regardless whose side you’re on, such parallels are an admission that our homes are prisons for these maids. Perhaps they are, and our subconscious is revolting against us to spill the beans.
My simple question is to the authorities who allow every single Saudi to import domestic labor with impunity. It is easier to import humans from South East Asia than it is to import a sheep from Australia. Why allow this? Why can’t we wipe our own floors, wash our own dishes, and change our children’s diapers? If, as a nation, we have enough money to splurge on domestic help, why not tap the local market? Is it too expensive for us? Then do without — just as every single nation on earth does.
If we still need foreign help, why not do what other nations do: namely allow such people to come into the country with work permits and the government acts as their sponsor.
This way the foreigner will have rights, legal status, freedom of choice, freedom from sponsor tyranny, and, not least of all, dignity. To give an example one could look at Germany and its Guest Worker program. These people have all the protection they need under the law.
Likewise, instead of drawing parallels with American prisons why not compare with the American Green Card system, which is nothing more than a work permit on the way to full citizenship. Yet the holders have rights and access to the protection of the law. They cannot vote, but I am sure not a single Green Card holder wants to vote anyway.
We have to admit to ourselves that we need people from other countries to help us do whatever we are too lazy to do ourselves and then tackle the issue with justice and dignity. The myth of Arab hospitality has been shattered by the reality of our handling of foreign labor. What is written in our history books does not belong to us; rather, it belongs to a different breed of Arabs who were more tolerant, educated, and more humane. We have inherited nothing from them except the glory we want a piece of without doing like they did.
My plea to the authorities is to stop this visa program altogether. Simply shut it down and do not allow anyone to sponsor maids and domestic drivers. That is the way it was twenty years ago and we did quite well without this luxury. Those who are already here should have government work permits and go into the market legally and with dignity. I promise you the Saudis will behave after that, simply because they would have lost the upper hand over another powerless human being.
