RIYADH: Ramadan is known to be the month of worship and simplicity but it’s also a month of hosting iftar and opening your home to guests.
With this increased workload comes a temporary demand for extra domestic help. This help often comes from the pool of available illegal workers in the Kingdom. However, looking for workers in the black market can be risky. Just ask Rahma Mohammah, a 55-year-old housewife.
“This year I hired an African maid and we agreed on a salary of SR2,000 to be paid on the 25th of Ramadan,” she said. “I took her to the market and I bought her some clothes and food so that she could feel comfortable. She was very kind and helpful during the first few days. But a few days later, the maid disappeared with the family’s jewelry, mobile phones and cash, Rahma said. “I never thought such a thing could happen,” said the housewife, who lives with her retired husband and one unmarried son. “We thought about reporting the robbery, but I am not sure if we would face legal consequences.”
Hiring a domestic servant from the black market is illegal although it is quite common. Middlemen and facilitators abound, drawing their workers from the countless pool of illegal residents in the Kingdom, be they pilgrimage visa overstayers, workers who flee their legal sponsors or undocumented immigrants.
“I paid SR500 to a middleman,” said Alaa’ Nour, 29. “He brought an African maid who asked for SR1,700 (for the month), but said she did not want to cook.” The maid stayed with her for one day and told her that she did not want to work any more. After that Nour called the man again and he promised that he would get another maid.
“He brought another maid who also stayed for one day, then went to her family house and never showed up or picked up her phone,” she said.
Arab News managed to obtain the phone number of an illegal labor recruiter named Abu Ayman, who allegedly shelters illegal residents and hires them out to Saudi and other families in the Kingdom, according to a client who utilized Ayman’s service. But Ayman could not be reached on phone, probably he had realized a newspaper was trying to contact him.
Saad N. Al-Baddah, chairman of National Recruitment Committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, has warned against hiring temporary housemaids in this manner. The law, he points out, specifically states that it is illegal to recruit “temporary women domestic help.” The law stipulates punishment for men like Ayman who harbor illegal residents as well as recruit them. “The punishment may include fine and imprisonment,” he said.
Al-Baddah said that people who hire maids illegally are compelled by their need. “Some families do not really realize the risk of hiring a maid temporarily,” he said. “When there is a middleman it is even worse.” He also pointed out that hiring them could be a real threat to the family. In fact media reports abound of temporary — or even permanent but illegally hired — maids who rob families in complicity with their recruiters. “She can tip-off robbers about the valuables in the house and the suitable time they can strike,” said Al-Baddah.
