There are growing concerns that Saudi dependence on imported domestic help has not been a helpful one for either party. Tales of abuse and inhumane treatment from errant employers have gathered enough publicity to elevate this phenomenon into a worrisome trend. There have also been enough individual situations publicized in our press to drive the point home that not all is well in the field of domestics.
As a reader pointed out recently, the question of having a domestic helper or housemaid has moved beyond the idea of employing one just for the sake of it. Today, housemaids are a necessity for reasons such as:
— Larger families with diversified needs.
— Working and entrepreneur women.
— Women carrying on with higher studies after marriage.
— Sickness or disability in the family.
— Children with special needs.
— Widows, widowers and divorcees.
But to be honest, there are two sides to the story. Yes, on the one hand we hear and read of abuses by employers. But there are also an equal number if not more of abuses suffered by the employers at the hands of their domestic helpers. Lying, stealing, cheating, child abuse or simply running away to a better-paying job are some of them. Most of these cases do not attract much publicity as they have increased in numbers. And human rights violations are more geared to the oppressed.
Now it would be OK for these domestics to seek higher paying jobs, but not at the expense of employers who have paid a fortune in visa fees and recruitment charges to get them to this country only to see them disappear in a month or so. And none of these fees is refundable. Therefore for a family with limited means, but in desperate need for household help, such a betrayal can often be economically crippling. To go through the procedure of reapplying for a visa and coming up with the required funds for recruitment is often very demanding.
My reader recommends that in such instances, and considering the bureaucratic hardships the Saudi citizen would suffer, it may be prudent for the relevant ministries to allow for a fee/fine. The ministry may also consider allowing Umrah and other overstayers to find sponsors willing to take them up and fill the needs of domestic duties. This would also legalize the stay of such individuals and bring them up to record as legal residents.
It would provide decent and honest overstayers a chance for employment, as well as prevent a lot of unnecessary hassles for the Saudi employer.
To wean ourselves off the reliance on imported domestic help, this expatriate reader suggests that Saudi women who are destitute and illiterate but are able of body and mind can also offer domestic services in homes where taking care of the elderly or children with special needs services is needed. This would help them earn a much-required income.
Other such women could help cooking and cleaning for households or provide baby-sitting care in homes where the need exists. The needs of the community are thus met from within, while the Saudi women are able to meet their financial needs in a respectable manner.
A society must sooner or later learn to exist on the toils of its own citizens, or else lose its identity and sustainability. Replacing imported domestics with some of our own is a beginning.
