Saudis report some domestic workers prey on elderly

JEDDAH: Older Saudi women living alone or with young children are sometimes targeted by expatriate domestic workers seeking employment but instead use the home to carry out illegal activities. Incidents involving prostitution or elder abuse have been reported, providing a cautionary tale to older Saudis needing domestic help, but instead become victims.
Eman M. A. says she got the shock of her life when she discovered that her maid was secretly operating a brothel in the maid’s quarters with the help of her driver.
“She (the maid) was so hard working around the house. I was so happy with her, I thought I had the best maid in the world,” Eman told Arab News, who did not want her full name revealed.
Eman M.A., who is a divorced mother of two lives alone with her daughter and 11-year-old son in her bungalow, along with her maid and driver who lives in the servant’s quarters.
“I was so kind to my maid that even when I would go shopping I would get something for her,” Eman said
“Since I work, I go to bed early, and that night as usual me and my kids went to sleep. Then around 2 a.m. I received a call from one of my neighbors. She told me ‘there are men going in and out of your house.’ ”
Eman said she was stunned and frightened.
“I went quietly down stairs and saw that the driver was letting these men into my home. I shouted and told them to get out or I’ll call the police. They ran away and I confronted the driver about what was he doing.”
Eman alleges that she discovered that the driver had become the maid’s manager, and the maid was working as a prostitute to make extra money. This was happening almost every night in her home, she said.
“I terminated their contracts and had them sent back to their countries immediately.”
The maid and the driver are not from the same countries.
According to Al Arabiya, there are about 2 million maids in Saudi Arabia. Quoting a survey conducted by Saudi magazine Sayidaty, Al Arabiya reported that about 3 million maids throughout the Arab world are abused by their employers and live in “deplorable conditions.”
Lax regulations and laws in Arab countries have led to the abuse, according to Al Arabiya.
While housemaid abuse has been well-documented, a less known aspect of the employer-maid relationship are maids. Some maids live and work in Saudi Arabia illegally and find employment at lower salaries than legal domestic workers. Without a sponsorship, and therefore without legal controls, some domestic workers, although rare, seize the opportunity to exploit their employer, according to some Saudi sponsors interviewed by Arab News. In another case of a sponsor allegedly being mistreated by her maid is 71-year-old Umm Naser.
“I live alone, my children are all grownup and married, and they don’t even live in the same city as me.
“They got me this maid to look after me. At first she was very good, but then when she saw that I am most of the days completely alone she took advantage and started to not work properly,” said Umm Naser.
Umm Naser said her maid started demanding a salary of SR 2,500 even though they she had agreed to work for SR 1500, then Umm Naser said the maid didn’t like the bedroom set she had in her room and demanded a new one.
“When my children or friends visit she is on her best behavior. So that when I complain to my children they don’t believe me, and think I am being fussy.”
“She is supposed to cook for me, as I am very old and my legs have pain. I cannot move much. But she doesn’t cook anymore. My neighbor brings food for me every day.”
Umm Abdullah, who has had problems with maids in the past, says that when people hire a maid or driver they should treat them with kindness, but also be watchful of how they behave.
“Maids and drivers are people who we rely on, and they live closely with us and our family and have easy access to go in and out of our homes. That’s why if they are corrupt or do illegal things they can cause a lot of trouble,” said Umm Abdullah.