HARASSMENT OF MAIDS IN KUWAIT.
This is in response to the earlier article in this forum on the subject "HOW TO KEEP MAID AT HOME”. Let me applaud Rev. Thompson for very intelligently and boldly writing his views on this very pathetic topic that we witness in Kuwait. Maid harassment is a curse on those who are harassing them unnecessarily. Maid harassment like beating, torturing, raping and even killing is the shame on this society where we are living and earning our livelihood. No maid is coming to Kuwait to desert the house of her employer or sponsor but the sponsors and employers of the maids in many cases are responsible for this grave situation. No maid is coming to Kuwait to jump from the top of the floor and commit suicide. They are as given to understand either thrown down by their employers or in extremely rare cases they commit suicide after exhausting all avenues to get them peace. Every maid comes to Kuwait with heavy responsibility to earn some Dinars and sustain her family members back at her home who are living only on the remittance of the maids. When they have such a heavy burden of responsibility, they will on their own volition never commit suicide.
With my limited knowledge I can say that nowhere in the world maids are so much maltreated as it is in Kuwait which is supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world. Everyday reading in the local newspapers of their hardships and listening to their stories personally I can rightly say that many if not most of the maid employers are unfit to employ maids in their houses because they do not know to treat human beings as humans beings created by the same God. Treating maids as sub-human beings and as slaves is not only a sin but a sacrilege deserving highest divine punishment. Because of maid harassment by the locals in Kuwait, the image of this country was already tarnished beyond reparation. And yet most of the locals are immune to this criticism even when it came from American Senators and World Human Rights bodies.
During the period of invasion of Kuwait, I was busy in organising public meetings and public rallies in Goa in support of Kuwait and to condemn Iraq for invading Kuwait. The echo of our voice we raised from the streets of Panaji, Goa was heard not only in Delhi but also in other parts of the World including Iraq thru media and news channels. A few days before our first rally on 12th November 1990, I as an initiator of this movement to organize rallies and meetings was approached by a delegation of Arabs supporting Saddam Hussein and his invasion of Kuwait to stop me from organising our public rally on the streets of Panjim and public meeting at Azad Maidan, Panjim. For this they offered me huge purse of money which I flatly refused. Then they offered me threats and also threats to my family. This also I brushed aside as if it is nothing. Then to prick my conscience and excite me, they raised the issue of maid harassment in Kuwait where they said "Kuwaitis are maltreating innocent Goan maids and since this is the case why do you support the cause of Kuwait and Kuwaitis when your Goan maids are brutalized in Kuwait by the Kuwaitis?" For this I replied, “I strongly condemn the harassment of maids who are as good as sisters and mothers to me but their issue is totally different from the invasion of Kuwait issue which cannot be tolerated yet maids issue deserve highest condemnation and I condemn it openly and also I strongly condemn all those who practice brutality against maids and weaker segment of the society”. The harassment of maid issue is not a small matter. It is a matter of shame for Kuwait and Kuwaitis as a whole though there are many Kuwaitis who treat their maids decently and humanely. I salute them.
Inflicting corporal punishment on maids is a sin against God and those who pray 5 times a day and still perform such cruel acts against weaker section of society is extremely "haram". Those who beat maids are cruel people, they have no authority even to touch the hair of a maid, leave aside skin of the maid. Only barberians can beat and torture maids. The government has not given an authority to any Kuwaiti or any employer of maid to harass and beat the maids and yet the employers of maid use their "dadagiri" against maids whose position in front of their employers is like that of a goat in front of the knife wielding butcher.
I really feel disgusted when I come to know of maid beatings by the Kuwaitis. I know personally so many of our Goan maids were maltreated by the Kuwaitis as if these maids are slaves. Many of the maids came to Kuwait not because they are fit to be maids but only as a last resort after exhauting all the options to earn their livelihood in Goa. Many of our Goan maids working in Kuwait are of very high standard even having maids in their own houses in Goa before coming to Kuwait. But later on due to the circumstances beyond their control they migrated to Kuwait for greener pastures by working as maids. In Goa there is no movement done yet to raise the issue of maltreatment of our maids in Kuwait in particular and in the Gulf in general. Human rights activitists and church leaders should campaign hard on this subject. This ongoing system of maid harassment in Kuwait should be stopped, it is unbearable.
As a matter of interest for Kuwaitis, many of the Goan maids who participated in our rallies and meetings in support of Kuwait during the invasion of Kuwait were themselves the victims of beatings and rapings from the Kuwaitis. Inspite of facing so much of maltreatment from the hands of Kuwaitis they still supported Kuwait's and Kuwaitis' cause. This is the greatness of the character of Goan maids in particular and Goans in general. Forgiveness and forgetfulness is the hallmark of Goans. And this makes a Goan unique in India.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
January 25, 2009
January 24, 2009
HOW TO KEEP MAID AT HOME
The following article was published in the local Arab Times on 23rd of this month. For the benefits of Goans in particular and goa.kranti readers in general I am reproducing it herebelow. Since there are innumerable maids working in Kuwait, this article will be very informative for our maids as well as to their families. I hope our Church leaders in Goa will highlight this subject in ther preachings in the Churches and religious places to educate our people of the ills maids are facing in Kuwait.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
HOW TO KEEP MAID AT HOME.
By Rev. Andy Thompson.
St. Paul’s Anglican Church,
Ahmadi, Kuwait.
A recent visit to a jail reminded me of the scale of suffering for women in Kuwait. They come to serve families as domestic workers often at great personal expense and sacrifice to their families back at home. Every week the Arab Times continues to report maids who commit suicide, jump out of buildings from the upper floors in order to escape, fill hospital beds because of injuries from their employers and simply absconding through sheer exhaustion.
Running away does not help anyone. Often the maid by running away goes from frying pan into the fire. Gangs on the look out for runaway maids persuade and then force them into the sex trade. For the employers they suffer the inconvenience of having to find another maid and pay yet another 500KD in recruitment fees. Even worse they have the shame of having people wonder what they did to their maids to make them run away.
The reality that these women are human beings, wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of our creator God, seems to be forgotten. One employer on hearing how her maid had been brutally raped and forced into the sex trade after running away told me that the maid still owed her money and what I am going to do about that !!!
The role of a domestic worker in the Gulf has a long history. Traditionally the servants were very much part of the household and treated as extended family members and as such would stay with the family for years and years. Nowadays temporary contracts are more common and the expectations from the domestic workers is that they are employees and not family members. This has been a significant shift and in fact still ongoing. There is a clash of expectations from both employees and servants. Families long for their servants to belong as an extended member of the family.
There is a little known book in the Bible called Philemon which is solely addressed to the issue of runaway slave and his employer. St. Paul pleads with the employer to treat his runaway slave with compassion and ask him to recognize him as a man and a brother. In return the slave is encouraged to work hard and not give cause to his employer to be unhappy. This advice is very relevant today. “Servants obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart. Serve wholeheartedly as though you were serving the Lord and not men because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for what good he does, whether he is slave or free. Masters, treat your servants in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Ephesians 6.5.9).
In practical terms this means that maids who are paid regularly treated fairly and given time off will be more likely to stay and honour their obligations to the family and less likely to run away.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
HOW TO KEEP MAID AT HOME.
By Rev. Andy Thompson.
St. Paul’s Anglican Church,
Ahmadi, Kuwait.
A recent visit to a jail reminded me of the scale of suffering for women in Kuwait. They come to serve families as domestic workers often at great personal expense and sacrifice to their families back at home. Every week the Arab Times continues to report maids who commit suicide, jump out of buildings from the upper floors in order to escape, fill hospital beds because of injuries from their employers and simply absconding through sheer exhaustion.
Running away does not help anyone. Often the maid by running away goes from frying pan into the fire. Gangs on the look out for runaway maids persuade and then force them into the sex trade. For the employers they suffer the inconvenience of having to find another maid and pay yet another 500KD in recruitment fees. Even worse they have the shame of having people wonder what they did to their maids to make them run away.
The reality that these women are human beings, wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of our creator God, seems to be forgotten. One employer on hearing how her maid had been brutally raped and forced into the sex trade after running away told me that the maid still owed her money and what I am going to do about that !!!
The role of a domestic worker in the Gulf has a long history. Traditionally the servants were very much part of the household and treated as extended family members and as such would stay with the family for years and years. Nowadays temporary contracts are more common and the expectations from the domestic workers is that they are employees and not family members. This has been a significant shift and in fact still ongoing. There is a clash of expectations from both employees and servants. Families long for their servants to belong as an extended member of the family.
There is a little known book in the Bible called Philemon which is solely addressed to the issue of runaway slave and his employer. St. Paul pleads with the employer to treat his runaway slave with compassion and ask him to recognize him as a man and a brother. In return the slave is encouraged to work hard and not give cause to his employer to be unhappy. This advice is very relevant today. “Servants obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart. Serve wholeheartedly as though you were serving the Lord and not men because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for what good he does, whether he is slave or free. Masters, treat your servants in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Ephesians 6.5.9).
In practical terms this means that maids who are paid regularly treated fairly and given time off will be more likely to stay and honour their obligations to the family and less likely to run away.
January 23, 2009
WAITING FOR OUR BARACK OBAMA.
Let me start this by reproducing today's (23/Jan/2009) GT editorial captioned:
"Waiting for our Barack Obama", which I feel does justice to my earlier piece 'The Obama Effect ' Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 1:48 PM
The 44th president of the United States of America Barack Obama took oath at a time when America was looking for political renewal and a way to make a clean cut from the past years when the country was afflicted with the disease of self interest and was ruled by self seeking politicians. In his inaugural speech, Obama bluntly told the American people, "Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some ...." He further warned, "that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous". When he said, "... those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism..." he laid bare the guiding principles of his presidency. We understand that politics is the art of compromise, but in Obama lives the aspiration of a new generation of Americans and world citizens hungry for honesty and an end to a corrupt world that places self interests above society and nation.
More than America this disease of self interest has afflicted India and Goa as well, where the outcome of elections is determined by money and the ability of politicians to balance the petty interest of individuals and pressure groups with personal interests. Today, in Goa almost every MLA is a crorepati or on the verge of becoming one and the thought of standing for an election without a huge reservoir of funds is unthinkable. A lament often heard is that there is no place for an honest person in politics, because the people simply won't elect him or her. Corruption of the soul does not start and end with the politician. It has deeper roots which reach down to the people. We have been overtaken by a spiritual and moral degradation. In the case of America the people voted overwhelmingly for Obama because he symbolized a change from the decadent and misguided approach of the Bush Administration. In electing Obama, Americans sought to redeem themselves. How do we redeem ourselves when the people themselves have embraced corruption? How can we break the what's-in-it-for-me attitude and replace it with civic-mindedness? How can the salt of the earth regain its taste?
Last month, well known columnist, writer and journalist Kushwant Singh referred to the role played by intellectuals like Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzche, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Leo Tolstoy, Jean-Paul Sartre and Bertrand Russel in Europe and the United States. India toohad its share of intellectuals, however, their influence is marginal. Singh assigns two reasons for the failure of intellectuals to influence society in India. One is that they wrote in English, which only 10 per cent of the population understands and secondly, the vast majority of people in India look up to their gurus, godmen and priests because they speak there language. The knowledge of these gurus is limited, as a result, "Their congregations return to their homes contented and at peace with themselves because they do not have to wrestle with new ideas. That is why caste distinction persist, foeticide is widely practiced and we continue to breed at a suicidal rate. Our gurus never deal with such social problems. "We could easily add corruption and self-interest to the list.
In Goa we have heard of several instances when those placed in charge of our spiritual well-being have accepted large sums of money from politicians in return for delivering votes of the congregation. We need to make a clean break with the past, but for that to happen we must let go of self-interest and focus on the civic well being of all. The rule must first apply to me and then to my neighbour. We must be the change that we wish to see in society. The question before us is not whether a person who embodies the qualities that we celebrate in Obama exists in India or Goa, but that, if he does exist would we have the courage to elect him?
COMMENTS
The Goa Su-Raj Party wholeheartedly appreciates this piece of excellent editorial. Apart from two most important things the editor has said, (1) "In Goa we have heard of several instances when those placed in charge of our spiritual well-being have accepted large sums of money from politicians in return for delivering votes of the congregation" a line that this party has always been saying with utmost conviction that priests were not only bribed with fat donations but also with brand new cars and computer work stations et al.. and (2) "We must be the change that we wish to see in society" ... which line appears at the bottom of this Party's letter-heads, a quote from Mahatma Gandhi", this party would like to answer the question which is posed by the editor when he says " The question before us is not whether a person who embodies the qualities that we celebrate in Obama exists in India or Goa, but that, if he does exist would we have the courage to elect him?
Our answer is "Obama does exist in Goa, not as an individual but as an entity called the Goa Su-Raj Party and the later part of the question is, in all sincerity, very very potent. Each Goan must try and answer it with sincerity that it takes to revolutionize the way Goa is governed.
Going back to the 2007 Assembly Elections of Goa, the undersigned avidly remembers the conversation reproduced herebelow that he had with this very editor of the above marvelous piece, which will expose the contradictions vis a vis the above write-up from the same man. We are glad to note that a lot of water has flown under the Mandovi Bridges since then and now and needless to say that we appreciate the changed attitude.
This tele-conversation emanated when the undersigned expected one of the Party's important press releases to appear in the GT but did not.
Hello Derek,
Hi Florian,
Derek, I have issued a press statement which I feel is important that your readers see it. Why has it not appeared? Any problem?
Florian, tell me, does your party have any relevance?
Dereck, what do you mean? You have lost me.
Florian, how many elections did your party contest so far and how many votes did you get?
Dereck, GSRP contested eight seats in 2002 and aggregated 1500 votes. In 2005 it contested a single seat in the 5 constituency by-elections and aggregated 206 votes.
Florian, that is exactly what I mean. Your party has no relevance.
Derek, this is very interesting coming from you. Not to be uptight and not to be offensive, let me say that you are a better humour columnist than an editor. But you don't know head or tale of what politics is all about. You please do me a favour. Take that press statement and throw it out of your window. As an after thought, I feel that you should flush it down the toilet for better effect.
End of the tele-conversation.
I must say that today I find that Derek is as good an editor as he is humour columnist.
Cheers Derek, no hard feelings :-))
floriano
goasuraj
"Waiting for our Barack Obama", which I feel does justice to my earlier piece 'The Obama Effect ' Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 1:48 PM
The 44th president of the United States of America Barack Obama took oath at a time when America was looking for political renewal and a way to make a clean cut from the past years when the country was afflicted with the disease of self interest and was ruled by self seeking politicians. In his inaugural speech, Obama bluntly told the American people, "Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some ...." He further warned, "that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous". When he said, "... those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism..." he laid bare the guiding principles of his presidency. We understand that politics is the art of compromise, but in Obama lives the aspiration of a new generation of Americans and world citizens hungry for honesty and an end to a corrupt world that places self interests above society and nation.
More than America this disease of self interest has afflicted India and Goa as well, where the outcome of elections is determined by money and the ability of politicians to balance the petty interest of individuals and pressure groups with personal interests. Today, in Goa almost every MLA is a crorepati or on the verge of becoming one and the thought of standing for an election without a huge reservoir of funds is unthinkable. A lament often heard is that there is no place for an honest person in politics, because the people simply won't elect him or her. Corruption of the soul does not start and end with the politician. It has deeper roots which reach down to the people. We have been overtaken by a spiritual and moral degradation. In the case of America the people voted overwhelmingly for Obama because he symbolized a change from the decadent and misguided approach of the Bush Administration. In electing Obama, Americans sought to redeem themselves. How do we redeem ourselves when the people themselves have embraced corruption? How can we break the what's-in-it-for-me attitude and replace it with civic-mindedness? How can the salt of the earth regain its taste?
Last month, well known columnist, writer and journalist Kushwant Singh referred to the role played by intellectuals like Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzche, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Leo Tolstoy, Jean-Paul Sartre and Bertrand Russel in Europe and the United States. India toohad its share of intellectuals, however, their influence is marginal. Singh assigns two reasons for the failure of intellectuals to influence society in India. One is that they wrote in English, which only 10 per cent of the population understands and secondly, the vast majority of people in India look up to their gurus, godmen and priests because they speak there language. The knowledge of these gurus is limited, as a result, "Their congregations return to their homes contented and at peace with themselves because they do not have to wrestle with new ideas. That is why caste distinction persist, foeticide is widely practiced and we continue to breed at a suicidal rate. Our gurus never deal with such social problems. "We could easily add corruption and self-interest to the list.
In Goa we have heard of several instances when those placed in charge of our spiritual well-being have accepted large sums of money from politicians in return for delivering votes of the congregation. We need to make a clean break with the past, but for that to happen we must let go of self-interest and focus on the civic well being of all. The rule must first apply to me and then to my neighbour. We must be the change that we wish to see in society. The question before us is not whether a person who embodies the qualities that we celebrate in Obama exists in India or Goa, but that, if he does exist would we have the courage to elect him?
COMMENTS
The Goa Su-Raj Party wholeheartedly appreciates this piece of excellent editorial. Apart from two most important things the editor has said, (1) "In Goa we have heard of several instances when those placed in charge of our spiritual well-being have accepted large sums of money from politicians in return for delivering votes of the congregation" a line that this party has always been saying with utmost conviction that priests were not only bribed with fat donations but also with brand new cars and computer work stations et al.. and (2) "We must be the change that we wish to see in society" ... which line appears at the bottom of this Party's letter-heads, a quote from Mahatma Gandhi", this party would like to answer the question which is posed by the editor when he says " The question before us is not whether a person who embodies the qualities that we celebrate in Obama exists in India or Goa, but that, if he does exist would we have the courage to elect him?
Our answer is "Obama does exist in Goa, not as an individual but as an entity called the Goa Su-Raj Party and the later part of the question is, in all sincerity, very very potent. Each Goan must try and answer it with sincerity that it takes to revolutionize the way Goa is governed.
Going back to the 2007 Assembly Elections of Goa, the undersigned avidly remembers the conversation reproduced herebelow that he had with this very editor of the above marvelous piece, which will expose the contradictions vis a vis the above write-up from the same man. We are glad to note that a lot of water has flown under the Mandovi Bridges since then and now and needless to say that we appreciate the changed attitude.
This tele-conversation emanated when the undersigned expected one of the Party's important press releases to appear in the GT but did not.
Hello Derek,
Hi Florian,
Derek, I have issued a press statement which I feel is important that your readers see it. Why has it not appeared? Any problem?
Florian, tell me, does your party have any relevance?
Dereck, what do you mean? You have lost me.
Florian, how many elections did your party contest so far and how many votes did you get?
Dereck, GSRP contested eight seats in 2002 and aggregated 1500 votes. In 2005 it contested a single seat in the 5 constituency by-elections and aggregated 206 votes.
Florian, that is exactly what I mean. Your party has no relevance.
Derek, this is very interesting coming from you. Not to be uptight and not to be offensive, let me say that you are a better humour columnist than an editor. But you don't know head or tale of what politics is all about. You please do me a favour. Take that press statement and throw it out of your window. As an after thought, I feel that you should flush it down the toilet for better effect.
End of the tele-conversation.
I must say that today I find that Derek is as good an editor as he is humour columnist.
Cheers Derek, no hard feelings :-))
floriano
goasuraj
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)