Count,
I disagree.
This is NOT acceptable behaviour in Saudi Arabia. There are laws governing the stay of expats in the Gulf region. If the domestic complains about it, the man is prosecuted and punished and she is paid compensation.
What you say happens, some Arabs illtreat their domestics, but its only SOME, and even then, its like the rape victims here. Most women prefer not to go to the police.
Yes, the passports are confiscated, but that is not limited to the domstics or low paying employees only. Everyone is, by law, expected to hand over their passports to their employers.
The reason for this is because the expat population is so large there, that anyone can commit a crime and be out of teh country within half an hour. People have often taken advantage of the situation and walked off without paying their rents, phone bills etc. I know a guy who worked in my company created a chit fund and escaped to Paris with approx AED 500,000 - money which his friends and co workers had contributed to the chit fund. A lot of people lost their life savings. If his employer had followed the rules carefully, this could have been prevented.
To prevent things like these, EVERY EXPAT is supposed to keep their passport with their employer and every employer is expected to hand back the passport to the employee when the employee needs it for a valid reason.
I lived in the region <not in SA> and I didn't have a bit of a problem with handing over my passport. It ensured that I could leave my valubles around, and yet I'd never find anything missing from my house when my cleaning service cleaned the house in my absence, or the carpenter or painter or plumber entered my house in my absence...
If they weren't such religious zealots, it'd be a great place to live, believe me. I was in Dubai for 9 years and I LOVED it there, it wasn't a fanatical state. I prefer giving up a little bit of my freedom to ensure the safety of me and my family. Isn't that what we are now doing here as well ?
Hope this helps. |
