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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: HG who wrote (6112)	10/18/2001 9:44:25 PM
From: Climber	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

If the domestic complains about it, the man is prosecuted and she is paid compensation. The problem is, the domestic often can't access anyone to complain to. The Count is right, this is a big problem which I've seen personally during my time in S.A. The girls -- many from poor families in Indonesia, Bangladesh, or Pakistan -- have NO ONE to speak up for them. Their families sell them into servitude through "service organizations," and often have no leverage in getting them returned or, unfortunately, just don't care about it. They have too many mouths to feed to start with, and need the income. These girls are often confined to private homes, they don't speak Arabic, and they do what they're told, usually intimidated by the wife or the mother of the head of the family. If, after their contract is up, the employer decides to honor his side of the arrangement, then the servant is sent home. If not, tough. By the way, it's not just girls who become "slaves," it's young men as well. You're right about all expats having the passports held. It's scary, and one has to get an "exit visa" to leave the Kingdom. If, for some reason, you run into a "problem" getting your exit papers, well... there you stay, at your own expense. Sure, there are some serv-orgs that are on the up-and-up, but there are many that are corrupt. Climber ps, you write: I lived in the region <not in SA> and I didn't have a bit of a problem with handing over my passport. Saudi Arabia is a LOT different from the the rest of the Gulf. Why do you think so many Saudis spent their weekends in Bahrain, or Dubai? <g>

To: HG who wrote (6112)	10/19/2001 11:16:20 AM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 281500

I represented an American client who was helping set up an Office-Depot style warehouse in SA for a SA corporation. He refused to hand over his passport because he knew that if there was any dispute about anything, the employer would simply refuse to let him leave. In fact, a dispute arose while he was out of the country, and the employer refused to let his assistant leave. They held him incommunicado in the residential compound, no access to phones, not allowed to leave. My client had to go to the US embassy several times before the assistant was allowed to leave, and the employer made the assistant sign a waiver form stating that he was wrong in the dispute and had been well-treated. This was in 2000. While they were there, they witnessed Filipino warehouse workers being beaten by Arabs. The warehouse workers said they had been there for weeks without pay, only food, and they could not leave because their passports were taken from them. My client's advice to those who deal with SA companies - get the money up front. Otherwise, you WILL be shafted.