Refleksi: Apakah Depag dan MUI, FPI, MMI etc yang melekat pada Arab Saudia [tanah suci] prihatin terhadap apa yang yang dialami dan terjadi terhadap TKI/TKW selama ini.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=94257&d=27&m=3&y=2007&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom Tuesday, 27, March, 2007 (08, Rabi` al-Awwal, 1428) After Miyati, It's Hayati Maha Akeel, Arab News JEDDAH, 27 March 2007 - Nour Hayati has barely been in the Kingdom for two months and is now ready to return to Indonesia. The 33-year-old maid arrived at the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh with a black eye and bruises all over her body. Apparently, the sponsor's wife would continuously beat her after becoming frustrated with Hayati's inability to understand Arabic, do household chores and take care of her three young children. The last incident took place when Hayati, unable to lift the heavy dining table by herself to vacuum underneath, was bitten and slapped by the woman. She escaped to the embassy and has asked for their help in getting her unpaid salary, compensation for the abuse she has suffered and a ticket to return home to her husband and two children, according to sources at the embassy. However, Hayati's sponsor is uncooperative and denies anybody has hit or assaulted her. Reports of the abuse of maids have become common. In the horrific case of Nour Miyati, which made headlines across the world in 2005, a court hearing was postponed again yesterday for two weeks. Miyati's sponsor brought her to a Riyadh hospital in March 2005. She was suffering from gangrene to her fingers, toes and a part of her right foot. In addition, signs of physical abuse could clearly be seen on her. Away from her family, Miyati is still waiting for justice and compensation while her abuser is free and stalling court procedures. A recent case is that of an Indonesian maid, who died two weeks ago, after being abused by her sponsor, who has admitted to torturing her. The dead maid had broken ribs, a broken wrist and burns all over her body. The Indonesian Embassy receives around 10 such cases each day. Most tend to be cases of abuse. The embassy documents the cases, takes pictures of the physical abuse the women have suffered and files newspaper clippings of the cases they are following up on and others that have not yet been investigated. The cases include incidents of severe beating, suicide, kidnapping, rape, withholding of salary for months and years, sexual harassment and impregnation. "Every day we receive about 10 cases of maids complaining of mistreatment at the hands of their sponsor. This in addition to the maids who go to the police without our knowledge," said the source. One of the disturbing cases the embassy has followed for more than a year is the unnatural death of a maid in Najran who, following an autopsy, was found to be pregnant. Newspapers reported that the unconscious maid was found lying in a grassy area outside the city. She was taken to a nearby health center and then transferred to a general hospital. Poison was found in the woman's blood, she had chemical burns to her body and was pregnant. She died two days later in intensive care. Medical records describe the death as suicide. In another incident, one newspaper interviewed a sponsor's brother who flew to a dead maid's village in Indonesia. He happily described how he successfully negotiated with the maid's poor family to accept over SR100,000 in blood money and forfeit their right to punish his brother. Unscrupulous and heartless sponsors take advantage of the poverty of maids. Others take advantage of their ignorance and loopholes in the Saudi law. In December 2006, Arab News reported the case of 18-year-old Noor Aysha Bukhari, who thought she was married to F.S. Later it turned out that he brought her from Indonesia as a maid for his two wives. During the day she would work and at night she would be forced to sleep with him. Bukhari came to the embassy after three months of "marriage" complaining of physical abuse and mistreatment by her husband's other wives. She demanded a divorce only to discover that her marriage was not recognized because her "husband" had not obtained permission from the Saudi authorities and had brought her to the Kingdom on a maid visa. The case is still in court because the man refuses to admit a marriage took place. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
