Slavery in 2005

Submitted by Janice Gotchet (Kuwait), Jun 19, 2005 at 18:16

These stories are so common in the Middle East today, they barely rate a third page story. I can barely stomach reading the newspapers in Kuwait, since it's daily news. Many of these servants end up in the West, brought by their employers for summer holidays, or to live. These are the ones who have a chance of being compensated for their plight.

These women have families back home, and many have children. They come to earn a meager salary to feed children back home. They are supposed to be "paid employees" not indentured servants. Surely $150 a month is not much to ask for, considering they cook, clean and tend to "other" people's children. Most who are abused suffer silently since going to the police here
is useless unless you have a man to speak for you. There are no women police officers, to handle even delicate issues. This in itself is enough to deter most women.

Daily reports of servants beaten, raped, not payed, torture, hiding in their respective Embassies, the list goes on. Passports are confiscated on the day of arrival. The mentality hasn't changed, the Human Rights organizations are apathetic for the most part, so you have to get down to blaming the the countries that allow them to be sent here to begin with. Stop sending them.

It's a neverending vicious cycle. These countries are not known for upholding human rights, and my humble opinion, the State Dept, and all other countries should issue "travel warnings" to all women considering coming to these countries for any reason! The lack of human rights extends far beyond the treatment of women servants...

Final Analysis: Women, stay in your countries.

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