Kuwaiti Diplomat Accused Of Domestic Slavery

http://www.nbc4.com/news/10777454/detail.html

I was reading the Post and barely paying attention to the Channel 4 morning news yesterday when, from my periphery, I heard something quite fascinating. Charges were being brought against the Kuwaiti Ambassador and his wife by several domestic helpers (all from India). The Kuwaitis were being accused of enslaving their maids. I barked! Then I heard an interview with a naive neighbor who said there was no way these women were enslaved, that she was sure it was a dreadful misunderstanding and she thinks the Ambassador and his wife are two of the nicest most respectful people in the world. I barked again! Oh how clueless we Americans are of things beyond our own borders.

Okay, a little lesson in history here. Until 1953, Kuwait was a little know sandbar run by tribes from several different areas of the Gulf (to include India) who took over the area several hundred years ago. These tribesman made what little money they had by being traders (at one time, SLAVE TRADERS). With the discovery of OIL all changed. So, in other words, until 1953 (which was our 20th century) these people were pretty much living in the 14th century on normal days, the 18th century on a good day. The oil thing immediately immersed the wealthy ones into the 20th century physically, but mentally they weren't even close to being in the present. Even today, the wealthy Kuwaitis (and Saudis, and Omanis, and Bahrainis, and Qataris, and Emiratis, in other words the oil rich gulfies) have slaves but they are not called that. They are refered to as domestics. The rest of the world probably doesn't know they consider their domestics slaves and if they do they look the other way or they just don't talk about it. Sort of like the whole gay-Omani Sultan and young boy thing...it isn't spoken of, especially while you are there.

A regular domestic in one of these countries usually comes from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Korea, the Philippines or Palestine. These people come to the country and immediately are taken into a home of a wealthy local or an ex-Patriot (the latter being the far better place to work). Upon entry into a local's household all identification (Drivers Licenses, Passports, Visas, etc) are confiscated by the homeowner and, in my opinion, held for ransom. Most of these women work 7 days a week with a day off once a month, maybe. They are allowed to visit their country of origin usually only when they have reimbursed the homeowner for the cost of their work visa. Kinder locals will allow them to go home once every two years. (Keep in mind that many of these women are mothers with children in their home country, or young women who are looking to support their immediate families back home.) They are given very little money, and in no way does it cover what they do and the long hours they work. If they are lucky, they will work for an American who is associated with the Embassy because American Embassy personnel are expected to pay American minimum wages, allow two days off a week as well as one month of vacation a year, and pay for health insurance. I don't think any other country had those requirements and I will say that those Americans who were NOT affiliated with our government did not feel the need to follow that dictum.

And what do they do, these poor women? Act as nannies, house keepers, maids, gardeners, punching bags and prostitutes...no, prostitutes get paid...wait....oh yes, knot holes. If they should get pregnant, they are sent home in disgrace. I cannot count the number of those I've seen at the airport and it broke my heart every time. And they are treated this way by the wealthy locals in each one of these countries. And some of these locals are the nicest, kindest, most educated and upstanding people you would ever want to meet.

I hear people all the time say, "I just don't understand what they (the Arabs) are thinking or how they can do that." And that is hitting the nail on the head. Unless you are an Arab, unless you have been raised in an Arab society, unless you have become fully immersed in the Arab culture, you will NEVER understand, and they will never understand you. They are tribal, they have a flock mentality, they are like sheep and they do not, cannot and will not understand human rights, especially in their own countries. It's like comparing apples to triangles. We are different, period. I

Monty Python did this skit where a tourist came up to a fence that a farmer was leaning against. In the background you could hear "baaa-plop, baaa-plop". The tourist's curiosity got the better of him and he asked the farmer what the sheep were doing. "They think they're birds." The tourist was flabbergasted. The farmer went on to explain that the one big sheep, the most clever of the sheep, had convinced all the other sheep that they were birds, so all the sheep were climbing the tree and trying to fly. The moral of this story? "Never trust a smart sheep!" BARK!