Saudi Arabia House Maid Killed in Bid to Escape

JEDDAH, 3October 2003 — An expatriate housemaid died while another was seriously injured in separate attempts to escape from their Saudi sponsors in Makkah, reported the Arab News. The unfortrunate maid died l while she was trying to escape from her sponsor’s locked fourth floor apartment. She attempted to abseil from the window by tying several bedsheets together while the sponsor and his wife were away.

"But the knots were not strong enough to hold the woman and the baggage she was carrying on her back and she fell several stories onto the sidewalk and died instantly, according to Al-Madinah Arabic newspaper. The incident took place in the Taneem district of Makkah on Monday," reported P.K. Abdul Ghafour of Arab News. In the second incident, which occurred in the Zahra district, the Indonesian maid used a television lead to abseil from her sponsor’s third floor apartment.

“She stole gold and jewelry from the apartment before leaving by the window,” the paper said. The cable snapped when the woman reached the level of the second floor. She fell on a car parked near the building, sustaining serious injuries. Saudi Red Crescent Society volunteers took the maid to King Abdul Aziz Hospital. Police have opened an investigation into the two incidents. Runaway maids have become a frequent problem for Saudi employers. Some maids escape with their employer’s valuables.

The increase of cases in the past few years has variously been attributed to sexual harassment and beatings from the employers, long working hours without days-off, as well as the maids’ lack of Arabic or inability to operate various household gadgets, the report said.

Indonesians top the list of domestic staff in the Kingdom followed by Sri Lankans, Indians, Filipinos, Eritreans and Egyptians. According to an official report,3 , 382maids from Sri Lanka alone ran away from their sponsors last year. Most maids run away from their sponsors on Thursdays and Fridays, making it more difficult for their Saudi sponsors to inform the police.

The department for expatriate affairs gives five days to the sponsor to report absconding maids. “After five days they have to pay a fine,” a senior official at the department said.

40,000 applications for 80 jobs in Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH, 3 October 2003 — Some40 , 000applicants lined up for 80 job vacancies at the Ministry of Finance over the last five days. According to a report in Al-Watan newspaper yesterday, the application process for the level 2to 5 positions involved a written exam and an interview. Full Report

Al-Jazeera Buckles Under US Pressure

JEDDAH, 3October 2003 — Al-Jazeera bowed to pressure from the United States government last month by immediately pulling two cartoons deemed “inflammatory” by Washington from its websites, a senior source in the news organization has told Arab News FullReport