Remember when I wrote this post about traveling to Dubai and seeing all the housemaids on their way to Saudi Arabia? This article, titled Maid to Suffer, from Y-Oman magazine, describes in graphic detail the conditions that await some of those women. Good for the magazine for speaking out against this horrific abuse of women. (Not that the men that come over to work are treated much better, but they tend to be working in labor camps with other men and are not isolated).
From the article: With stricter conditions being imposed on bringing Filipino and Indian domestic helpers to work in Oman, the demand for cheaper workers from other countries has increased.
This is exactly what we were seeing that day at the airport. An influx of even cheaper labor. The 50 to 60 Omani Rial mentioned in the article comes out to $130 to $160 dollars/month. And that’s if the sponsor doesn’t deduct for providing housing (sometimes that is only a sleeping space on the floor in the kids’ room), water or electricity. By comparison, the American Embassy required that we pay a minimum of 120 or 130 OR/month, but I don’t know anyone who paid less than 150. Most women aren’t fortunate enough to get jobs like that.