Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Ras El Abed Part Two


Most newspapers here have an Escapees section in their Classifieds. Not prison escapees, but (and I'll try to use the same exact words they use) Servant Escapees. I find it ... , well I can't find a word to describe this. Here's for example the first ad in the picture above:
Egyptian worker John Doe Mohammad ran away from his workplace, we warn those who find him not to utilize him. Call: 01-683224 (Actual number listed, feel free to make them know how repulsive this ad is.)

Where to start? First, the Nationality part is exchangeable for Sudanese, Sri Lankan, or Filipino. Let's just call it Geographic discrimination. While you might be the legal sponsor for the person's visa, that doesn't mean you own him/her. You have the right to report him/her to the authorities, you do not have the right to persecute them wild west style.
"We warn those who find him not to utilize him." What the Fuck! Seriously, What the Fuck is that!
Thanks for the warning though, it is so considerate of you.

6 comments:

desmond said...

Jamal,
While I agree wholeheartedly with what you say, aren't the original sponsors legally liable for the worker's actions even if he leaves the workplace?
I may be wrong, in which case, what absolute bastards!!

Anonymous said...

ever wonder why they left the work place to begin with? working from 7 am until 10 pm 7 days a week for $70 or $100 dollars a month with all your human rights and dignity taken away, is that reason enough? thats no way to treat a fellow human being or to talk about one. they are absolute bastards if you are right or wrong about the liability issue.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to have to agree with euroarabe. I'm not sure where this newspaper is from but I imagine it's probably Saudi khara Arabia. I used to live there for 8 years and those bastards do treat their workers like garbage. Not only are you forced to work for your kafeel, but he would also hold on to your passport and you can't even change jobs unless under his permission, in which case you will change kafeel. It's seriously like your some coke can or a bag of shit they throw around. Islamic land my arse, these people are as Islamic as a Zionist pig.

Jamal said...

desmond- i'm not sure about the legal issues.

euro- yeah, at least those run away, there is a disturbingly high number of suicides among foreign workers in arab countries. Some conditions they have to face are deplorable.

abd- nope, this is from good old Lebanon. I know it is worse in Saudi. I've heard a lot of horror stories out of there.

Anonymous said...

Let's remember though that these people would be starving somewhere if it weren't for our need for their services. I'm not saying you can smack them around (or send them back to their "maktab" where the manager does that for you), but earning a $100/month in Lebanon is what some would make in a year in their homeland...if they found a job.

Plus, they have the perk of sending free letters as much as they want...I'm just kidding. Conditions are bad in some cases but that's the reality of it. I don't think it's right but we have much bigger fish to fry in our country.

Angry Anarchist said...

Some of those who escape (especially "maids") have very legitimate reasons...

I can't believe how racist people are...