Recruiting agents - The slave traders

 | by M. Zulkifli Nazim



( January 21, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Has anybody thought of the fact that whenever any female applies for a visa to travel to Mecca on a religious Pilgrimage, like Umrah, the Saudi Embassy insists on a male chaperon – a father, brother, husband or son, calling it the need of a “Mahram” in accordance with the law of their land and does not allow the issuance of a visa in the absence of this “Mahram”.

How is it that Housemaids, females, are allowed to travel without any “Mahram” and work in, totally unknown households?  Has anybody, Muslim or otherwise, contemplated on this? How did such intolerance and prejudice against women of these bigots suddenly became very accommodative?

Here comes the hypocrisy and the shameless deceit part, now.  The “Muftis” – Those who issue Fatwas or religious rulings - the court ulema, of the Saudi regime, to please their rulers and employers, have come out with a novel, super-hypocritical notion – an act of deliberate deceptiveness disguised as a religious solution.  Vis-à-vis – Buy the housemaids, like buying slaves.  The masters - owners of the slaves can treat them any way they please and even dictate these ‘slaves’ to succumb to the heard-hearted bidding and demands of the master.

How do they do it? Who can be better in collaborating with the Saudis other than the wily, guileful and cunning recruiting agents!.  They are instructed to “buy” the woman under the guise of paying a large pecuniary advance which is given to the recruited woman – “See how generous your employer is.  Even before you start your duties, you are being paid so that your family can utilize that money until you begin sending them the money for their sustenance,” say the crafty and wicked Recruiting Agents

These poor people look so happy and decide to dedicate their unstinted services to such an employer who has been generous to their needs.  What actually is happening in the background is an illegal transaction, where these unfortunate women are being “Purchased” as slaves and the Recruiting Agent the official Slave Trader aiding and abetting these monsters.  Nobody knows how much of that money given to “purchase the slave” goes into the stinking pockets of these demonic and devilish agents.

The housemaids do not know this – The government is totally unaware of this transaction and the general public too is totally oblivious of these diabolical plots against humanity.

We think it is time that the government steps in and issues a decree of absolute prohibition against all such transactions and recruitments and take steps and severely punish these crooks and criminals so that it serves as a deterrent to others even contemplating on it.  It is indeed heart rending to see and hear the terrible torment and sufferings of mothers and daughters of our beloved country.