Women sue Qatari for enslavement in US
This is for all of you who questioned yesterday how the UAE chap in the US who abused his maid has anything to do with Qatar. When it comes to this sort of behaviour its seems they are two branches from the same tree.
Women Claim Qatari Diplomat Enslaved Them
WASHINGTON (CN) - Four women "trafficked" to the United States say a Qatari diplomat subjected them to "slavery," working them "around the clock" as nannies and housekeepers and paying them as little as 55 cents an hour.
The women sued Qatari foreign official Essa Mohamed Al Mannai and his wife, Haya Alkubaisi, along with Mannai's Qatar-based mother and brother, who allegedly "arranged for fraudulent visas at the U.S. Embassy, made travel arrangements, and sent the women to the United States."
The federal allegations include human trafficking, assault and battery, fraud, false imprisonment, forced labor and conspiracy.
"The Qatari foreign official defendants forced the plaintiffs to work for illegally low pay in violation of U.S. law and compelled their work through mental and legal coercion, including humiliation and verbal abuse," the complaint states.
The women say they "worked around the clock without any days off, they were paid only $400 to $500 per month, or between .55 and .69 cents per hour."
Their stories of how they fell under Mannai's control describe a conspiracy that involved Mannai's mother and brother promising them money-making opportunities working for Mannai in his home in Vienna, Va.
Rest of the story: http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/03/30/35358.htm
Home......
Roost......
I just love secular Law :)
The most dangerous thing is that this will be dismissed publicly as one rogue man and his isolated attitude, "it's a one off! not everyone thinks like him!" when in fact it reflects the general approach to slavery, sorry, 'maids' in this country.
Good for these bloodsuckers. I wish the judge awards the maids a massive payout and makes it a reminder for those bloodsuckers think twice before they want to treat people as animals.
The guy must not have been aware that the sponsorship system does not exist out there and that he cannot get away out there by doing what he is used to doing back home like the guy from teh UAE
Again the same problem as the UAE guy, he just didn't realise that he is in USA and thought he can treat others the same way he does in Qatar.
Honest mistake, the guy didn't know that housekeepers are considered human outside Qatar.
Agree with gore1876 and others. This is public information and the article does not say they are guilty, only that these women have filed charges. Anyway the names of the embassy's diplomats are all listed on its webpage for all to see. Trying to stop discussion will only make it look like there is something to hide.
More important is shows that the master-servant relationship is a real problem in the Gulf mentality.
It's a cut-and-pasted story from a legit paper online. Can't control the internet, and when leaders do it just draws more attention to it and it backfires. Best thing for these people to do is pay off the maids on the condition that they drop the charges and agree never to talk about it. Makes the whole thing go away. That, and stop doing this sort of thing. Either get local maids at a higher cost or pay the ones you have at US rate. Americans don't take kindly to this sort of thing and tend to assume the maid is telling the truth over the employer. And the press will have a field day.
I agree, it is public record so i do not see how this will cause any issues, just because a few high powered family names were used.
She cut-and-pasted and article from a Washington newspaper, and I just checked the link--it is not censored by QL. According to the Qatari rules on the press, there is nothing wrong with making available an article that is a matter of public record. If you do a quick google search, you will see that it is showed up in a few other papers as well. That's the problem with a free press.
If someone has a problem with the story, they have the right to file a lawsuit against the newspaper for libel or countersue the women for defamation of character and slander.
The greater concern is that such an embarrassing story is circulating at all, as it does not reflect well on Qatar's public image at a time when the country is becoming increasingly part of the global discussion.
...and what about Al Kubaisi? Wont they mind?
I can sense trouble by posting this because MANNAI name is used