Saudi To Be Rapped For Maid Torture
By Ranee Mohamed in Kamburupitiya
Kamburupitiya police recording a statement from the family
With the surgical removal of over 23 approximately 2 inch-sized nails from the body of newly returned housemaid from Saudi Arabia Lahanda Purage Ariyawathie Friday, investigations began here in Kamburupitiya with the OICKamburupitiya I.P. Abeysekera and his team of officers making the initial investigations.
As her helpless husband and children gathered around the police to give the details of her departure and her state during arrival, they admitted that were engaged in occupations involving hard labour and were unable to initiate any action in search of justice for Ariyawathie who underwent an overtwo hour surgery for removal of the force driven nails Friday.
However, Nimal Ranawake, Counsellor Employment and Welfare in the Sri Lankan Embassy, speaking to The Sunday Leader from Saudi Arabia said that the embassy is doing all they can for Ariyawathie.
“The Ramazan holidays have delayed the gathering of reports. But today, Saturday the Ambassador and I hope to inform the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all other related bodies of the details ofAriywathie’s case,’ he said
Ranawake went on to say that the Saudi ArabianEmployment Agency which was involved in the recruitment of Ariyawathie has also been informed and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Saudi Arabia has requested the name, place and all details of the sponsor of Ariyawathie.
It is learnt that the Saudi Arabian media which has given publicity to the media is alert about the follow up of the shocking case of Ariyawathie.
When The Sunday Leader contacted Foreign Employment Bureau Chairman Kingsley Ranawake to ask what action the Bureau has taken in this case, Ranawake said that they will leave not take this case lightly. “How can one expect or believe that such acts happen in this modern world. We have to raise a voice, we have to stop this kind of torture,” saidRanawake.
“The Foreign Employment Bureau has obtained Arabic translations of all newspaper articles which have been published during the past few days. We have also obtained clippings of news reports in the private channels and have dubbed them in Arabic using male and female voices. We will hand over all these reports and documents to the Ambassador for Saudi Arabia in Sri Lanka. Additionally, the police unit of the Foreign Employment Bureau has obtained a statement from Ariyawathie and the doctor and we are waiting for the medical report as this has to be done comprehensively.
We will send these documents to our Foreign Ministry which will present them to Saudi Arabian authorities through diplomatic channels,” said Chairman Kingsley Ranawake.
Kingsley Ranawake went on to say that the Association for Foreign Employment Agencies have launched a protest to spur the Saudi authorities to take action to ensure that such acts of cruelty are not repeated.
“We will do all we can, we cannot allow the reoccurrence of such acts. If we take firm action now and raise a voice then we will ensure justice for all housemaids,” said ChairmanRanawake.
The Sunday Leader learns that the Foreign Employment Bureau has also handed over the details of the case of Ariyawathie to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka and is awaiting his advise.
Meanwhile, Actor/Film/Director/Singer and Member of Parliament Ranjan Ramanayake who has always fought for the rights of the Sri Lankan housemaid said Saturday that there is nothing abnormal about Ariywathie’s case.
“The only fact that shocks me is that she came back. There are hundreds of housemaids who undergo unbearable torture but they don’t come back home to tell the tale. There are cases of them being kept imprisoned inside drainage pits, of having their body organs forcefully removed after being made to fingerprint documents in a different language,” saidRamanayake.
“This is nothing new to me. We must be happy that Ariyawathie came back home. I have seen bodies of housemaids brought to Sri Lankan, but nothing could be done because the bodies had not been kept inside a freezer.
Hence the degeneration has caused all the evidence too to degenerate,” said Ramanayake, who created a sensation by disguising himself as an official of the Red Cross to enter thesafehouses where over 500 housemaids remained imprisoned in Lebanon in 2000.
FEB must arange interviews with all available international TV Channels to telecast this barbarian act. At least in future some animal instict sick employees will think twice. I hope at some stage SL govt will stop exporting unskilled female labour to the Gulf. Saudi govt should appologise and SL must sue this employer or Saudi Arabia for a biilion or so for the welfare of this lady’s family. Its not enough to justify the agony that she is going thru but some relief or compansation.
Saudi is a barbaric country!!!
Mecca is supposed to in Saudi, and every Muslim is going there to get Haj, what for? Too bad that Saddam couldn’t reach there…
I doubt whether these embassy people will do anything. Embassy staff are so lame officers who can’t do some work like this, nor they have the drive to act upon challenges of this nature. This is where people like Maj.Gen.Shavendra should be sent to, he would do a really good job.
Ruwan I agree with you 100% the government should send capable Forces personnel ,civil servants who had proved themselves to fill these posts so that they work with passion and dedication to fulfill interests of Sri Lanka
Its Barbaria, as called by some journalists. Rules says eye or eye, neck for neck. what can lanka do ?
Hope Ariyawathhi get the justice and we should ban sending housemaids to Middle East immediately.As a alternative we can send skill trade immigrant workers to those countries.
It is a demand-supply thing. When they want house maids we can’t send carpenters or Geologists. But it is silly to send any woman to Saudi. A recent report placed Saudi at 130 out of 134 for gender parity. It is the only country in the world that prohibits women from driving.Women are not allowed to vote, how do we expect them to treat our women better? A country in 15th century.
Sri Lanka please wake up to this tragic story and give thanks for a life saved by our marvellous surgeons. We cannot send our Mothers away to torture. Our President will take action I am sure against this monster and the race that uses our humble workers earn their measly wages. The wheel will turn on them too.
Ranjan Ramanayake is exactly correct, I too have first hand experience in this subject, our embassy officials are also negligent, never monitor our distressed housemaids.
I suggest all the nails used on the housemaid should be collected and driven into the boss’s and his wife’s bodies. As a bonus one ‘parala ena’ for each of them, right on the very special place, I will not say where but it is understood.
Bet you these translated documents will go stright to gold plated dust bin, and our Ministers will do nothing about it- If they stop sending poor women to theses uncivilsed oil rich countries they can;t fly out frequetly with their families to spend the petro dollars that’s coming in to our country .
On the other hand these uneducated women will never understand – all you got to to do is to presnt a chq- for 50,000/= and photo with MR taken by Sugath Silva – all smiles and pain gone- Long live Sri lanaka
Do you expect a fair deal from the tribal, barabaric Saudi Government. They treat non Sudda expats as dirts.
If these buffoons are true to their barbaric laws, this poor lady should be allowed to slam 23 nails into her employer. Lets see how eye for an eye works. They might order blood money (another rich/poor divide)
No need for paltry compensation,get Rizana who is in saudi death row without a fair trial released on this pretext. the compensation can be met by SLFEB
Cant anybody understand the tone of FEB Chairman here, there is nothing he can do, he is just making these lame statement to keep the majority happy that he is doing something…. SHAME ON THESE OFFICIALS & THEIR FAMILY LIVING ON THE PUBLIC MONEY AND DOING NOTHING CONCRETE TO SOLVE ISSUES
There is no reason to discuss this matter again and again. Government should recall all housemaids from middle east and put a full stop to this matter. In overall there is less demand for Sri Lankan housemaids in middle east after 2000. Now middle eastern countries are more focusing on Bangladeshi and Indonesian housemaids.
She must have done something really bad. I know lots of maids get caught for eating food from the fridge -lamb, apple etc that they have never eaten before
Shut the hell up.. something really bad as eating from a fridge?? I bet you probably did the same to your wife and children!
Vinodhini,
Are you from this planet from a dofferent planet. People are taliking about a barberic act and you are a women and you are agreering with a such acts. May be you r not from Sri Lanka. Born to a Saudi
Eating is really bad huh!! Why do people even think from such perspective? If the Master provides proper food, and treat them as a human being, why should they eat from the fridge without their knowledge?
Do you know how the domestic workers are treated in the west! They are no different from the house owner! They are treated just like their family member!
This mentality of treating the domestic workers like slave still prevails in Sri Lanka.
Shan
In this case the housemaid at least is alive after the torture.
How about the two underage servants whose boddies were found in a drain at Bullers Road?
Don’t talk BS Bibile. Obviously are a muslim or an arab making a dumb statement to justify a band of inhuman, evil people. Sowhat if they eat something they never have before? taking some lamb from the fridge is not something that should make you behave like a jin. I trust you are one of them too even to make a statement like you have. pathetic human that you are.
Vinodhni – I wish you become a housemade one day and go through this pain.shame on you for been a women or even being a himan.women like ul should shot dead.im sure your not a mother or no u a wife…
Saudis are good people – so beautiful and rich and very educated. They got white skin, Like Gods, not like our maids who got dark skin
tell me you didnt’ write this.. a Sri lankan name was used but this comment came from no Sri lankan. No need to talk to you.. I already know how intelligent you’re.
SO NIMAL LEKAMGE WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY IS THAT YOU USED TO WORSHIP THEM ? POOR FOOL WORSHIPPING BABERIANS ARABS
Nimal – Saidis are the most UN EDUCATED / UNCIVILISED / EXTREMIST / BULLSHIT PEOPLE.TALK BIG ABOUT GOD BUT DNT HAVE A BRAIN AS MUSH A STRAY DOG IN THE STREETS OF COLOMBO
SRI LANKANS STOP TALKING GIBBERISH ! STOP YOUR POLITICIANS FROM EXPLOITING THESE POOR HAPLESS SOLES BY SENDING THEM TO THESE BARBARIC COUNTRIES AS SLAVES, TO WORK FOR THESE GHOULISH HEAD-TO-TOE COVERED STONE AGE PEOPLE ! INDIA, PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH AND A FEW OTHER COUNTRIES THOUGH POOR DON’T ALLOW THIS ABUSE OF THE POOR. YOUR POLITICIANS AND CORRUPT OFFICIALS ARE MAKING MERRY AT THE EXPENSE OF THE POOR. YOUR EMBASSIES AND THE AMBASSADORS ARE WELL KNOWN TO BE LESS THAN HONORABLE. THEY SACRIFICE THEIR OWN AND PLAY WITH THE DEVIL. CHECK THE STATISTICS OF WORKERS WHO DIE IN THESE COUNTRIES ANNUALLY, THE FIGURES ARE MIND BLOWING AND WHAT DOES THE AUTHORITIES DO ABOUT IT ? SEND MORE TO THE GALLOWS ! SHAME ON YOU PEOPLE.
Nothing well happen to the Saudi…………..they never punish their own
Hello Sri Lanka, you guys surely live on the poor of your country and try to convince the world about virtue and spirituality. Shame on you !
I fully agree with Mellow. Stop sending your poor as slaves. Those who are eventually paid are given very small pay packets (what a saudi idiot would pay for his ice cream). Why not try and send your trained, skilled work force such as Doctors, Surveyors, Pilots and the like who can bring is vast amounts of foreign currency to the country ? Let your women stay at home and look after the next generation who are presently growing wild. Just think about it but act fast.
Sorry my friend this is the Open Economy we invented, how can we kill our highest Forex earner?
What do you expect of Saudi Arabian barbarians who live by 13th Century rules and export terror worldwide?
There are lot of people earn from Saudi Arabia. This is totally weakness of diplomats.They never look our welfares.Only collecting money. All workers go to red cross for there problems. They have to follow the philiphines embassy.
It is the responsibility of the Government to take the necessary action to prevent any more torture of Sri Lankan maids. The absence of a passport and an insurance cover providing a return ticket resulted in the maid being unable to leave the employer. If in addition there are any other restrictions, they should be removed before allowing the entry of house maids.
In 2001, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation offered an Insurance Cover for housemaids, where a copy of the passport and the insurance policy was available in their website. Arrangements were made with Sri Lankan Airlines to access this information when the maid indicates her name and date of birth. The Policy gave the officer in charge of the Airline desk the authority to issue a ticket to Sri Lanka with a temporary travel document provided by the authorities. This offer was rejected by SLBFE as they considered it time consuming. The programme may be still available at SLIC.
I hope this comment will help the relevant authorities to re-consider providing adequate insurance cover, to minimise our citizens being tortured in the Middle East. It is our National Social Responsibility.
according to Saudi Law the employer can do anything to the foreign employee – can even kill
As a Saudi Citizen I say sorry to Ariyawathi
Thanks for your concern. But sorry isn’t good enough.. see if you can convince your government to say sorry to that lady and to punish those sinners.
Saudi Arabia is a very rich country and people do not need to go to school. We have large deposits of oil, with which we can control every TomDick and Harry. Everyone who comes to this country is a slave, whether they are white, black or colourless. Who gives a toss about Sri Lanka? They send the largest number of slaves to our country, we will do anything with them; because we own them. In return we send them 50 bags of useless dates.
We know how much power the Sri Lankans have despite the fact they attempted to invade the UN office, or destroyed the LTTE or the JVP or Dengue. We have our paid contractors aka our boss aka USA in case anyone tries to be funny.
Sri Lankans just shut up, get lost and go to hell. The best thing you can do is come to work as our slaves; we have a surprise for you. My daddy bought a nail gun we can try on you.
You must be a psychopath. Please go and see a head doctor.
Breaking News: Prageeth Ekneligoda has been found hdiding in Demodara Uva Province this morning
No need for paltry compensation get Rizana who is in death row without a fair trial release on this pretext .the compensation can be met by SLFEB
SAME ON U SRILANKA PEOPEL,WHERE IS YOUR SELF RESEPCT,HONOUR,DIGNETY,WHY U SEND YOUR WOMAN OUT SIDE TO WORK ,LIKE THIS,WHAT SI ROGN WITH U PEOPEL,WHERE ARE YOUR MEN,U EDIOTS.
You are an arab idiot because you sure write like one, you uneducated 13th century scumbag. go get a life.
There is nothing wrong if people work for foreigners .Even house maids job also a respectable job.problem is sending these people to stone age criminal countries with a government who deosn’t respect foreigners human rights.
dear all,
i felt really bad when i heard the story ..
i’m also shocked from some racist comments regarding saudis and arabs.
be fair .. you only heard one voice .. wait for the official Saudi and Srilankan authorities reports about this incident.
Why is it that anyone that accuses Saudi’s of any wrongdoing he/she are automatically assumed to be true and/or correct? This story is bizarrely abnormal in the number of nails hammered in her body-which L.G. Ariyahathi only complained about after returning home (>1500 miles away
Why didn’t this woman run away from her “punishers” in Saudi Arabia?
Why didn’t this women present to the Saudi police forces who would have definitely arrested her offenders?
Why did she not go to any ER in Saudi Arabia with her complaints?-she would have definitely been treated and her case would have been referred to the proper authorities
Why did she not present to or call the Sri Lankanian Embassy/Consulate in Saudi Arabia with her complaints? They would have protected her from her alleged “abusers” and would have ensured her return to Sri Lanka.
How could she have passed airport metal detectors without raising any alarms?
I am suspicious that this is a case of self-inflicted mutilation.
Mr. Ruwan F comment was in favour of major general shavendra silva cannot be accepted. you should not think that there is no career diplomats in his calibre. There are career diplomats who are capable to handle such cases. ie. Ambassador Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam, Ambassador Maharoof, Ambassador Ansar Ambassador Sadiq. They had been posted to other countries where no srilankan workers or domestic workers. these officers or similar calibre should be posted to middle eastern countries in order to take care of them and related issues. by this comment i did not down grade major general shavendra silva, He may be better them all that we cannot say without seeing his performances in the diplomatic field. Hope for the best and wish major general all the best and every success
How about sending the OIC and his team of Officers,and of course the entourage, to Saudi to complete the investigation and do the needful to this ‘Barbaric’ couple. Afterall this is not a big deal for the Srilankan Police force, considering the recent past achievements like disappearences, shooting dead the suspect, trying to escape,trying to lead to the weapon cache, trying to grab the officers weapon, trying to attack the officers while dangerously swimming in the Wellawatta sea. On the way back they could be allowed to do some shopping in Dubai in appreciation of the services to the Srilankan ‘Patriotic’ politicians. I AM SORRY ARIYAWATHIE! I AM NOT TRYING TO DEMEAN THE SUFFERING YOU HAVE UNDERGONE BUT I AM TRYING TO SAY THAT NOTHING WILL HAPPEN AT THE END. SO I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST TO GET SOME LEGAL ADVICE FROM A GOOD SOURCE AND PROCEED ON YOUR OWN. FOR THIS YOU CAN DEMAND MONEY FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL FUND. AFTERALL IT IS YOUR MONEY AND PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO HAVE EARNED AND MAKE UP SUCH FUNDS,UNDERGOING IMMENSE SUFFERING AND DIFFICULTIES. THE SRILANKAN EMBASSY IS SO CORRUPT AND INEFFICIENT THEY MIGHT EVEN SABOTEGE ANYTHING COMING IN THE WAY OF THE INTERESTS OF THE SAUDIS. I AM SURE ABOUT THAT.
No sensible person would believe that somebody inserted a nail into your body and you left it inside without removing, even under extreme pain. Then the culprit deported you with the evidence inside the body. Nosense. Something wrong with the maid. Investigate properly before insulting a community which provided employments to millions of people. I know that my comment will not be tolerated by most of you and that you will use abusive language against me too, but allegations should be proved beyond reasonable doubts.
If you read past articles on this subject ( obviously you have not) you would note that the metal detector at Katunayake had detected the nails without avail as there was no visible evidence. She wanted to get home because of the fear of being sent back etc., before she complained. You are a moslem and you use a Tamil name, tch, tch..by the way worse thigs are done in to our maids in this barbaric country and its evil people, unfortunately they do not live to ‘tell the tale’; this lady was smart enough go hold on and bring this to light. Most muslims the world over are in denial of many relative things and you are just the net one. ‘Peace be upon you’
selvarajah i never knew there was internet at ANGODA! fool!
There must be. Please ask your doctor or a fellow inmate.
There are maids and other workers from many countries going to Saudi Arabia and these sort of barbaric treatments only happen to us Sri Lankans. The reason has got to do with our politicians. They care only about the remittances these people bring in and nothing about their welfare.
Please thik from the employers’ side also.They spend lots of money to get the maids, then pay somewher around rs 15K per month, after food. If the maid does not fullfill their satisfacition what should they do after spending so much money. I don’t know about Ariyawathi but it is a fact that maids have got caught eating from the employers’ fridge. Lots of employers now put padlocks to the fridges. One maid’s finger was removed for eating from an Australian cheese cube. Sri Lankan maids love eating lamb, chocolate (Australian) they simply drink fresh milk. The Madam of one house (these are the most beautiful women of the world – I agree with Nimal Lekamge totally) was very angry and burned the maid
Iranians are beautiful ,Jordinians are beautiful,leboneese are beautiful
but Sudiarabians? among the most beutiful women in the world are you nuts?
In Sri Lanka if we catch servants stealing from the fridge, we may sack them. We dont torture them like the Saudi camel jockeys. What has the madam’s beauty got to do with all this ? Dont they cover their faces ?
Yes, they cover their faces but underneath they were very sexy hot lingeries.
So you justify removing a finger of a human for a small wrong doing.Cutting part of a salary is Ok.But removing a finger??
I’d rather be an “ugly” Sri Lankan who at worst fires her maid instead of being a “beautiful” Arab woman (if you can call such harpies beautiful) who tortures her maid. Please don’t insult beautiful women who give as much as they have been given by comparing to them to these sub-level creatures. (And no, I’m not refering to all Arab women… I’m sure many of whom are compassionate human beings and should not be tarred with the same brush)
Dear Mr. Jayawickrema, bodies of two Tamil estate girls (servents of Sinhalese masters) were found in a canal in Colombo 7 last year. Another girl was murdered by a Muslim couple in Colombo this year. Why didn’t you label yourself as a barberic society?. Huh, only for others ah?
why not blame the parents blame the parents who sold these children in the first place? why just blame their master
Vinodhini, theft is one thing, treating a human bieng in this way, and torturing is another thing. Soudis are not abow the international law. We should act along with international community. I dont know, you may know the situation better than us.But there is no way anybody can harm or torture a individual. Salvarajas point also something to think.
Bibile…….come to your senses theft of any nature is no excuse for torture ! Use your brain to think rationally, NOT YOUR BACKSIDE !
This treatment meted out by her employers to Mrs. Ariyawathi is cruel and perpetrators of this heinous crime should be punished. The government should bring back all the maids and should not allow any body to go to Saudia Arabia to work under such barbaric conditions. Typically Islam is misinterpreted when condoning these brutal acts as “allowed acts” since it is done to “infidels”.
Jack,
I welcome your comment on the punishment to the perpetrators of the crime, but I disagree that Islam is indifferent to the non muslims (infidels). I am sure you inherited this thoughts from the anti-islam western ideologists and wrote it unchecked. It is my duty to give you the reality
If you read quran
4;135 O you who believe! be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness of Allah’s sake, though it may be against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives; if he be rich or poor, Allah is nearer to them both in compassion; therefore do not follow (your) low desires, lest you deviate; and if you swerve or turn aside, then surely Allah is aware of what you do.
and also 5;42 Listeners for the sake of falsehood! Greedy for illicit gain! If then they have recourse unto thee (Muhammad) judge between them or disclaim jurisdiction. If thou disclaimest jurisdiction, then they cannot harm thee at all. But if thou judgest, judge between them with equity. Lo! Allah loveth the equitable.
these verses and many other traditions of Prophet are sure evidence of the justice to the non-muslims and muslims alike.
The injustice by the Saudi individual or govt for that matter to the expatriate is the arrogance and ignorance of them, it is not definitely Islamic practice. Please, study the quran and authentic Hadith If you like to know the Islam not otherwise.
Jack,
I welcome your comment on the punishment to the perpetrators of the crime, but I disagree that Islam is indifferent to the non muslims (infidels). I am sure you inherited this thoughts from the anti-islam western ideologists and wrote it unchecked. It is my duty to give you the reality
If you read quran
4;135 O you who believe! be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness of Allah’s sake, though it may be against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives; if he be rich or poor, Allah is nearer to them both in compassion; therefore do not follow (your) low desires, lest you deviate; and if you swerve or turn aside, then surely Allah is aware of what you do.
many other verses 4;8, and 4;42 and also Prophets traditions am sure evidence of the justice to the non-muslims and muslims alike.
The injustice by the Saudi individual or govt for that matter to the expatriate is the arrogance and ignorance of them, it is not definitely Islamic practice. Please, study the quran and authentic Hadith If you like to k
I welcome your comment on the punishment to the perpetrators of the crime, but I disagree that Islam is indifferent to the non muslims (infidels). I am sure you inherited this thoughts from the anti-islam western ideologists and wrote it unchecked. It is my duty to give you the reality
If you read quran
sura nisa verse hundred and thirty five O you who believe! be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness of Allah’s sake, though it may be against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives; if he be rich or poor, Allah is nearer to them both in compassion; therefore do not follow (your) low desires, lest you deviate; and if you swerve or turn aside, then surely Allah is aware of what you do.
Muslims and non-muslims are treated alike.
Where is the FEB. why dont they act in the same manner they bully the house maids at the Airport they even rob them of the few bits of jewalry they have to collect the FEB money, FEB Can start now & show all, and pay the Insurance money that they took from her saying insurance and give back her ticket money.Now pay up FEB show us your jenuin and not robbing the peopel. Or with this claim the chaiman might build s new house for him self.
Jack, you don’t know what you are talking about. Today’s world is built on rupees and cents or $. Saudis are human too, they must look after their budget. Saudi laws protect the employer, employer is allowed to do anything to the maid. Sri Lanka can’t do anything to Saudi, they got the money. Furthmore govt is sending the country’s women as slaves, you blame the SL Government, for that not my Government. We give you guys so much foreign currency and oil. Please have gratitude to that, you beggars. Putting nails did not do any harm to her- a mere small punishment. I don’t know what Ari did, go and ask her in Matara. Don’t blame Saudis for nothing. Our women are beautiful. I am beautiful. My real name is Imtha, yes I cover myself
If it is true what “Imtha” claimes, then she have a very big problem; she thinks that beauty is the most important thing. What importance does it have if you cover yourself and nobody can see you? Or do you belong to those sick people called narcicists, who fall in love with themselves?
Personally, I value a good woman with a good hart and a mind generous for others as the highest.
Women like you, who admire their own looks but have a heart cold as ice and no feelings of generosity, sympathy for others or even human kindness just turn me sooo of. Would not have you by my side even if there where no other women on earth. Such a low creature…
Vinodini is a diasapora a55 trying to become smart a55.
ok… so why don’t you have twenty four nails inserted into your body and then you can come and tell us that it’s a small thing..
If I remember correctly, aren’t muslims supposed to treat even slaves with mercy and compassion? where was the mercy and compassion shown to this woman?
And quite frankly my dear covering youself doesn’t make you a devout muslim, if one is to judge from your heartless comments… makes me glad that I would never have to personally associate with heartless scum like you
Imtha,
Will you marry me? Do you wear thongs or g-strings? Please let me know. By the way, I am not a muslim (infidel).
Unfortunately, nothing will be done. their will be a lot of noise..eventually we will bow down. Our diplomats are a bunch of crooks like the rest of the leaders in Sri Lanka. Poor women like Ariyawathie will suffer. I also wonder why send women to Saudi Arabia? I think we should stop this nonsense.
See, cat jumped out from the bag.Imtha or who ever writing comments by hiding inside the embassy or somewhere , you must remember onething bieng a poor or ritch are very temperarly factors in life.But you cannot escape the sins that you people have done in the past,present and future.There are so many examples from the world.US and Europe exploting you as a brainless animals.Oil is going diminish very soon.After that you can see who the begers are? Dont talk and trying to justifying your some of your peoples animal behaviour cannot be tolerated anymore!
Dear All,
Please, note that I have been using Sri Lanka house maids for more than 10 years in my house hold. I never thought that someone could or even think of treating a human being like this. My house maids who used, and still working in my house are like family members. I am uphold of the nature of treatment that happened to this lady and wonder why she did not complain to any one starting from costumes to airport personnel or even the agency. She could have stopped doing her duty and the worst thing that can happen is to send her back or transfer her to another employer. Rest assured that this will not go quietly in my country and my government will work on full investigate this issue and the culpable will be brought to justice
The government or the people of Sri Lanka have no right to prevent a woman from taking up a housemaid job abroad. It is her fundemental right. Only thing they could do is to regulate the industry. Prohibitive punishment and adverse publicity should have been given to the agents involved in exploiting the women. What action had been taken against the agent who sent over-aged Ari using forged docs? Even Rizana was sent using forged docs. Does anybody know at least the names of those culprits? They do all these to cheat Saudis and when there is a backfire, blame the entire community. Inhuman treatment of workers should not be accepted at any cost. But the root cause should be addressed to. The employer who wanted to hire an experienced housemaid for two years finally received a sick old Ari who wanted to return in five months. The pictures of the corroded nails, their alignment and the places where they were inserted suggest that she had inserted them by herself using her hands, much before leaving to Saudi Arabia. But I am aware that the forensic doctors and the investigators would put more light on this issue. My question is why all the nails are inserted in places which could be easily reached by her hands? And why did she remove only those from the foot? Why the employer did not insert any nail in places which cannot be reached by her hand, like backside?
Although debatable you have come up with a very good point Mr Selvarajah. Perhaps Ariyawathie arranged a doctor to do so before she left? My question is how did she managed to go come through metal detectors at the airport with nails inserted.
What the experts/doctors report say with corroded nails in her body? what about infections/tetanus etc.
If she wants to put her employer in trouble why 24??10 will do the job.Dont talk nonsense.
I agree with you most of your comments on root cause. but inserting a nail by herself and inserted before her departure? unbelievable. but there is another serious question how she escaped the metal detector in Saudi airport?
Self-Mutilation or self-hurting is a condition of mental disorder which includes injection of foreign objects. She should be subjected to a psychiatric test and I am happy that the hospital is arranging it. I am not protecting the employer, but wish to reiterate that the allegations should be proved beyond reasonable doubts. And I am sure the employer is going to deny the allegation totally, so a comprehensive charge sheet should be prepared without any loop hole for escaping of the culprit, if the allegation is true. My doubts originated from the facts that a) she said the employer and wife heated the nails and inserted which should have caused burn injuries and would not heal the way it looks now, b) her initial complaint was body pain and not employer’s abuse. If so she could have reported it to the female welfare officers of the FEB at the airport itself, or to her family members or van driver just outside the airport. Why only in Kamburupitiya?
Regarding the metal detectors, those who often travel know that the females are checked seperately by female officers who do a good body check but do not concentrate on embeded metals unless there is a suspision. These nails could easily pass checks along with gold earings etc. at any airport. Usually housemaids’ departures are smooth as they are not considered a danger group.
My heart goes out to this lady. No one should be tortured in the 21st century. I hope she will get justice and compensation. Soon or later God’s justice will fall upon those people who treated her cruelly and tortured this hapless woman. At the same time as a Tamil, I can’t forget those Tamil women who are being subject to torture in the hands of the Sinhalese and still languishing in Sri Lankan camps and jails without access to lawyers, red cross officials or even to their family members.
Agreed.
tamil women raped by LTTE . there gold jewellery was found with fleeing LTTE top commanders wives by Navy. read the interviews given by tamil refuggee women themselves. yes the truth hurts!
What happened to the jewellery recovered by the Navy?
Sri Lanka relies too heavily on the foreighn currency remitted by its middleeastern workers/slaves. This has to stop. But it cannot be done overnight. Our economy will tank and the people who seek this type of employment do so because they too want to earn a better living for their families. We have to blame our politicians and hold them accountable for generating employment within the our country. For example I have seen posts justifying the use of Chinese labour on Sri Lankan projects when the locals are denied employment. If projects need funding then get the money from a country that does not impose this type of restriction.
Also, the only weapon Sri Lanka has in this case is publicity. Shame the Saudis as much as possible. They sure are an arrogant lot as you can see from the post by Imtha. I am was happy to see this case being reported in the Australian press. I am sure is has been reported in other counrtries as well.
Strengthen our embassy with some poeple with a backbone who are trained to deal with these situations. There also seems to be an insinuation by some of the posters that since the metal detectors did not pick up the nails the this is somehow slef inflicted Shame on you and your absurd ideas. Who are you trying to defend muslim bortherehood? What a joke and a shame for Islam.
FEB- CAN YOU PLEASE DISCLOSE THE VALUE OF CHQ- GIVEN AS INSURANCE COMPENSATION.
total 3.5 laks..
self sufficiency is the only solution…
This incident has drawn a large number of comments proving it is really the barbaric act of heartless people. One cannot imaging how and in what state of mind so many nails could be driven into the body of this poor lady repeatedly. Our hearts are bleeding. But for sure the Foreign Employment Bureau (Ranawaka), the Foreign Ministry (lunatic professori GL) and the SL government at large would just bark for the moment and subside for they cannot loose the earnings of the housemaids.
Let us try to give a worldwide publicity via, Youtube, Facebooka nd other social network with the X-ray pictures.
In Saudi Arabia, its the “Murphy’s Law” – or worse, its the law of the jungle. Any foreigner accused of any offense is considered “Guilty until proven innocent – if he is lucky”! A Saudi national is never Guilty. If a foreign national is even anywhere near a Saudi who commits an offense, then the Foreigner was the cause of the offense. For example, if a foreigner is riding a Taxi (driven by a Saudi driver) and the Taxi meets with an accident, the Foreigner is guilty of the offense because according to the Saudi Police, if the Foreigner had not hired the taxi for that ride, the accident may not have occurred. All other countries must treat any visiting Saudi the same way.
Wait two decades till the oil gets dried up in Saudi Barbarian sands.
I’m sure mullahs will rot in hell.
This lady came through security at the Saudi Arabian airport – the metal detectors would have sounded at the airport itself. What did the airport authorities do?
Perhaps would have been influenced to ignore this. When we are a nation of beggars sending our ladies to find bread money we have to finally accept this treatment .It will never happen in the west and it happened the masters will be paying for it even before the victim got back home
These types of abuses are nothing new. The question is what recourse are there for these crimes against humanity. Yes Ramadan is a holy month, more the reason to find the culprits of this heinous incident and bring them to justice. Its nauseating that they are using mention of Ramadan to delay finding the culprits and bringing them to justice.
Visit Sri Lanka and see the children in the orphanages which resulted from the rapes of Sri Lankan maids.
These people will incur God’s wrath. Karma has a way of catching up with evildoers.
I’m waiting to see what comes of this. I won’t be surprised if as in usual Saudi style,. money makes the problem go away.
It is an overwhelming sadness that our poor women leave Sri Lanka to seek betterment and find themselves abused and tortured. Better to live in poverty in beautiful Sri Lanka, then amongst such animals.
One day the oil will dry up as will their ability to skirt injustice. Remember the saying from the Quran, “stand out for justice, even as against yourselves..” The Saudi’s would do well to read from the book that they claim to honor, and bring these monsters to justice.
Contempt before investigation. We suffer from this disorder. We Sri Lankans are given to much emotional upheaval. Having read the comments, as a nation we rise up at the first hint of injustice. But what do we do about it? As a travelled man for many years, I say with knowldege, . the storm that we Sri Lankans create among ourselves serves no pupose. The only other country, Saudis employ women ias maids is from Philippines. They are almost never treated as badly as our poor and ignorant ladies. The reason is simple. Philippine Government is strong enough to lay down their caveats before anybody is sent. Besides, most philipina women speak english and are used to western culture. Our ladies are naive. The SL govenment is not strong enough to lay down the law before these poor maids are sent abroud. Because the $ they remin far outweighs few emothional feelings expressed the Sri Lankans in the heat of the argument. If there is a God, please let him bless our poor people.( I dought it though)
Sri Lanka is a naturally rich country. Why its people should suffer in deserts? Karma, if you believe. The sufferings of the Indian estate workers under the hands of Sri Lankans are being responded by the God. Sixty years before, the Saudis were international poors. After a few decades, they too would pay the price for exploiting foreigners. HRW reports abuse of all workers irrespective of nationality. Perhaps, UNP and Ranjan Ramanayake could focus on local agents and sub-agents than trying to correct Saudis. Quality workers have minimal chances of exploitation.
In this particular case, I have doubts on Ari’s claim.