'I have been to Saudi slave hell and back'

After returning to Mumbai, 42-yr-old recalls how her inhuman employer denied her food & medical treatment
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In its July 5 edition, MiD DAY had carried a report on beautician Ishwariben Hargun's (42) misadventures on foreign soil, after she was duped by a recruitment agency and forced to work as a domestic helper for an Arabian national.


Ishwariben Hargun managed to come home after
MiD DAY published a report on her plight

She had embarked for Saudi Arabia hoping to earn big money as a beautician, but her dreams swiftly turned into a prolonged nightmare, when her Arab employer Musa Ali Al Sayari, alias Ali Baba, not only forced her to do menial work, but also denied her all access to the outside world, including her family, and refused food and medical treatment.

She was finally allowed to break out of her nightmare into happy reality last Wednesday. The publication of the story appears to have put immense pressure on Saudi consulate, which in turn ensured that Ali Baba released his slave.

Early last Wednesday, Ishwariben set foot on Indian soil. Her Air India flight touched down in the early hours, sending a collective sigh of relief through her apprehensive friends and relatives.

After a joyous reunion, she narrated experiences from her nightmarish sojourn on foreign shores, shuddering as she recounted how she had contemplated suicide, after being subjected to inhuman treatment, and forced to work at a stretch for 15 to 18 hours every day.

Speaking exclusively with MiD DAY, she said, "Returning home would have been impossible, had it not been for MiD DAY's intervention.
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I am grateful to the newspaper for their assistance, which put my kafil Ali Baba under pressure, and he agreed to release me," said an emotional Iswariben, holding back her tears.

"I was earning more than s 40,000 every month, running my own beauty parlour in Gujarat, but the desire to earn more money and make luxuries available to my family compelled me to look for a job in Dubai.
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I never dreamt that two months later, I would return penniless, having been denied even the salary that was owed to me for my unending labour," she lamented.

Recounting her harrowing experiences, she said, "I went to Mumbai in the last week of April, as I had been asked to undergo a medical test for a beautician's position in Dubai. I was carrying only two sets of clothing, as I had planned to return to Gujarat after the formalities were completed.
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At this point, my Byculla agent changed plans, asking me to go to Saudi Arabia instead of Dubai, and ordering me to leave immediately.

I was promised that the sponsors would take care of all the logistics, including accommodation, food. They even offered me a handsome salary, in addition to which I would be allowed to receive tips.
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The agent made me sign some papers, while I was being taken to the Mumbai international airport in their car. I was accompanied by two other women, but was not allowed to speak to them."

She continued, "All three of us boarded the flight. When it touched down at Riyadh, one of them disembarked, and I was asked to continue my journey to Jeddah. I had been instructed not to exchange words with the third woman.

At the airport in Jeddah, I was introduced to an acquaintance of the agent, who whisked me away to a car, and drove me to Al-Baha, 500 km from Jeddah.
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Once we reached, I was taken to a sprawling three-floor bungalow located on a hilltop, situated far away from the residential hub, and introduced to my kafil Ali Baba. This is where my misery started."

Days of drudgery
She continued, "His wife Aziza, and their five children would stay there along with their Lebanon national maid Elicy (29). At first I thought that the parlour was situated inside the bungalow.
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But the moment I entered the house, I was handed a vacuum cleaner and asked curtly to clean up. I was made to clean all 16 rooms in the bungalow. I immediately realised my situation, and my dreams were shattered," she said.

"Ravenous after all the chores, I asked for food, but was given stale, putrid rice with water," she said.

She added, "Every day, I would clean the carpet with shampoo, wash piles of utensils, and three drums full of dirty clothes. I was not allowed to bathe or brush. My day of drudgery would start at 7 am and end at midnight every day."

"Aziza, my mistress, would hurl abuses in Arabic, the minute she saw me resting. Apart from my taxing routine, I was made to baby-sit their nine month and four-year-old kids, dust the entire bungalow, and iron the wash clothes every evening," she added.
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"Leave alone venturing out, I was not even allowed to peep outside the window. I could not contact my family, as I was barred from using their phones."


Ishwariben Hargun arrives at Sahar airport

Escape
She continued, "I was always on the lookout for an opportunity to escape, but could never succeed. I learnt that Ali Baba was in the construction business, and had an Indian driver Balbeer Singh. Singh commiserated with my situation, and even promised to arrange for an air ticket for me, back to India.

He also allowed me to use his phone to call my relatives back home and inform them about my plight. My employer had threatened to keep me as his slave for two years. But thanks to the untiring efforts of my relatives in Mumbai, I managed to return. I have been to hell and back."

"Ali Baba would ask my family members to send air tickets, and they would, but each time he would defer my departure, and ask them to reschedule it. Once MiD DAY published the report on my predicament, the Saudi consulate put pressure on Ali Baba, after which I was finally allowed to return."

Ishwariben signed off, saying, "I won't go abroad ever again.u00a0 I will continue running my beauty parlour and support my family financially, to the best of my ability here."

Look before you leap
1) Before signing any contract in another language, read a translation.
2) Check the authenticity of the agent you are approaching.
3) Check with the consulate to ensure that the company that is hiring you is legit.
4) Do not sign any documents without reading them. Refuse if it is not clearly written.
5) Ask yourself if you will be getting back the money you pay the agents. Once you are bound by contract, you will have to cough up a huge amount to break it.

A hard day's life
7 am: Day begins, without brushing bathing or tea.
7 am to 12pm: Chores begin. 16 rooms to be cleaned.
12 pm to 12.15 pm: Breakfast with a single roti, and a sponge bath, sans water, soap and shampoo.
12.15 pm to 3 pm: Dusting and cleaning of windowpanes all over the bungalow; washing three drums of clothes and drying them.
3 pm to 4 pm: Baby sitting children, and giving them baths.
4 pm: A small break for lunch, comprising stale rice and water.
5 pm: Washing utensils, cleaning kitchen.
6.30 pm: Ali Baba returns with dry fruits and other edibles. Ishwariben serves family snack.
7.30 pm: Cleaning utensils.
8.00 pm: Collecting dried clothes and ironing them. These included underwear and dusters for cleaning.
11.00 pm: Baby sitting and putting the kids to sleep.
Midnight: Washing utensils from dinner, and a spare dinner of leftovers.