Maid Smugglers Make Hay

Smuggling of domestic workers across the Kingdom has become a lucrative business for unscrupulous parties.

A smuggler of domestic workers in Hail who goes by the name of “Akhu Sa’da” called a citizen whose domestic workers ran away last Friday to say that they were in Riyadh and the sponsor need no longer worry about them. He then hung up and refused to take any calls.

The smuggler had helped these two domestic workers to escape from Hail to Riyadh, a phenomenon which is worrying many residents in Hail.

Khodeer Al-Ramaly was surprised to find two of his household workers missing from his home early Friday morning, noting that they had not given any indication of their intention to run away. He said his family had treated them well and allowed them to connect with their families each week at the family’s expense.

He said there was a specific number they always used to call and which was repeatedly dialed in the days before their escape. After they went missing, he called that number, which turned out to be Akhu Sa’da’s. The man informed him that his workers had arrived in Riyadh.

Al-Ramaly said he will now have to pay SR32,000 in recruitment fees for another domestic worker.

The director of the office of household workers in Hail, Abdullah AlGhareer, said that his office receives up to 20 calls a day to report missing workers.

(Source: Hail: Arab News – Arab News)