Abdu Khal Okaz newspaper The tragedy that befell the family of Tala, the Yanbu girl who was murdered by the family's Indonesian housemaid, was horrific. A lot has been written about crimes committed by maids. Of course, this would be a closed issue were it not for society's stubbornness to get rid of foreign maids from Saudi households as we have become over-dependent on domestic help. With so many reports of crimes being committed by maids, it is time the concerned authorities take notice and make it mandatory for all domestic workers to undergo mental health tests before their departure for the Kingdom. There are several solutions that we may avail of. One of them is to create companies that provide domestic workers on an hourly basis. This would drastically decrease the amount of time maids spend with a family. Another solution is to hire needy Saudi women to work as maids. There is also a third solution, which proposes that expatriate women who were born in the Kingdom and are aware of Saudi culture, be hired to work as domestic workers. They should be granted citizenship or permanent residence in view of the fact that they were born and grew up among us. The death of Tala draws our attention to another issue – the need to have daycare centers at workplaces. This will help working mothers who will undoubtedly feel more comfortable having their children with them and in the hands of professionals. I conclude with prayers for Tala. May God give patience to her parents.
