Prince Mishal Bin Abdullah Saudi Gazette report NAJRAN – Emir of Najran Prince Mishal Bin Abdullah has warned against sending newly recruited housemaids stranded at the airport to the deportation center in the absence of shelter homes. In a letter sent to Minister of Social Affairs Yousef Al-Othaimeen, the Emir said such acts amount to punishment for the maids and also damage the reputation of the country. Prince Mishal's directive came amid reports that a number of newly recruited housemaids were stranded for a long time at the local airport due to failure of sponsors to come up to receive them. They were then taken to the deportation center because of the absence of any shelter homes to accommodate them. The emir noted that lack of shelter homes in the region is shameful and resulted in dishonoring those who come to the Kingdom to take up jobs. Prince Mishal has instructed the minister to take urgent steps to establish shelter homes in the region. “The ministry should entrust a charity society to establish shelter homes and to put an end to this problem ." Meanwhile, a charity society that was assigned the task said it has so far not received the financial allocation of SR1 million to build a shelter home for the purpose. It urged the ministry to expedite procedures to allocate the fund. According to reports, some 15-20 housemaids end up in the female cell of the deportation center every month because of sponsors' failure to receive them. These housemaids have had to stay with women who are awaiting deportation for violation of residency rules or other more serious crimes. Brig. Gen. Mufreh Al-Anezi, director of passports in Najran, said passport officials generally take those maids stranded at the airport to the deportation center. “We hand them over to their sponsors whenever they arrive. We are not keen to lock them up together with women who await deportation," Al-Anezi said, adding that preparations are under way to build shelter homes in the region. With as many as 1.5 million foreigners employed as domestic workers, Saudi Arabia represents one of the world's largest markets for such workers. The recent execution of a Sri Lankan housemaid convicted of killing a baby left in her care brought to spotlight the living conditions of hundreds of thousands of foreigners who come to the Kingdom to serve as drivers, maids and gardeners in Saudi households.
