An Indonesian housemaid, who alleged she was subjected to abuse and maltreatment, broke both her legs in an attempt to flee her employer's home. She was admitted to the Dammam Central Hospital by the police after she jumped from an open air-conditioner window. “Since I arrived here three weeks ago, I have suffered abuses from my sponsors. I was pushed to work for almost 24 hours without rest. I was forced to eat only leftover food. Whenever my employers went out, I was locked in my room. My lady employer would physically and verbally abuse me,” alleged Lilis Tasono. Tasono, 29, told Saudi Gazette she attempted to escape many times to seek the help of Saudi authorities, but was unable to do so because all doors in the house were locked. This time she succeeded in escaping when her lady sponsor was sleeping. She jumped from the opening of a bare AC window, breaking both her legs in the attempt. She said she crawled to a neighbor's house and requested that the police should be called. “The police rescued me and took me to the Dammam Central Hospital,” she said. “I just want to go home to Indonesia and be with my family.” Sukamto Javaladi, labor attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh, admitted that many Indonesian housemaids were not treated well by their employers. “About 83 percent of Indonesian housemaids complain of unpaid salaries, nine percent are subjected to sex abuse and physical maltreatment, and eight percent have other problems with their employers,” Javaladi told Saudi Gazette. Last week, an Indonesian housemaid, Jujunaiah Jasim, allegedly a victim of physical abuse, died at the Dammam Central Hospital. Hospital and police authorities who examined her said she was physically abused. There are over 625,000 Indonesian housemaids currently working in Saudi Arabia, of which 518,750 have unpaid salary claims from their employers, according to Javaladi. __
