From Kuwait with love – Horror tales

The ordeal for Sagaya Mary began when she decided to go to the Gulf to earn money to support the education of her two children and her husband’s medical expenses. She approached an agent, Yusuf, who took Rs 20,000 from her and put her on a flight to Kuwait from Mumbai on June 26 last year.

But, her hopes crashed as soon as she landed in Kuwait. Her Kuwaiti agent, Siraj, failed to turn up at the airport to pick her up. And since Sagaya Mary’s name was also missing from the computer list, she was detained by the airport officials on charges of illegal entry and jailed. Thenext day, however, Siraj met her in jail and got her released.

She was then taken to her employer’s house were she was to work as a house maid. The initial warmth at the house was soon replaced by cold hostility.

Sagaya Mary was made to slog for nearly 21 hours a day. She had to do the cooking, wash eight cars, had to churn 80 litres of milk, haul up 20 bags of charcoal and rice into the wagon (where they were sold in the market) – all for a salary of 40 dinars a month.

When she dithered, her head was banged against the wall. If the phone went dead or one of the electrical appliances failed, if the children quarrelled or when things got misplaced – Sagaya Mary was slapped, beaten and blamed for it. On one occasion, she was even cut by a sharp knife and hot oil was poured on her hands.

Finally, when the harassment got worst Sagaya Mary could bear it no longer and she retaliated. Her employer’s wife refused to pay her salary due for over four months. When Sagaya Mary insisted she be paid, the womanassaulted her. Sagaya Mary’s patience snapped. She twisted the woman’s arm and beat her up and at knife-point she made the house owner open one of the doors, and fled to safety.

She later took shelter at the Indian Embassy. At the same time, her husband in Bangalore handed over Mary’s letters written in Tamil to the AIR’s Spandana section. They contacted the then Minister of State for Home, R Roshan Baig, who in turn informed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), New Delhi.

But Baig by then lost the Home portfolio and the progress of Sagaya Mary’s rescue operations got slowed down.

The Spandana staff again alerted Police Commissioner L Revannasiddaiah who entrusted the case to the Crime Branch. But by then, the MEA directed the Indian Embassy at Kuwait which only improved Mary’s living conditions there.

Sagaya Mary met Seetha there, whose experiences at another house was no different. At the embassy too, their ordeal did not end. The police picked them up and jailed them for being in Kuwait withoutvalid passports. They were also imprisoned for three days. Finally, the Embassy cleared their journey to India, and they left Kuwait on April 6. Sagaya Mary told this paper that 400 women were lodged at the Indian Embassy under similar circumstances and awaiting rescuers.