Rahma

I am not big on shameless promotional plugs on this blog, but I am starting to like AdNation. A couple of days back, i stumbled on a story there about the Rahma (that's mercy in Arabic) campaign on MBC and a few saudi prints.

For those who are not into free2air TV, Rahma is public service ad campaign aimed at bringing under the spotlight the plight of many mistreated low-wage expatriate workers and domestic help in Saudi. MBC is airing the TVCs on its channels for free. The campaign is following a "in-your-face" and "shock-and-awe" theme.

To me, this was what really shocked me:

"I’m sure there are abuses," Turki al-Sudairy, president of the Saudi government-appointed Human Rights Commission, said, quoted in the CSM. “But a neutral person would think that all Saudis are doing this... We want a fair judgment... [The Human Rights Watch] never thought that there are cases where the girls are hurting their employers.”

Oh wait, but there is more ..

“many Saudis say that they, too, are victims, citing instances of maids running away to look for higher paying jobs after their employers had paid several hundred dollars to bring them to the kingdom”.

[insert nauseated emoticon here]

Check out the whole story on AdNation ME here...