The other side of the story

The other side of the story
By Mona Rahman
Deprived women, mostly of South Asian origins, who come to Saudi Arabia as Umrah pilgrims and later take to working illegally as housemaids or domestic helpers are often faced with boundless challenges, which are often shrouded by issues of their illegal status here and runaway stories that are heard more often in Ramadan when the demand of housemaids is at its peak.Nusrat Liaquat (name changed), a Pakistani woman who works as a housemaid in Taif, came to the Kingdom eight years ago on an Umrah visa and overstayed as an illegal after her visa expired. “I have worked in many households in Makkah, Jeddah, and am presently working in Taif. I often shift from one house to another because of a general dissatisfaction over various issues,” said Liaquat.She recalled her experience in an Arab household.“The Arab woman for whom I worked was the principal of a school in Jeddah and her husband was a manager in a company. Their villa had many rooms and toilets which I had to clean every day. Moreover, looking after their six children was a tough job. I used to get up daily at 4 in the morning and work till midnight. I left because I was over-worked, and this for a mere pittance. Moreover, they did not treat me well,” said Liaquat, who now works for an Indian family in Taif.According to reports, everyday 2,000 illegal domestic helpers are arrested by the police, and in a year, the ratio of illegal maids working in the Kingdom has increased by 40 percent.These maids also face problems of non-payment or delays in their payments, and are often forced to do laborious work for long hours, even during the weekends.They earn around SR1800 to SR2000 per month for eight to nine hours of work per day.“I worked for 18 months and was paid for only 12 months. I did not have the courage to ask for more money as they threatened to hand me over to the police charging me with some false allegations. The woman of the house even warned that she would throw acid on my face,” said Raziyah (name changed), an Indian maid working in Makkah.These maids or ‘masis’, as they are generally called in South Asian households, often suffer from severe health problems. Yet even when ill, they cannot be treated in hospitals and clinics as they lack a legal status.Recently, it was reported that an Indian housemaid in the Kingdom, Sehar Bano, died of T.B. “Bano had been ill for a long time, and despite that, she worked persistently. She couldn’t visit a doctor and lived in a shabby place with her husband and kids, all of who were illegals. Her dead body was unidentified and she was buried like that. Her husband ran away fearing the police and the kids were deported back to India,” said Naseem Khan, a Pakistani national in Jeddah for whom Bano worked.For many of these maids, life becomes a “hide and seek” game of sorts as they have to endlessly shift their residences and place of work in the fear of detention, and consequently, deportation.Ruksana, a young illegal Pakistani national, is one such maid.“My mother used to work for a female teacher. When she was sick, her teenage brother replaced her. However, he was soon arrested and deported because of which I had to take over the work,” she said, adding that the “small” houses they live in are little defense against the Jawazaat raids but they do manage to escape when the timings of the raid are known in advance.“Otherwise, the (illegal) male members are detained and are beaten up while the women are only imprisoned for a few days until the legal documents are processed and they are deported,” said Ruksana.She said that at times, the Jawazaat or the police demand a ransom of a minimum of SR2,000, on the payment of which they are “left free after a few days.”In Jeddah, the maids typically reside in districts, such as, Al-Aziziyah and Sharafiah. In Makkah, most maids live in Al-Nuzha district. In some cases, the building care-taker, commonly referred to as the “haaris”, provides the maid with a small room built on the terrace so that she is kept away from the police raids.Rani, an Indian maid, who is on her husband’s Iqama, illegally works as a housemaid.“Many times, our sponsor charges us a lot of money, as high as SR5,000, in order to renew our Iqamas. Even then, they keep delaying things and it is not easy to get the work done,” said Rani. – SG

Summer internships lure expat youth

Summer internships lure expat youth
By Mona Rahman

For many youngsters, summertime is about fun, enjoyment, get-togethers and hanging out with friends in the malls. But for two Bangladeshi students at the Bangladesh International School, Jeddah, Saud Mirajul Aziz and Mohaimen Mohammad Kaisar, it is an ideal time to have what they call “the experience of a lifetime” by working as interns and attaining technical know-how at a multinational company.“I joined the internship program to become familiar with a professional office work environment,” said Aziz, who recently completed I.G.C.S.E in Jeddah.“Before my exams, I planned to join a training center in order to learn technical skills. However, through internship, I have the opportunity to learn two things: the office environment as well as technical work,” he said.Teenagers in expat families across the Kingdom, who have not gone to their home countries or elsewhere for the holidays, laze around in the summers, glued to a couch watching a movie or surfing the Internet at home.Kaisar said that he planned to do something unusual this summer.“I did not want to sit at home for three whole months. I wanted to do something that is resourceful … and then this opportunity came up. It was quite unexpected,” said Kaisar.Many corporate houses are offering summer internships that are attracting students in significant numbers. Aziz and Kaisar have enrolled in a three-month internship program, which started in June and will end in September.“I joined the company on June 28 and plan to diligently work for three months,” said Kaisar.Internships are increasingly being sought by young professionals as a means to become acquainted with the work culture.Through internships, students gain experience in different fields, establish contacts that are vital for networking, and receive letters of recommendation from professionals in the field. The other advantage of internships is that students gain work experience without permanently committing themselves to a specific field. “I felt awkward the first few days of work, but then I began to feel more confident. Initially, I thought that office environments were boring. Gradually I learnt that office work is not so boring if you know what you are doing. The best part is I get a coffee break every two hours,” quipped Aziz.Kaisar said that he was initially nervous being in an environment that “has almost no resemblance to school life.”“However, working with knowledgeable and friendly people, it was very easy to adjust to the changes. It feels great to work in a professional, high class, and a peaceful environment, though I miss the noisy and fun-filled classrooms,” he said.Aziz and Kaisar are learning different IT-related operations along with basic work ethics.“I am learning how to give basic IT support to businesses along with advanced computing skills. It’s a big deal working with a top organization at such an early stage of my career,” said Kaisar.“I am confident that the skills that I am acquiring now will help me to adjust to any office environment, and, moreover, help me to choose my career path,” he added.Asked about the nature of his work, Aziz said: “I am working at the IT Department’s help desk. When anyone has a technical problem, they call me and I help them solve it. I have previously worked as the company’s IT Assets Inventory. So basically, I am the ‘IT guy’.” – SG

Housewives cook for money in Ramadan

Housewives cook for money in Ramadan
By Mona Rahman

JEDDAH – The month of Ramadan is a busy time for those women who prepare food at home for vending. These self-employed, professional cooks work hard to generate extra income for their families and themselves. “I have been vending food for the last two years and as the mother of four children, I am supporting my family. I work hard during the month of Ramadan as I have many orders and supply women with food delicacies,” said Umm Khadija. “I offer my services to women who are working in banks and offices where there are women’s branches or sections and also in the past to teachers when the schools were open during Ramadan,” she addedUmm Salma shares a similar story. However, she does not visit offices to look for customers, but rather cooks for particular families with working womenfolk. “I am adept at cooking Saudi dishes and presently I am preparing a full Iftar table for a lady doctor who works full-time in a government hospital and is unable to do the cooking after a hard day’s work. The dishes include soup, sambosas, dessert, and pastries. The lady provides me with the ingredients and I charge her SR2,000 for the entire month of Ramadan.”Some women buy from these cooks because they consider the food to be more hygienic and better prepared than that offered by take-away restaurants. “I hired a Palestinian cook who, except for weekends, cooks for me. She charges me SR150 a day for cooking five or six dishes, but I don’t hesitate to pay as the health and hygiene issue, which is of prime importance, is guaranteed,” said Abeer Khalid, an Egyptian national in Jeddah.Most of the women who are professional cooks reside in Hejaz, that is, Makkah, Jeddah and the surrounding areas, and they are usually low-income Palestinian, Syrian and Saudi nationals for whom cooking is the only way to earn a living. These ladies wake up early in the morning and all day long to prepare food despite fasting themselves. They visit the women’s branches of banks and offices or beauty parlors where women employees buy from them. When they are not able to visit many places in a day, they hire drivers who do the work for them, and many women office workers send their drivers to the homes of these cooks to collect the food. “Sambosa is sold for one riyal per piece and women often buy fifty riyals worth so they can store the sambosa for two or three days. I can earn one or two thousand riyals a week, but it involves careful organizing, preparing, distributing and, of course, endless effort. I even have to pay the driver who helps me in delivering the food. In a day I am able to cater to approximately 10-12 families,” said Khadija“We do not sell every day; one day we prepare, cook and freeze items and the next day we deliver them according to the schedule. Sometimes we cook for long hours standing in the heat of kitchen despite fasting, but we believe that we work with a strong faith while fasting. And also it is a means of getting blessings by feeding people and helpibg them break their fast with delicious things,” she addedMany women who work in offices all day are delighted to be helped by these cooks. “Providing healthy food for families is just as important in Ramadan as it is at other times of the year. Additionally, it is a great way to help female entrepreneurs in our region, especially those women who have to work from home. Cooking and catering for others can be the start of their lives as businesswomen,” said Muna Abu Sulayman, a well-known television personality.A municipal official from Makkah, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said women in Riyadh do not usually cook food at home to sell. However, women in Hejaz do and the food is usually clean and healthy. These women not only work on an individual basis but sometimes also in collaboration with some restaurants.As many people who sell items illegally have their goods confiscated or are even deported if they are caught by the municipality, Saudi Gazette asked an official if there were restrictions on women cooking food at home to sell. “There are no specific laws concerning the delivering of food (commercially), but the punishment that might be meted out is the confiscation of their goods and materials,” he said. – SG

Housewives cook for money in Ramadan

Housewives cook for money in Ramadan
By Mona Rahman

JEDDAH – The month of Ramadan is a busy time for those women who prepare food at home for vending. These self-employed, professional cooks work hard to generate extra income for their families and themselves. “I have been vending food for the last two years and as the mother of four children, I am supporting my family. I work hard during the month of Ramadan as I have many orders and supply women with food delicacies,” said Umm Khadija. “I offer my services to women who are working in banks and offices where there are women’s branches or sections and also in the past to teachers when the schools were open during Ramadan,” she addedUmm Salma shares a similar story. However, she does not visit offices to look for customers, but rather cooks for particular families with working womenfolk. “I am adept at cooking Saudi dishes and presently I am preparing a full Iftar table for a lady doctor who works full-time in a government hospital and is unable to do the cooking after a hard day’s work. The dishes include soup, sambosas, dessert, and pastries. The lady provides me with the ingredients and I charge her SR2,000 for the entire month of Ramadan.”Some women buy from these cooks because they consider the food to be more hygienic and better prepared than that offered by take-away restaurants. “I hired a Palestinian cook who, except for weekends, cooks for me. She charges me SR150 a day for cooking five or six dishes, but I don’t hesitate to pay as the health and hygiene issue, which is of prime importance, is guaranteed,” said Abeer Khalid, an Egyptian national in Jeddah.Most of the women who are professional cooks reside in Hejaz, that is, Makkah, Jeddah and the surrounding areas, and they are usually low-income Palestinian, Syrian and Saudi nationals for whom cooking is the only way to earn a living. These ladies wake up early in the morning and all day long to prepare food despite fasting themselves. They visit the women’s branches of banks and offices or beauty parlors where women employees buy from them. When they are not able to visit many places in a day, they hire drivers who do the work for them, and many women office workers send their drivers to the homes of these cooks to collect the food. “Sambosa is sold for one riyal per piece and women often buy fifty riyals worth so they can store the sambosa for two or three days. I can earn one or two thousand riyals a week, but it involves careful organizing, preparing, distributing and, of course, endless effort. I even have to pay the driver who helps me in delivering the food. In a day I am able to cater to approximately 10-12 families,” said Khadija“We do not sell every day; one day we prepare, cook and freeze items and the next day we deliver them according to the schedule. Sometimes we cook for long hours standing in the heat of kitchen despite fasting, but we believe that we work with a strong faith while fasting. And also it is a means of getting blessings by feeding people and helpibg them break their fast with delicious things,” she addedMany women who work in offices all day are delighted to be helped by these cooks. “Providing healthy food for families is just as important in Ramadan as it is at other times of the year. Additionally, it is a great way to help female entrepreneurs in our region, especially those women who have to work from home. Cooking and catering for others can be the start of their lives as businesswomen,” said Muna Abu Sulayman, a well-known television personality.A municipal official from Makkah, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said women in Riyadh do not usually cook food at home to sell. However, women in Hejaz do and the food is usually clean and healthy. These women not only work on an individual basis but sometimes also in collaboration with some restaurants.As many people who sell items illegally have their goods confiscated or are even deported if they are caught by the municipality, Saudi Gazette asked an official if there were restrictions on women cooking food at home to sell. “There are no specific laws concerning the delivering of food (commercially), but the punishment that might be meted out is the confiscation of their goods and materials,” he said. – SG

Ad graphic design: A ubiquitous form of art

Ad graphic design: A ubiquitous form of art
By Mona Rahman
Graphic design is the most widespread form of art, visualizing the ideas and perceptions of an artist these days simultaneously. It has also become a commercial art and is touching our lives in every possible manner, including everything we see, do and even buy. It is seen on public billboards, Web sites, gift certificates, give-away items, calendars, and brochures.“It is an intricate combination of colors; shapes and lines; numbers and charts; and pictures and photographs expressing the unique thoughts of an artist who struggles to bring out something distinctive or useful,” explained Rauzan Saud Jalal, a Saudi artist and participant in the ad graphic design exhibition titled “Advertise From Makkah” organized by the Tasami Center for Visual Arts and Umm Al-Qura University at the Serafi Mall in Jeddah last week.“It can be seen as directional arrows on street signs, the billboards or even as hand-tags in clothing stores.My showcased work, for instance, includes the model of a street in which I have proposed a roundabout for an actual street as well as the logo and new design for calendars, brochures, give-away items and flyers for the promotion of a local jewelry shop,” she added in an interview with Saudi Gazette. On a personal level, she believes that everything has a certain design and sensory qualities, both of which are easy to express via colors, shapes and lines.Another graphic designer participating in the exhibition, Lojain Zeyad Khoja’s work demonstrated that graphic design is a part of everyday life in which individuals communicate things visually, and this form therefore has the power to make people experience certain things or react. Her series of pictures in which a man was torturing and punishing his wife mercilessly, for instance, was captivating. “I etched this story on the canvas so that I could deliver the message that there should be love and harmony between a couple and that it is atrocious when a man abuses his wife,” she said in an interview with Saudi Gazette.Another theme of Khoja’s work was the various forms of ‘mercy’, and flyers showcasing this idea of hers were included in the exhibition. Lasting five days, the unique exhibition sought to attract a diverse variety of visitors to appreciate this very unique form of everyday art. In particular, the exhibition “aimed to attract those in the advertising field, to introduce them to Saudi artists, particularly women, that have specialized in this art form,” said Adnan Theqa, Tasami Center’s vice president. “Saudi Arabia needs to encourage commercial art across the country, as it has great scope in the interior design field, and many organizations will need to employ more artists to create logos and design their brochures to further promote their products,” remarked participating artist Hadeel Hashim Shemi.The participating artists had beautifully given shape to their ideas in the form of advertisements for certain brands and companies, and their ideas testified to the latest trends in vogue. Graphic design in itself, requires a profound understanding of colors, structures and lines, and the most common models depicted streets and on-road structures like roundabouts, that designers had proposed. - SGWhat is graphic design?• Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages.• A graphic designer may use typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to produce the final result.• Common uses of graphic design include magazines, advertisements and product packaging. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece.• While Graphic Design as a discipline has a relatively recent history, graphic design-like activities span the history of humankind: from the caves of Lascaux, to Rome’s Trajan’s Column to the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, to the dazzling neons of Ginza.• From road signs to technical schematics, from interoffice memorandums to reference manuals, graphic design enhances transfer of knowledge. Readability is enhanced by improving the visual presentation of text.

Working women face uphill battle during Ramadan

Working women face uphill battle during Ramadan
By Mona Rahman

The blessed month of Ramadan has ushered in through the threshold with its trademark blessings, compassion and mercy. The new “culture” of Ramadan - consisting of elaborate meals - however, causes much inconvenience to working women in the Kingdom. After spending a day at work, these women have to rush home to meet the Iftar preparation “deadline” so that their families have a decent meal to sit down at and consequently miss out on the true spirit of the holy month.“I have to reach work in the morning just like normal days, where I handle my official schedule at the same time as planning and timing my cooking duties,” remarked Nasreen Khaled, a Saudi woman working in a bank in Jeddah. “After reaching home, I get no time to rest and have to quickly set the dinner table for Iftar.“Ramadan is about devoting time to spiritual activities and worship, but unfortunately, during the evening I have to look after my twins who are below the age of three, so cannot offer Tarawih prayers or go out anywhere.”There’s not much a working woman can do, moreover, if her husband insists on getting the more elaborate delicacies to eat during Iftar, and or some couples, this is a major source of contention during the holy month. “My husband loves food and prefers a variety of dishes, especially sweets like rice pudding, kunafa and amli, all of which are very time-consuming to make and I can only make during the weekends,” said Khaleda, a Syrian woman working for a private organization in Riyadh. She added that this puts her husband into a bad mood.One solution that an increasing number of women are turning to is finding a cook who will handle the Iftar and Suhoor responsibilities, and some women are even considering the contribution of their generous mothers to the Iftar.Farida Al-Fawaz is a Saudi operation supervisor at Khaleejia Investment in Riyadh, and she told Saudi Gazette that she reaches home well after 4 P.M., leaving her so tired that she has now invested in a domestic helper and gets occasional help from her mother in the form of favorite dishes sent over for Iftars. She also relies on her mother during the weekend, when the family gets together and the latter does all the cooking so that her daughter can rest.“Prior to the start of Ramadan, I prepare things and freeze them so that it’s easy to cook them on weekends when my helper is not around,” she said. “I buy sambosa leaves and fill them with mince meat, potatoes; or buy spring roll sheets and fill them with chicken and freeze it all for convenience.”Finding a domestic helper for Ramadan, however, is both a highly expensive and frustrating ordeal as they are in high demand throughout the month. Noura is a doctor working in Al-Khobar and she told Saudi Gazette that: “I have a time consuming job, often entailing long hours, extending beyond my duty hours, and I reach home just before Iftar time I and unable to do the cooking myself. I have no choice but to hire a cook during the month, but she charges double than she should - 2,000 Saudi riyals.”A cheaper solution most women seem to prefer is to hire the services of delivery women who make popular Iftar food items at home and sell them at offices and homes, though they are sometimes discouraged by doing so. The delivery women sell frozen packs of sambosas, rolls, and waraq anaa - often at the charge of one Saudi riyal per piece.Umm Sara is one such professional cook and delivery woman and she told Saudi Gazette that she gets her supplies from the supermarket in the evening and prepares the items of food the next morning so that the packets can be delivered on time and well before Iftar. “I used to supply them at schools but since it’s the holidays, I visit ladies’ sections in banks and offices and supply customers with packets of frozen food,” she remarked. “Often they make purchases of approximately 50 Saudi riyals, and sometimes I’ll be delivering somewhere while my driver will be delivering elsewhere. This is why I can earn in a righteous manner.” – SG

Remembering the month of Ramadan that was

Remembering the month of Ramadan that was
By Mona Rahman

The observance of Ramadan in the Kingdom has been replaced by a flip-flop culture over the years with modifications in the Iftar, Suhoor and activities contributing to positive as well as negative changes in people’s daily lives.Paying charityIn the past, a key factor of Ramadan was fund collection within mosques through unregistered local organizations or charities. This practice has since been banned by the Saudi government, and now all organizations need to be registered, approved by the government and regularized, with the option to pay directly through the bank. “Now all charity is done through aukawf, through the Ministry of Religious Affairs,” said Mohammed Siddique Al-Ansari, Imam of a mosque in Riyadh. “Charity is not allowed to be collected anywhere else, or by any individual or organization.” All charitable organizations have their own bank account numbers and are easily distinguishable as INSAN bank accounts in the Kingdom to ensure that money for charity is not diverted into “wrong hands” or exploited for non-charitable purposes, he added.He did, however, advise people to return to the roots of charity-giving and consider needy relatives and friends before giving the money to a bank. “That way it will remain sadaqa and silla instead of just sadaqa,” he said.Eating outPeople now increasingly opt to have Iftar in restaurants as a mode of resorting to comfort and convenience instead of preparing food at home. Some even prefer catering services and sign a month’s contract with them for the duration of Ramadan. “Women in particular, who are exhausted with demanding housemaids or are working, prefer to have Iftars in restaurants to avoid the usual toil of cooking,” said Masood Ahmad Puri, Manager of La Sani Restaurant in Jeddah. “Everyone gets the monthly booking done prior to Ramadan; Saudis as well as expats bring their relatives and guests for Iftar parties, and now people invite their guests for Suhoor too.” He added that the past two years, especially, have seen an increase in eating out during Ramadan.UnityRamadan in the past was characterized by a sense of unity amongst people with Iftar and Suhoor becoming social affairs where entire families would come together to eat and pray. Now, however, both occasions have largely become private affairs with members of one family often eating at different times and alone, despite living together.“The special aroma of food and qahwa were a fragrance of togetherness that could be experienced 20 to 25 years back in every neighborhood,” reminisced Baqi Eskander, a 70-year-old Saudi pilgrim guide in Makkah. “Saudis lived together and participated in feasts together, contributing any food they had, but now my eyes long to see those days again.“Families have split and people have become engaged in solely earning money. Before, they used to support each other, and now each person is just restricted to his own needs.”Mad scramble for goodsAnyone who has gone grocery shopping in the past couple of days will testify that it has constituted nothing short of a mad scramble to buy goods. Supermarkets in major cities are teeming with customers who are in a rush to stock up on things like sacks of rice and bottles of cooking oil as if nothing will be left to buy later.“From the time a few days are left to Ramadan - before the new moon is even sighted - people start rushing here and there, rushing to buy things,” remarked Abdul Qadir, a 70-year-old Syrian man in Riyadh. “Supermarkets have commercialized Ramadan through their promotions, and customers buy a lot more because of those. It seems like a month of feasts has been ushered in instead of fasting. In the past, people devoted more time to worship and ate what they got.”It’s time to relax?Another disturbing phenomenon is the greater inclination in most people to eat lots of food, watch lots of TV, stay awake all night and do all their chores after sunset. A false perception dominates that Ramadan is a month of lethargy and relaxation. “People stuff themselves with heavy, oily food and even decorate their tables with fancy trimmings, which isn’t the true spirit of Ramadan and didn’t even exist a few decades back,” said Tamer Hussain, a 67-year-old Egyptian in Jeddah.Living conditions during past Ramadans were such that most people worked normal eight-hour (or more) days but standard working hours have now been reduced to six in almost all offices. “Years back, thirst and hunger never slowed people down; they still exhibited the same energy while going to work,” said Mahmoud Abbas, a 62-year-old Pakistani living in Madina. “We used to get up for Fajr prayers and then set off to work, but the new generation blames Ramadan for the lack of work and postponement of tasks.”These days, the post-Tarawih prayers’ period constitutes of jam-packed roads as people flock to malls and other recreational centers. It is a much better alternative to watching TV at home, but 26-year-old Syed Nabeel Hassan remembers his childhood in the Kingdom with nostalgia, when there were no satellite channels, Internet and hardly a computer in every home.“We used to watch two local channels, which were the best in Ramadan because they used to air special variety shows,” he reminisced. “After Tarawih prayers, we used to go out and play football, volleyball, board games and table football with our friends. But now young people have been introduced to other activities like watching satellite channels, surfing the Internet.”“Ramadan has lost its true spirit; people even start shopping for Eid from the 15th day of Ramadan onward, even though all Eid shopping was always done in the last few days of Ramadan. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be wrong to start calling Ramadan a month of fashion in the future,” he concluded. – SG