L.P.Ariywathie who was reportedly physically harmed by her Saudi employer by driving nails and pins into her body, yesterday dismissed claims by Saudi government officials that her claims were fabricated.
Ms. Ariywathie speaking from a residence in Thihagoda, Matara where she is recovering after 19 nails and wires were removed from her body following a three hour operation last week, said, she had no reason to lie about the incident and insisted that her employer inserted the nails while his wife held her.
Medical officials and the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau yesterday backed Ms Ariyawathie’s claims after they carried out their own investigations and submitted their findings.
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| Recuperating after the surgery: Ariyawathie’s daughter feeds her mother |
Dr. A.S.Pandithasekara of the Matara hospital who examined Ariyawathie told the Sunday Times that her mental health condition was stable. She said there were no indications that Ms Ariywathie was suffering from any psychiatric problem.
In a related development Investigating Officer of the Investigation Unit of the Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB) W.G.Ekanayaka visited Ms Ariywathie at the Andapana hospital, in Andapana, Kamburupitiya where she was treated, to verify the reports about her mental condition.
The visit came after the Saudi government alleged that her story was fabricated.
Mr. Ekanayaka said according to the medical reports the wounds appeared to have been caused more than two weeks before her arrival in Sri Lanka.
The Sunday Times also learns that Ms Ariywathie had been limping when she arrived at both the Saudi airport and BIA and that she had been allowed to stretch-out on four seats in the aircraft as she was in pain.
Ms Ariywathie claimed that the husband of the Saudi couple had inflicted the torture on her while the other family members stood around laughing. “This act was usually done around 7 p.m. I am not sure if there was any significance in time,” she said.
Ms Ariywathie said although she was tortured she was given sufficient food and was taken on various family outings.
Meanwhile more financial and other assistance flowed in as Ms Ariywathie recovered at her daughter’s residence.
Two new houses are being put up for the family – one for Ms Ariywathie and the other for her daughter.
The Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB), the Housing Construction Ministry, the AGA office and the Thihagoda Pradeshiya Sabha are involved in the construction on one while the other is being built by UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayaka in the same area.
Ms Ariywathi has so far received Rs. 40,000 from the FEB, Rs 50,000 from Mr. Ramanayaka, Rs. 10,000 from a social organization in the area, Rs. 75,000 from a Colombo based Muslim organization and Rs. 100,000 as insurance.
The Thihagoda Pradeshiya Sabha headed by Chairman Nirmal Samarasinghe has taken steps to widen the foot path leading to the house into a motorable road. Residents in the area had permitted to cut the road through their lands.
Many people have been visiting Ms Ariywathie at her home.
AI seeks justice for Ariyawathie
Amnesty International (AI) yesterday called on the Saudi Arabian authorities to investigate the allegation by Sri Lankan housemaid that her employer had cruelly tortured her by driving some 27 nails or pins into her body.
In a letter to Saudi Justice Minister Mohammed bin ‘Abdul Aziz al-Issa, AI urged that those responsible for the alleged torture of housemaid L. P. Ariyawathie be brought to justice in accordance with international fair trial standards. It also urged that the housemaid be paid compensation.
“The investigation should also examine whether the Saudi police or other authorities were informed of Ms. Ariyawathie’s allegations before her return to Sri Lanka and what action, if any, was taken in response. Any police officer or other officials who learnt of the alleged abuse but failed to take action should also be held accountable,” AI said in a statement.
Ms. Ariyawathie’s problem had highlighted the long-standing problems faced by domestic workers -- mainly women from developing countries in Asia --- in Saudi Arabia, the AI said. “They face the same discriminatory judicial practices as Saudi women but also face language difficulties and the reality of being alone in a foreign country. Domestic workers are especially vulnerable to violence and exploitation by their employers and have little recourse against abuse,” AI said.
Meanwhile External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris has taken up the matter with Saudi Ambassador Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman Al Jammaz, and sought his intervention in getting justice to the victim.
The ministry said Sri Lanka’s envoy Ahamed Jawad was also taking up the matter with the Saudi authorities in Riyadh and urging them to expedite investigations.
In addition a delegation led by Foreign Employment Bureau Kingsley Ranawaka has gone to Riyadh to assist in the probe and to gather first hand account of the entire case, the ministry said.
Saudi officials say
story fabricated
The Saudi Embassy in Colombo has denied the allegations made by the Sri Lankan housemaid stating that she could not have passed through metal detectors at the airports in Riyadh and Colombo.
In a statement issued by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Colombo, the Media Officer of the Embassy said there were many doubts regarding the allegations made by the housemaid, most important of which was that she could not have got through the detectors unchallenged if she had solid nails inside her body.
Earlier the Saudi government and private sector officials also questioned Ariywathie’s account.
Saad al Badah, head of the National Recruitment Committee of the Council of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told Saudi state television that the account of the maid seemed "80 percent fabricated" and suggested the motive could be extortion.
He questioned how the woman, who worked for a Saudi family in Riyadh for five months until August, could have continued to be healthy and without infection with nails in her body.
He also said that it was hard to believe she could have passed through several airport metal detectors on her return from Riyadh with so many pieces of metal in her body. "Even someone with just one coin in his pocket has to remove it when passing through the detector," Badah said.
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