"Our housemaid should resign."

An article that is in the print version of Arab News, but not on the internet version, written by Khalaf Al-Harbi says "Our housemaid has a face uglier than those of the rats in the Corniche. Her smell is dirtier than that of the Musk Lake. Her lies are worse than the biting of the mosquitoes that cause dengue fever. Her eyebrows look like two flying crows. She walks like a little car that has driven into a ditch in one of Jeddah's streets." What the _____?!!? I am absolutely appalled that the article was even printed. Just appalled. Is it supposed to be funny? It isn't. I certainly am not laughing. Sadly, Khalaf Al-Harbi's picture does not accompany the article so that we could all describe him. You know, something like, "His face is uglier than than a pot-bellied pig's ass. His smell is nastier than a dumpster in the heat of the summer. His nose is like the hook on a crane."

The point isn't that the maid is ugly though, or that Mr. Al-Harbi is uglier. The point he tries to make [but fails - in my opinion] is that she should resign because she only works when she thinks she needs to. The whole article:


[I think if you click on the image it enlarges. It does for me...]

Mr. Al-Harbi says, "We have a traditional proverb that says, 'My generosity is for my mother and sisters.' This saying has... become obsolete." What exactly does that even mean? And what, exactly, does it have to do with his maid? "We are now in a very strange time in which a father cannot reprimand his own children, let alone his wife or even the housemaid, who is practically in charge of everything in the house. These days we are random guests in our own homes while the housemaid is the actual mistress." Hmmph. Just whose fault is that, I wonder. How is it that households in most other countries can have a family that consists of two working parents and children and NO maid? Don't even get me going on that issue. Oops. Too late. The reason that everyone here, in the Sandbox, has a maid is because no one wants to do any actual physical work. That is beneath most people here. It is not a secret. I am guilty, too. I have a houseboy four days a week. Although I have to say, I still do a fair share of the housework at our home. I just don't do the "big" jobs - like cleaning the bathrooms and mopping the floors.

"As a husband, I conceded many years ago that the evaluation of the housemaid's performance is the prerogative of the wife. Any suggestion by me to replace her or reschedule her duties would be considered an unwelcome intervention in the poliies of the house, a flagrant provocation to the wife and an agitation to the children who have become addicted to 'Indomi.' The children will show signs of withdrawal if the housemaid is absent for any reason." I think that is very sad. And I also think that it speaks volumes with regard to the upbringing that your children are receiving [or not], Mr. Al-Harbi.

Mr. Al-Harbi has "accepted the presence of [their] housemaid despite her numerous mistakes because it is difficult nowadays to find one who can put up with the trantrums of the housewife." I'd say it is about time that maid abuse trickled down and women from other third-world countries that come here to work as housemaids realize that they are going to be the target of "tantrums of the housewife." In other words, you can expect to be beaten. "I have had to be patient with her regardless of my conviction that her transformation from a slim Asian girl to a fat lady was due to her constant sneaking to the refrigerator, then blaming the children. She will also no hesitate to steal whenever she is not watched, put her ill-gotten gains in a box and shem them back home." I am calling B.S. on that. She probably steals food because she doesn't get fed. And the fact that you thought she was a slim Asian girl and is now a fat lady... You don't deserve a maid! Asshole.

Read the whole thing. And tell you you are not just as outraged by this as I am!