Zarvan
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2011
- Messages
- 54,470
- Reaction score
- 87
- Country
- Location
Indians shout anti-U.S. slogans in Kolkata. The uproar is drowning out the issue of domestic worker abuse, Jo Becker says.
Human Rights Watch. She has investigated child domestic labor in Morocco and was an advocate for the Domestic Workers Convention, adopted by the International Labor Organization in 2011. Follow her on Twitter @jobeckerhrw.
(CNN) -- The uproar in India over the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York is growing. Indians are protesting outside the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, the Indian government has revoked privileges for American diplomats, and Indian politicians have called for a review of their nation's ties with the United States.
E-mail and Facebook appeals are even calling on Indians to refuse to meet with any U.S. citizen.
Jo Becker
But the outcry over Devyani Khobragade's treatment is drowning out the serious allegations of exploiting her employee, also an Indian national, and the pervasive violations against millions of other domestic workers around the world and in the homes of diplomats in America.
Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York, was arrested last week over allegations of falsifying visa application documents for a woman who worked as her housekeeper and nanny in New York. Khobragade reported she paid the woman $4,500 a month. In reality, federal prosecutors say, the domestic worker received less than $600 a month and was forced to work far more than 40 hours a week. Her effective hourly wage -- $3.13 -- was less than half of New York's minimum wage of $7.25.
Many Indians are outraged over allegations that Khobragade, after leaving her daughter at school, was handcuffed on the street -- although this has been disputed -- later strip-searched and kept in a holding cell before being released on $250,000 bail.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, in a written statement, said Khobragade was arrested discreetly, was not handcuffed and was given time to arrange personal matters including child care -- but she was searched in custody as is "standard practice for every defendant, rich or poor, American or not, in order to make sure that no prisoner keeps anything on his person that could harm anyone, including himself."
READ: Indian diplomat: Does she have immunity?
READ: Indian reaction to diplomat's arrest: Just politics?
Many are forced to pay huge sums to unscrupulous recruiters, or work without pay for several months to cover their debt. Cut off from their family and other sources of support, many feel they have little choice but to work under slavelike conditions. In some cases, they are locked in their workplaces. They are sometimes beaten. Unpaid wages, excessive working hours and physical, sexual and psychological abuse are the most common problems.
Domestic workers have even fewer options when their employers have diplomatic immunity and cannot be criminally prosecuted, regardless of how severe their crimes. The employers have control over their visas, which also leaves them with little recourse. The U.S. State Department has received dozens of allegations of abuse by foreign diplomats and by officials at the World Bank and other international financial institutions.
In one case that became public, a former domestic worker accused her employer, a Kuwaiti diplomat, of raping her repeatedly. In another, a domestic worker for a former Philippine ambassador said she was forced to work 126 hours a week without pay.
A 2008 Government Accountability Office report identified 42 cases of abuse by diplomats with immunity over an eight-year period, and said that the actual number was probably higher. Many cases are never reported because the victims are too frightened to complain or feel they can't afford to lose the job.
As a consular official, Khobragade has limited immunity, which the State Department says does not cover visa fraud, a felony. Too many diplomats have used their immunity to exploit their employees. By taking action in this case, the State Department is sending an important message -- no employer is above the law. It is not just singling out foreign diplomats.
The Khobragade case has raised good questions about the treatment of criminal suspects in the United States, including the use of routine strip searches. But that debate should not be at the expense of women exploited as domestic workers. Their treatment is just as important.
Follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter.
Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jo Becker.
Opinion: In strip-search case: What about the nanny? - CNN.com
@Imran Khan @Aeronaut @Oscar @nuclearpak @WebMaster @jaibi @Zakii @HRK @Patriot @Yzd Khalifa @Arabian Legend @al-Hasani @BLACKEAGLE @doppelganger @GURU DUTT @Areesh
While international outrage mounts over the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York, the purported victim in the case -- an allegedly underpaid housekeeper -- has been largely overlooked.
The federal prosecutor in the case, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, is now trying to draw attention to her apparent plight as he battles critics of the U.S. government's actions and those calling for the diplomat's release. He also confirmed that the housekeeper's family had to be brought to the U.S. amid harassment in India.
The consular official, Devyani Khobragade, was arrested and strip-searched last week. Khobragade, 39, was accused of paying her housekeeper -- Sangeeta Richard -- in rupees amounting to just $3.31 per hour, then forcing her to sign a fraudulent contract submitted with her visa application.
Indian officials complained the treatment of the diplomat was heavy-handed, touching off a diplomatic clash which has escalated over the past several days.
But Bharara, in a detailed statement defending his actions, sought to remind the public about the housekeeper -- and lamented there was "precious little outrage" about her and her spouse. He suggested the Indian government's attitude toward the case might be colored by views of class and status, which remain powerful forces in India.
"This Office's sole motivation in this case, as in all cases, is to uphold the rule of law, protect victims, and hold accountable anyone who breaks the law -- no matter what their societal status and no matter how powerful, rich or connected they are," he said.
Bharara confirmed that Richard's family was brought to the U.S. while prosecutors pursued the visa fraud case against Khobragade, a deputy consul general at India’s New York consulate. He said the housekeeper, who lived in New York and worked for Khobragade from November, 2012, to June, 2013, was being targeted by a legal proceeding in India in an effort to silence her, and implied that her family was brought to the U.S. for their protection.
“Some focus should perhaps be put on why it was necessary to evacuate the family and what actions were taken in India vis-à-vis them,” he said. “This Office and the Justice Department are compelled to make sure that victims, witnesses and their families are safe and secure while cases are pending.”
The arrest of Khobragade last week has inflamed tensions with India, and prompted Secretary of State John Kerry to express "regret." But Bharara, himself a native of India, said the housekeeper is the victim, not Khobragade.
An official in India's External Affairs Ministry told The Associated Press that Khobragade claimed to Indian authorities in July that the housekeeper had disappeared and was trying to blackmail her. According to the official, she said she would not report Khobragade if she agreed to pay her more money and change her visa status to allow her to work elsewhere in the U.S.
Domestic staff are frequently forced to work long hours for substandard wages in India and there have been numerous reports of housekeepers, maids and nannies being imprisoned or abused by their employers.
Prosecutors say Khobragade agreed to pay the housekeeper 30,000 rupees per month, a sum equal to about $575. At 40 hours per week, the wage works out to just $3.31. But Khobragade allegedly submitted another contract with the housekeeper’s visa application that listed her wage at $9.75 per hour.
“Khobragade instructed [the housekeeper] not to say anything about being paid 30,000 rupees per month,” State Department Special Agent Mark Smith stated in the federal complaint against Khobragade.
Smith further stated that the visa application for the housekeeper could not have been approved under the secret contract, which did not meet federal employment standards.
Khobragade could face a maximum sentence of 10 years for visa fraud and five years for making a false declaration if convicted. She claims to have full diplomatic immunity, but the State Department says her immunity from prosecution is limited to acts performed in the course of her official duties.
What about the victim? Prosecutor cites plight of maid, family in Indian diplomat case | Fox News
