V.R. Lechchmi, Sri Lanka Maid: Saudi Couple Drove 14 Nails Into My Body As Punishment (VIDEO)

Yet another Sri Lankan maid has come forward with claims her Kuwaiti employers abused her.

As she lay in recovery at a Sri Lanka hospital, V.R. Lechchmi, told Al-Jazeera her employers had driven 14 nails into her body when she asked for her salary after six months of work. "The master of the house held me down, while the mistress gave him the metal pins to put into my hands and legs," said 38-year-old Lechchmi, who had obtained her job abroad through an employment agency. "I endured the pain in silence because I thought I may be killed if I struggled."

Lechchmi's allegations come on the heels of another Sri Lankan case in August, when another maid gained international attention after she claimed her Saudi employer had driven 24 nails into her arms, legs and forehead as punishment, the AFP is reporting. A third possible victim has also come forward, claiming her employers in Jordan forced her to swallow six nails when she demanded her salary.

Watch Al-Jazeera's full report here:

Comments

[Eddy333]

01:03 PM on 12/13/2010

I don't understand why anyone would expect anything less from a bunch of Bedouin who were living in tents and using camels as their main form of transportation as recently as the 1950's.

Culturally, most of them are still living in the Middle Ages, despite the fact that they have scads of money to throw around

[farmilyman]

09:01 PM on 11/21/2010

What do expect, the Saudis are Bush friends.

[Schweik]

02:15 PM on 11/22/2010

And generous supporters of world Jihad and mega-mosques building boom. Who also build ultra-fundamentalist relgious schools in U.S. Europe, Asia and Africa by the thousands, spreading the
dis-ease of fundamentalist Islam all over the world.

[cincinnati]

07:34 PM on 11/21/2010

A woman who married into the very large and well off bin Laden family
wrote a good book on what's it is like in Saudi Arabia. It is
clearly one of the most backward and repressive societies
in the world, especially for having so much money
and connections with the West.

Apparently they were slowly reforming but got scared by
the extreme conservatives gaining power and respect in
Islam and decided to play it safe. Many women are
hired to work there and then are never let out,
they often become sex, etc. slaves essentially.

[kyramoment]

03:34 PM on 11/21/2010

For those who think this sounds "fishy," you should read "Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil." It is about a Saudi princess and demonstrates how women in middle eastern countries, not just servants, are treated. After reading it, you will have no trouble believing stories of nails being driven into the bodies of servants. And, it's not as if Americans are all that pure either. Talk to some of the abuse victims I've worked with...

[mr666]

09:28 PM on 11/20/2010

Remember, Islam is a religion of peace.

[StopMakingSense2]

01:48 PM on 11/22/2010

Wasn't there a movie called I come in peace? Same idea?

[AndyB62]

02:58 PM on 11/20/2010

Take a good look at Kuwait folks. These are the people that Bush the Elder was so keen to keep safe from Iraq. BTW, Iraq had left Kuwait before Bushie invaded.

[Schweik]

01:20 AM on 11/22/2010

Somebody lend AndyB62 a quarter to buy a clue.

[StopMakingSense2]

01:51 PM on 11/22/2010

A lack of facts aren't the problem with people like this. They have a faith based view of the world. They have faith that whatever they believe is the truth regardless of the facts. In America we call them the republican party.

[Harold Baker]

01:35 PM on 11/20/2010

I cannot believe that a person would purposely do these things to themselves to try and get money from an employer. I don't think it is even physically possible.

[RhinnoSnot]

10:48 AM on 11/20/2010

People think that slavery does not exist anymore; they need to make their way to Kuwait.
I worked in Kuwait as a defense contractor. Once a week, the police would have morning road blocks, the reason, try to find runaway domestics. When they find them, they are returned to their sponsors or masters, as we would say. We always heard stories about the domestics jumping out of windows of the flats in Kuwait City.
The domestics, are usually from the Indian sub continent, are promised 100 KD or 350 USD a month by their recruiting agency. Allot of money to a Bangladeshi. However, they never see much if any of it. They have to work off their plane fare, their agency fee, and their room and board, whatever.
Once they realize it is a scam, it’s too late; the family has the maid’s passport. Also, an Arab man has exclusive rights to all females under his roof. That is his right. Upon seeing this, the lady of the house becomes jealous and violent towards the maid.
The Kuwaiti government realizes the issue and has paid it some lip service, but no laws to correct the problem. The only reason why the government has said anything at all is that Westerners become horrified at what they see there, and they are embarrassed. However, they do not care about these women, they are Hindus, snake worshipers, just animals to them.

[realitytrumpsbull]

09:22 PM on 11/21/2010

So, given this country's stance on human rights, what is it that keeps American companies and American dollars in that part of the world, if this is how the people are going to act?

[Venicelady]

09:26 PM on 11/21/2010

When has concern for humanity ever stopped an American corporation from making profits?

[msbeal]

01:44 AM on 11/20/2010

She wouldn't happen to have any proof of what she claims would she?

It won't be the first time someone tried to shake down their employer.

I'm sorry my gut tells me this story is fishy.

[Paula Ann]

10:07 AM on 11/20/2010

there is precedence of employees here faking back injuries, falls, sexual harrassment...

however if true, these employers are beneath contempt.

[msbeal]

02:13 PM on 11/21/2010

You are correct. It's just this story of pounding nails into a servant that seems just a bit far-fetched. Even Marque De Sade knew enough to stay away from the help.

[realitytrumpsbull]

09:23 PM on 11/21/2010

Some lady from Saudi Arabia got deported from the US for kicking her maid down a flight of stairs. Physical dominance appears to be the mainstay of authority, Over There, not that it isn't, here in this country, to some degree. But, at least in the US, if your employer tries to get physical with you, you can turn right around, take em to court, and in some cases, even just about end up owning the business. Not so, overseas.

[autistichelper]

10:30 PM on 11/19/2010

This is horrible. I hope justice is carried out for this woman.

[RajX]

06:38 PM on 11/19/2010

One thing I will point out to readers is that this news was reported by al jazeera, an Arab owned network and not by any western news organization. So maybe its not all that bad. So maybe things are changing and they are not trying push the ugliness of society under the carpet. Not sure if this news got to the arab language version of al jazeera.

[realitytrumpsbull]

09:27 PM on 11/21/2010

Agreed, all progress is good progress, but for countries to truly call themselves modern, they have to cleave off from things like slavery and other abuse. Human rights, civil rights, labor rights, these all derive from a legal system that treats all generally as equals. But, what if you're born 'to the purple', as they say, and barring very few holds, YOU can do no wrong, regardless of whatever it is that you got caught doing? As they say, it's good to be king...or related to same. 

In America, we don't have royalty. You run over a peasant, you're gonna pay for it. There's some people that THINK they're royalty, by the way they act, by the way they drive, but aside from millionaires in Congress or whatever, we don't technically have any royalty. Still pays to look both ways when you're crossing the road, just in case Humperdink IV comes whipping around the s-bend in the Lexus, though.

[xMoonWalkerx]

04:35 PM on 11/19/2010

A had a conversation with the a liberal Saudi friend regarding the frequent reports of ill-treatment of south Asians in Saudi Arabia. His point was that in Arab society, there is a hierarchy based on nationality, race, religious sects, education and the idol worshippers like Hindus are at the bottom of this. The people in the bottom of this hierarchy no protection from society. This sort of treatment is not just one off but based on cultural norms in these societies. Another interesting titbit from this friend is that the Arabs used to follow a Hindu like religion before the advent of Islam. So they identify Hindus with their unenlightened ancestors.

[RajX]

06:21 PM on 11/19/2010

Saudi and liberal? Isn't that an oxymoron?

[cdnbystander]

10:35 AM on 11/20/2010

Like smart Republican.

[xMoonWalkerx]

08:19 PM on 11/25/2010

:-). Relatively speaking, he is liberal.

[realitytrumpsbull]

09:30 PM on 11/21/2010

Well, what's so 'enlightened' about being religious, come right down to it? Sure, Darth Vader could make his enemies expire by willing it so, but that was some Hollywood 'magic', there. As for the rest of the hokey old religions, well, there's a lot that's left to be desired, if you're after the old enlightenment. 

One bonus that that part of the world DOES have, is that they did do quite a bit to promote math and science. But, that's your nuts-and-bolts type stuff, doesn't have much to do with a Higher power, but rather has to do with people power. Those arabic numerals are pretty popular, too. But, beating the @#$@ out of your maid, or your wife, that's pure Neanderthal/cave man stuff. And a felony in the 50 states.

[xMoonWalkerx]

08:18 PM on 11/25/2010

It's not my opinion but my Saudi friends. I am an atheist and believe that Religions were invented to control people by stoking their fears and insecurities.

[denier denier]

04:17 PM on 11/19/2010

Wow, what did she do to deserve such a punishment!?

[Paul Poco]

04:24 PM on 11/19/2010

maybe no one deserves this...

[Progressneeded]

01:02 PM on 11/19/2010

That is what happens when a group of nomads who struggled to survive harsh conditions and who had to adhere to certain morals and ethics in order to be able to survive, are given exuberant wealth and are stripped of their moral values by a focus on greed and power and extreme nationalism.

Orwell wrote in 1945:
"By "nationalism" I mean first of all the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labelled "good" or "bad."

[originaldna]

01:39 PM on 11/19/2010

Totally agree with you on that, They are the ones the ancient Kimites ( Egyptians) called desert dwellers,Hyksos that are now trying to steal African culture for themselves.

They have no respect for other peoples culture and that's why they are parading mummies all over the world.

http://history.howstuffworks.com/ancient-greece/greek-philosophers-african-tribes.htm

[Intelligentia]

05:53 PM on 11/19/2010

Excellent post! I'm surprised it has not been deleted.

[RajX]

06:11 PM on 11/19/2010

Good one. They have already stolen the Persian culture and claim that the innovations of many other cultures as "Islamic" and all the innovations which came out of those cultures as "Islamic" innovations. You may have heard of people claiming that algebra is a Islamic invention.

[one1byke]

10:44 AM on 11/19/2010

-US Citizen Meg Whitman hires undocumented person (for years) - before trying to deport her.
-US Citizen Brian David Mitchell kidnaps, rapes, tortures Elizabeth Smart for 9 months.
-US Citizen Oranthal James Simpson found "not guitly" of killing wife and wife's jumpoff.

Why shop in Sri Kanka and Saudi Arabia, we have those same nuts right here.