Conscience Takes A Back Seat
26 February 2016By Tariq A. Al-Maeena
As children, most of us were taught the difference between right and wrong and
good and evil, and how one path would take us toward righteousness while the
other would led to damnation. And we held on tightly to that childhood creed
in order to make us better human beings.
But along the way as we got older, wires seem to have got crossed, and the
solid line between right and wrong became a little blurry to some people. They
remain good people, but as I see it, their conscience has taken a back seat.
I was at Farid's office when he received a call from his son. I could only
hear one side of the conversation, but the gist of it seemed to be that some
rental contract was needed. When he hung up, Farid looked perplexed. I asked
him if all was okay. ''Yes, it's just that my son needs a house rental contract
from me and I don't know if a real estate office will provide one.''
''Your son is living in the duplex you built for him in the back of your
residence. Is he paying you rent?''
''No, but he needs a rental contract to avoid paying the SR3,500 university
fees as an external student. You see, if he has a rental contract, the
university foregoes the fee requirement to alleviate additional financial
burdens,'' Farid explained.
''Wait a minute, Farid. Your son has a good paying job, he is living at home
for free, and you want to get him a fake rental contract? Isn't that cheating?
The university's intent is to help students with financial burdens and not
someone like your son. He should not ask for an exception and neither should
you provide him with a contract,'' I admonished.
Looking at me with a wry smile, Farid replied: ''Tariq, the system teaches
everybody to do it. So why shouldn't I?'' I left before I blew a fuse.
Every year prior to the month of Ramadan there is a huge demand for household
help. Ads are everywhere as desperate housewives seek helping hands for the
month of fasting when more food is prepared and served than at any other time
of the year. Not to mention that most food is probably thrown away during the
holiest of all Islamic months. Many domestic workers also take advantage of
the situation by leaving their sponsors unannounced and searching for the
highest bidder.
I had been invited to Mohamed's house for an Iftar (breaking the fast)
gathering last Ramadan. His household was in disarray a few weeks earlier when
his two housemaids decided to quit and left the country. Looking at the wide
array of dishes prepared for the guests, I remarked to Mohamed that his
domestic help issue must have been resolved and that he must have recruited
and received new help from overseas.
''No, I haven't yet. The visas are with the recruitment agency, but it is
taking a long time. That is why we had to hire locally at exorbitant wages. We
were lucky to find two women, one a Sri Lankan and the other an Indonesian who
agreed to work for us. Thank God, otherwise my wife would have gone crazy.''
''Are these workers on legal work visas,'' I asked. ''Have you checked and
verified their documents? Are they legal? They could have run away from their
previous sponsors.''
''Who cares, Tariq? They are here right now and they are being paid. They are
providing us a service that we are desperately in need of. You know the
household demands during this month with family and friends dropping by. We
needed help.''
''Mohamed, did you ever stop to wonder if these workers left another home in
dire straits by disappearing without notice? Perhaps there is hardship in a
home that desperately needed them. It could have been an elderly lady they
worked for, or a young divorced mother with children who needed to be looked
after while she was at work. Not all sponsors are bad. You and I know that
greed has caused many domestic workers to desert their lawful sponsors,
especially prior to Ramadan.''
I wanted to ask him how he and his family could sit there and enjoy food
prepared by someone who could by her presence in their home have been the
source of anguish to the household she left behind. How can we justify such
actions and satiate our hunger while others somewhere else may be suffering?
My thoughts were quickly interrupted by Mohamed. ''Dive into your food Tariq
before it gets cold. Besides, if we didn't hire them, believe me there are
thousands who would. Now enjoy yourself.''
How could I? The line between right and wrong has not been blurred to that
degree.
— The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena
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