Ajman: A female employer of an Ethiopian maid who works illegally in the UAE has been summoned by Ajman Police for allegedly beating the maid and causing her injuries.
The 22-year-old maid, identified as Hedja Ousman, reported the incident to police.
The maid had been severely beaten by her employer after she accused her maid of stealing a car key, a senior official at the Ethiopian consulate told Gulf News.
After the maid reported the case to the police, a police official said they summoned her employer and managed a reconciliation between the two parties. The maid reportedly dropped the case against her employer and asked police to send her back to her home country.
However, when the Ethiopian consulate received information about the maid’s treatment, they filed a case at Al Nuaimiyah police station against the employer of the maid. The woman denied the accusation and claimed that the maid held a knife and wanted to attack one of her kids.
Brigadier Ali Alwan, Commander-in –chief of Ajman police said that the case transferred to public prosecution.
Ethiopian Consul-General to the UAE, Yibeltal Aemero Alemu, said that the maid’s Kazakh sponsor accused her of stealing the car key. When the maid said that she had not taken anything, the woman allegedly started beating her severely.
Last June, the employer had assaulted the same maid and removed all her hair, Alemu said.
The employer took the maid to the airport and tried to deport her in order to cover her crime.
He said that the Ethiopian consulate received information about the maid and brought her back from the airport to contest her case.
The maid is now living under the shelter of the Ethiopian consulate until her case is solved, he said
The maid testified that she worked for the Kazakh housewife for nearly three years and six months.
She worked on the visa of the family for two years but when it expired, the family did not renew her visa for a period of one year and six months. The maid was reportedly admitted to hospital for four days for treatment.
The Ethiopian Consul-General urged people to treat their maids as human beings, not as machines. “Families in the UAE should not mistreat their maids,” Alemu said.
“The sponsor should be aware of the maid’s culture and religion and the maid should also be familiarised with her new environment. From our side, we are doing our best, in addition to the church’s efforts, to educate our people,” he said.
He added Ethiopians are generally peaceful and kind people if treated well and are proud of their culture.
“If the maid is not qualified or behaves abnormally they should either send her back home or report the issue to the police or to the consulate,” he said.
