January 24, 2007

ACLU Sues Kuwaiti Diplomat Over Slavery

The ACLU is suing a Kuwaiti diplomat over practicing slavery in the United States. Is this a sign that the ACLU will finally stop playing the dhimmi? I hope, but I'm not holding my breath. But at least they've drawn a line somewhere, and that line seems to be the very Islamic practice of slavery, which continues today.

While slavery has been officially abolished in all Islamic countries, the practice continues in various forms. The practice varies widely. In the Northern Sudan traditional slavery, where the children of blacks, Christians, and animists are openly bought and sold by Arabized Muslims, can be found. In the Gulf States, though, the practice is much more subtle--with "domestic servants" brought in from all over the world and then simply not paid, beaten, sexually abused, locked up, etc, with very little in the way of legal recourse.

It's interesting that the escaped slave, who was threatened by her Muslim master, didn't ask if the man was a cop, but rather if he was "a Christian".

Fairfax County Times:

A Kuwaiti diplomat living in McLean is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for allegedly abusing three female domestic workers who lived in his home in 2005.

Maj. Waleed Al-Saleh, a military attache to the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington, D.C., and his wife, Maysaa Al Omar, are accused of human trafficking, physical and mental abuse, and "imposing slave-like conditions" on the three women, who are natives of India brought to the United States by Al-Saleh. The State of Kuwait is also a defendant in the suit....

"She asked me, 'Are you a Christian? I was told a Christian would help me,' and I said, 'Yes, I am a Christian.' I was wondering what the hell she was asking," Rodriguez said......

After a period of particularly bad treatment at Al-Saleh's hands, which included being beaten and knocked unconscious with a package of frozen chicken, Sabbithi fled to Rodriguez's house. He put her in touch with Andolan, an organization that helps low-income South Asian workers victimized by their employers. Shortly after Sabbithi fled, the other women did as well, and Andolan put them in touch with the ACLU.

The women are currently living in New York.

Al-Saleh is being sued for around $120,000 in unpaid wages plus remedies and compensation. According to the ACLU, AL-Saleh's diplomatic immunity, which protects him from criminal charges stemming from the alleged incident, could also negate the civil suit.