Saudi life laid bare

It's been a while since a "Saudi life laid bare" post, so here's one with a couple of articles, "cherrypicked" if you will, from Arab News.

Boy Left in Hospital With No Support
Arab News

MADINAH, 22 March 2007 — A boy was kept in hospital for two weeks without a single visit by any of his family members, a local newspaper reported yesterday.

His father was too busy with his three wives to visit the boy whose age was not disclosed.

The boy had gained sympathy of doctors and the whole hospital staff who said they couldn’t think of a logical reason for his family’s negligence. “They never respond to our calls,” said Dr. Mutawakel Hajjaj, who works at the hospital.

The report didn’t name the hospital, nor did it say for what the child was being treated. It mentioned that the child is being treated for some kind of “accident”.

The report said the child has been despondent and hospital workers have contacted the father who has told them he would visit but has not.

“We consider the kid’s problem personally, we do our best to cheer him up,” the paper quoted a nurse as saying.

The nurse also said she would move the boy to a ladies-only ward if his mother offered to spend time with him as he is receiving treatment.

Maid Murdered by Employer’s Wife
Arab News

JIZAN, 22 March 2007 — A maid died in a hospital in Jizan after being brought there by her sponsor [An indicator that the maid was probably an immigrant, i.e., non-Muslim --ed.] , whose wife had assaulted her. The man’s wife, who is a teacher, had been continuously torturing the maid by beating her, locking her up and burning her. The maid fell critically ill and died when her sponsor brought her to hospital. Police arrested the couple. The wife admitted committing the assaults and claimed that the maid had not been doing her job properly for the past few months.

Just another day in the Kingdom.