This is the second in a three-part series which shines light on some of the realities faced by Nepali migrant workers throughout the three stages of the migration process: their recruitment; time in-country; and their return home. You can read the first blog here.

“Madhu” went to Saudi Arabia to work in a beauty parlour, but was instead involuntarily confined to her employer’s house for more than two years. 

Read Amnesty International’s new report here: Turning people into profits: Abusive recruitment, trafficking and forced labour of Nepali migrant workers.

Nepali versions of these blogs are available here.

Being held captive for 2 years

I waved to my husband from the rooftop during the 26 months that I was confined to the house

My husband and I were from small villages, we met in Kathmandu and fell in love. We got married, started a family and were happy. We wanted our five children to have a good education, to have possibilities for their futures.

We decided to both go abroad – and managed to both get jobs in Saudi Arabia.

I was told I would be working in a beauty salon – which I was happy about: it is a good job. I ended up, however, working as the housemaid of the owner of the beauty parlour.

The owner was rich, and they had a very big house – it had 9 bathrooms alone. I spent a lot of time cleaning… washing… doing the laundry… cooking. I wasn’t allowed to cook myself any food – all I got to eat was whatever was left after the owner and his family had finished eating. Sometimes, this was not very much and I would feel very hungry.

There was another maid in the house, a young Indonesian woman. When she got things wrong, the owner would shout at her and sometimes beat her. We each got paid SAR 500 (USD 133) a month, but when the Indonesian woman got into trouble, the owner would withhold her salary. I was constantly terrified this would happen to me, and so I tried to stay very quiet. The family could call me whenever they needed me, at whatever time, and I would have to respond to their demands. Often, I would only sleep for three hours a night. I did not have a single day off during my 26 months there.

I was also not allowed to leave the house, ever. They had taken away my passport when I had arrived and the doors to the house were normally locked.

The owner did let me use the phone, once a week and I would call my husband and my children. For a long time, neither my husband nor I actually knew where I was staying in Saudi Arabia – whether we were even in the same city. When I had arrived at the airport, I had been picked up at night and driven straight to the house. All I had seen of Saudi Arabia were the motorways lit by street-lamps. But the house had a rooftop, and during our phone calls I would go to the rooftop and describe what I saw around me. It took a few weeks, but through this, we managed to find each other. My husband was working as a driver and under the pretence of dropping off his product, he would detour to the house. Once a week, or so, we would wave at each other, me from the rooftop, him from the street. After 14 months, my husband returned to Nepal to take care of the children.

I had never seen my contract, and I did not know how long I was supposed to work for. After two years, I approached the family and asked whether I was allowed to return to Nepal. They were unwilling to let me go, but after two months, they agreed, and I finally flew home.

Find out more

Read Amnesty International’s new report here: Turning people into profits: Abusive recruitment, trafficking and forced labour of Nepali migrant workers.