Back in May, I wrote a post about the Muttontown/Long Island couple who were accused of treating their Indonesian maids like “modern-day slaves”. It is time for an update (thanks, various tipsters):
A jury on Monday convicted a millionaire couple of enslaving two Indonesian women they brought to their mansion to work as housekeepers.
Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, and his wife, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 45, were each convicted of all charges in a 12-count federal indictment that included forced labor, conspiracy, involuntary servitude, and harboring aliens. [MSNBC]
In addition to grueling 18-hour days, Samirah and Enung were “fortunate enough” to receive discipline and opportunities like those detailed below:
Allegations of abuse included beatings with brooms and umbrellas, slashings with knives, being made to repeatedly climb stairs and take freezing-cold showers as punishment for misdeeds that included sleeping late or stealing food from trash bins because they were poorly fed.
Samirah, the woman who fled the house in May, said she was forced to eat dozens of chili peppers and then was forced to eat her own vomit when she failed to digest the peppers, prosecutors said… [MSNBC]
This next bit is clearly a misinterpretation of actual events; I’m sure that Mrs. Sabhnani was merely trying to assist with hair removal. That’s quite thoughtful of her!
Enung testified that Samirah’s nude body once was covered in plastic wrapping tape on orders from Varsha Sabhnani, who then instructed Enung to rip it off. “When I pulled it off, she was screaming,” the housekeeper said through an interpreter before breaking down in tears on the witness stand. [MSNBC]
These disposable women should have been grateful that they were allowed to come to America, so that they could live in a mansion– and be stashed in a 3’x3′ space whenever visitors came, lest they embarrass their generous employers with their bruises and scars. If they hadn’t been so gluttonous as to sift through the trash for scraps, then they wouldn’t have been punished. Makes perfect sense…if you’re EVIL. But wait! There’s MORE!
The Sabhnanis’ defense attorneys contended the two women concocted the story of abuse as a way of escaping the house for more lucrative opportunities. [CNN]
You know, when I’m on the prowl for more lucrative opportunities, I always make sure that I rush in to a Dunkin’ Donuts with naught but a towel for a shirt and then fake abuse while pleading for help. Works every time.
They argued the housekeepers practiced witchcraft and may have abused themselves as part of an Indonesian self-mutilation ritual. They also said the couple went on frequent vacations that would have given the two women ample opportunity to flee. [MSNBC]
Obviously they didn’t practice witch stuff enough! I mean, if you don’t have the power to ingest 25 chili peppers like it ain’t no thang, well, you’re an embarrassment to your kind. Actually, it’s a good thing these witches were terrible at their craft; imagine what manner of wicked mischief they might have inflicted on their poor, persecuted, millionaire employers, had they had the time or energy provided by scraps of food from the garbage, to work on such things.
I didn’t think I could loathe these people more, but after reading that “strategy” put forth by their lawyers, I think I might. Then again, perhaps it’s heartless of us to blame this couple, when their greedy witch-employees just wanted to have some traditional, self-mutilatin’ fun? The Sabhnanis are the real victims here. I mean, look at this:
Varsha Sabhnani, 45, and one of her daughters collapsed in disbelief as the damning verdict was read – and were taken to a hospital for treatment. [NYDailyNews]
Maybe histrionics are like cooties? Contagious?
Defense attorney Jeffrey Hoffman said he would appeal. “Apparently, the jury was taken by the histrionics …” of the Indonesian women, he said. [CNN]
Here’s the best quote ever:
“We never did anything to anybody,” the Sabhnanis’ daughter Tina screamed. “How could this happen to us in America?” [NYDailyNews]
Yes, Tina. How COULD this happen, not just in America, but in your own home?
The might be eligible for a special visa on humanitarian grounds. Something like the newly enforceable U-Visas perhaps?
Yes, how very UnAmerican. Kind of like “prolonged use of stress positions, exposure to heat and cold, sleep deprivation and even waterboarding.”
You know, this isn’t the first time, nor sadly will it be the last, that we read about something going on like this in America. I think as has been pointed out many times before, the daughter’s cry of “how could this happen to us in America!” permeates on several levels: as many here have suggested, this is the kind of thing that, had it happened in Saudi or some other country, we would all just shake our heads and go “tsk tsk” because we “expect” no better. We seem to hold that once someone comes to America, or is born or lives here, they are somewhat “above” those people who live in the developing world when this story just goes to prove that some (fill in proper negative word) people are just who they are regardless of location.
Oh, and Anna if you ever have the urge to run into a Dunkin Donut wearing “naught but a towel for a shirt”, please let me know beforehand 😉
I was reading the comments over at the Newsday article, and found some trying to defend the Sabhnanis on the grounds that what they gave the maids was better than what the maids would have got in Indonesia, so the maids should be happy. Leaving the ridiculousness of this argument aside, I was by and large glad that the Newsday commenters were all treating the Sabhnanis as individuals, expressing schadenfreude at their being found guilty, and hoping that they would serve long prison sentences, and not immediately launch into immature bleats for deportation (which I’ve seen sometimes on Fark).
Well, I was glad, until my mind was blown by this:
Sigh.
oh, i didn’t realize acfd hit the civil suit angle first. funny, when i was typing my comment i was thinking about giving him a shoutout, but then i thought “naw, he’s more like a tree-hugging bleeding heart lawyer. these women need a bulldog.”
but shit, next time i execute an insider trade and then see acfd on the caller id, i’m hitting the highway.
ANNA, you’ve met my mom? 😉 [just kidding — my mom is not that gross, although she did threaten just that when I was 4].
AlCfD @ 29, and
I actually think these maids would have a pretty strong VAWA case if anyone was creative enough to try that angle. Hat tip to subin (@51) on the existent but never issued U-Visa. At any rate, I’m sure that — even with worse treatment abroad — there was not an expectation of gross abuse and mistreatment.
So now the Americans should realize that Indians can be a real partner in their fight against terrorism. We can torture too!
But seriously, force feeding vomit.. uggh. I just don’t get how people can be so sadistic. Any psychologists care to speculate ? The Stanford prison experiment comes to mind but didn’t this couple realize that their actions would eventually catch up to them ? Karma anyone?
What makes the US (and much of the western world) a great place to live is the value attached to human rights here — individual choice, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and well, freedom to live. In third world countries (India and the gulf included) its very easy for the rich and powerful to be above the rest of society and the poor to not even know what they’re missing.
ps: In reference to the Saudi comment, the Sabhnanis are lucky not to live there; I imagine the thought of a Saudi eye-for-an-eye legal system isn’t very appetizing.
not likely. given the nature of muttontown – upper middle class, houses not too close to each other – nobody would notice, and even if they did notice some sort out-of-the-ordinary elements, they prob. wouldn;t have said something unless they saw something extremely blatant. but seeing as these maids were basically locked up, it’s probably friends of the family and others who spent time inside the house who would have had a chance to notice – and i wonder if they said a word. e.g. lots of rich desi aunties on LI do the kitty party thing – or generally socialize at one another’s homes a great deal – did not anybody realise, or care enough to inform on them?
i would think that parents who watch their servants’ every move set an example for how their own kids they should act re those servants’ moves (and the moves of others). my aunt and uncle have ridiculous control over their household employees, and my cousin follows their behaviour to the T – including informing on me and what i do when i am in their house. ditto on the children of a host family i stayed with in pune. i don’t know what the menatlity is – whether they think that this is how a household is run, or whether they just want to please their perants with like behaviour, but it’s not surprising. maybe it also takes on some element of mob mentality?
Anyone have any information about this family’s perfume business? Just so I can make sure I don’t accidently buy any of their products…
also, a few articles on the matter have certainly brought up the economic injustice of allowing those who can afford it house arrest over the option of going to jail. after the conviction, the sabhnanis are back home under house arrest again – but the government is looking to seize the house. no house = no house arrest = jail?
I’m generally not in favor of a punitive justice system (and certainly not in favor of a classed system, which is often the result), but in this case I hope the answer to your question is HELL YES.
There is an old trope amongst South Indians that “Narth-Indians” are cruel to their servants. Anyone else come across this? Not that this explains anything to do with this case; the Sabhnanis are clearly psychotic, medically speaking. If not, my imagination just boggles…
Wow, what a vicious…I can’t think of a profane word which is awful enough to describe “The Mrs”.
It could have been MURDER:
Ohhh, good Sepia has moved on from that politician piece. Was I the only one who found that awkward?
God that woman look’s guilty. I dont know any facts, but can a person look any more guilty?
I see both sides however. The stories seem so fake that you cant believe that this day in age a person can do that to another person in America. On the other I would never under estimate a Indian.
Well, seeing as they’re headed for federal pound-me-in-the-assets prison, the house isn’t the only thing they’ll have trouble protecting.
From keeping slaves to (hopefully) being kept as some hardened convict’s bitch…Fate has a sense of humor.
Speedy
Curious,
I feel bad– I meant to include that bit of information in the post, but it was a crazy day around the bunker. Now I can’t remember the article which had details about the business…but here’s something, while I work on retrieving the other:
Considering they convict rape victims in Saudi Arabia, chances are the maids would have received 200 lashes for complaining about their treatment.
Well, seeing as they’re headed for federal pound-me-in-the-assets prison, the house isn’t the only thing they’ll have trouble protecting.
Well, lets not get start wishing for prison rape as punishment. Also they will be going to a Federal Prison where inmates dont usually get raped or abused.
It is in state prisons where the rapes and abuse take place.
Considering they convict rape victims in Saudi Arabia, chances are the maids would have received 200 lashes for complaining about their treatment.
If Saudi employer and foreign 3rd world maid: Lashes for the maid plus deportation Foreign employer and Saudi maid/employee: Foreign employer gets charged with rape and beheaded.
The link to their fragrances/products/fake Yardley “talc” —> Royal Mirage
Look around now, before it’s yanked!
Some future perfumes names for them:
“Guilty” “Solitary” “Cuffed” “Sentenced”
Ah yes– this is brilliant. They make “indecent”.
Caution: there’s a disturbing picture of one of the victims at that link…I can’t believe her ear is still attached.
What’s really awful is there’s still more nastiness to this story, beyond what’s being discussed: bribes offered to drop charges, threats to hurt the victims’ families/husbands in Indonesia, removing a door from the mansion b/c one of the beatings was so severe, blood had stained it… 🙁
From Newsday:
Not surprised.
I think its indicting that in all these years, the best pic the defense can come up with is an indifferent servant opening her present. Not even one where they smile warmly.
I still find the vomit thing hard to believe. That is in the same category of rape to me. Maybe they should force the couple ot eat someone’s vomit.
has anyone seen the photo of the wife? She looks like a cross between Michael Jackson and the Desi Cruella Deville! How much plastic surgery and botox injections has that woman undergone?
It’s immediate and obvious to notice “The Mrs'” phenotype, but tragically, in this case, there’s so much more to be disgusted or horrified by. After reading all I have, I don’t even see her face, I’m too consumed with her inexcusable heartlessness and the galling sense of entitlement she had, to think she was allowed to torture others just because she couldn’t find her sweater or worse, because these two terrified, battered women tried to please her by serving her without her permission and starting a chore without her.
She really will rot in hell with her husband, who witnessed her behavior/overheard the cries of defenseless women…and did nothing. In a way, he’s worse than his sick, hideous wife; he enabled this slavery and torment. And the kids? Completely worthless, for inhaling their evil parents’ mindset and not questioning a damned thing. Oh, a maid took a sip of milk? Your parents wired $17 million between accounts, I think you’ll survive. Put the fucking phonecam down, you rat.
How greedy can people be?
Did anyone see the photo of the “Christmas present” that the family gave the servant? It might be the ugliest article of clothing ever. The family relied on the picture in their defense to show they were caring for the servants, but would you ever give anyone you cared about something that ugly? I am not even sure what the hell it is?
(photos 7 and 8 at http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzslav1218,0,6927041.story
The Sabhnani clearly aren’t very bright. Even Dick Cheney knows that you need to torture people with plausible deniability – such as tasers, mace, and waterboarding, you know all those fun modern techniques that leave no scars and no evidence. You don’t see police dumb enough to club you over the head or slash you with a knife; they use a tasers and pepper spray. 21st century to Sabhnanis, hello, try to move past your old 18th century torture techniques and get with the program!
“The Mrs.” also reminds me of the evil witch in Sleeping Beauty… only she’s uglier… so the outside also reflects the inside.
This productive discussion that has brought to many people’s attention a horrible example of a more wide-spread problem should not lead us to become narrowly focused on something like whether The Mrs.’ physical appearance betrays her guilt or not. Rather, this discussion should hopefully lead to further personal and public inquiry as to the extent of the tragic problem of domestic (and sexual) slavery that still exists today, locally and abroad.
If you’d like to do something about it. Think about supporting organizations like the Tahirih Justice Center. It recently received the 2007 Washington Post Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Management, and helps immigrant women flee human rights abuses through direct legal services and public policy advocacy.
BTW…I heart Sepia. For ranging from tough topics like this to hilarious videos. Boop!
63 Shallow Thinker: the stories can seem rather improbable in this day and age, but this is of course not the first instance. This story reminds me of a number of cases that came to light in Malaysia regarding the gross physical abuse and underpayment of Indonesian maids in Kuala Lumpur. It seems to be a growing problem there, and particularly targeted at the Indonesians as they also have Philipino maids who dont seem to have the same degree or rate of abuse.
Anyway, good to see that justice has been served.
Sometimes you wonder how many innocent and helpless people are suffering at any given moment somewhere in the world…at the hands of evil, tyrannical, cruel monsters. And in the majority of cases, it never gets exposed or corrected.
naz wondered, “did the neighbors have any clue this was going on for five years? did they ever act on this knowledge or ask questions?”
I rented a small apartment in an upper-middle class suburb for many years. And it strikes me now, after I moved out, that suburbia as such often fails to create a “community spirit”: I never knew my next-door neighbors, never entered their houses, never knew how they lived, their homes were sound-proofed…. If someone next door had kept slaves, I probably wouldn’t have noticed! :-S
A N N A, thanks for posting this. all around, a really sad case.
this couple not only lacked humanity, they failed to instill some shred of decency in their kids, the next generation. i can see how these behaviors get passed down and repeat themselves.
To be quite honest, the working conditions for maids in India are way much better than in this case. Even when some families have children working for them from the age of 14 or 15, they treat them really well, try to see that they go to school and are at least, healthy. Perhaps because I’m originally from Delhi, I’ve witnessed the better side of these experiences. In fact, one elderly couple we knew in Delhi would treat the child working for them as their son, gave him a place to live, paid for him to go to a good school and saw to it that he made something of himself; He was a Harijan(of the lowest Hindu class – some people still believe in that) but I didn’t see them caring.
I don’t know how some human being could do that to another. My family used to live in the middle east too and we had a live-in maid for my 2 year old brother but the maximum I saw my parents say to her was talk to her about her work and taking care of my brother. My mom would occasionally get angry with her but even then, she would talk to her in the same tone as she would with me or my sister.
Even other Indians living in the middle east – I’ve never seen them behave like this with their live-in maids.
In my opinion, this couple far from depicts how Indians treat maid servants in India or the middle east.
Being heartless, cruel and vindictive towards people of a lower economic class than you is definitely not an ‘Indian’ trait to me.
I agree with some of the posters who said they witnessed abuse of domestic help in India. While visiting India, I also noticed verbal abuse of servants by some of my (idiotic) relatives and heard of similar and worse stories. I have also seen kind and humane treatment of servants by some of my relations and others.
It is puzzling why another human would mistreat someone who is doing work for them. What if the cook/servant/maid spits in their food (when the employers) aren’t looking or some other mischief to get revenge for bad treatment? Some, not all, people would think about ways to retaliate against bad treatment. I think it would be in the employer’s best interest to treat the hired help fairly as much as possible.
(This can lead to all kinds of discussion like the way soldiers are treated by their superiors, the manner in which businesses treat their white and blue collar workers and so on.)
I think the Sabhnani’s business is starting to smell more like fertilizer in light of the jury’s decision.
I was wondering why they had Indonesian servants instead of Indian servants and the language they used to communicate. It looks like the wife is Indonesian. It is good that both of them are going to jail.
Dude, stop bullshitting. That is most definitely a common indian trait.
May these heathens rot in hell!
Regarding the photo showing what appears to be one of the maids playing in the snow: this photo was used by the defense to show that, well, how can they be slaves if they play in the snow?
Could she have been made to shovel the snow off the driveway with her bare hands?
This issue needs to be talked about, and obviously, many of the posters here are not too comfortable with the way servants are generally treated overseas, myself included. Treating people like this, or even as a lesser human should not happen, here or there. What’s your problem with that?
New York Post article..
The whole family appears to be demented..
Golfastrian,
My problem is that this post is about an Indian American couple that mistreated their help and is being convicted for that. I am not saying that domestic help is not mistreated in other parts of the world, but I think harping on that takes the discussion away from the topic. Anyway for all it is worth I know plenty of people that treat their help like family, including paying for the kids’ school, to treating them like family members at family functions, so it is not as cut and dry as it may seem. If you or any other people have seen your extended family members mistreat their help, then it is a testament to them not to a broad sweeping generalizing testament about everyone in a particular country and that is precisely what OT discussions like the ones I mention tend to achieve.
So they’re not Sindhi, they’re Panjabi Sikhs.
BTW the wife grew up in Indonesia, thats why she probably preferred Indonesian maids.
Its amazing how people can be so cruel and also so “relgious” at the same time. Didn’t they ever connect the lessons they learned at the Sikh Center w/ what was happening at home?
I apologize if my comment upset people so much. It was actually meant to be a general call for civility, I acknowledge that India like all the other places is not perfect but at the same time it is not fun for anyone to read people shit on their home all the time.
Sindhi Hindus often worship at gurudwaras, and based on the couple’s name, I’d say they are Sindhi, not Punjabi.
Maybe I’m just a pessimist, but haven’t you defined one of the few constants of human existence?
Nah, this is a South Asian trait.
Anyway, like I said before, while people often mistreat servants in India (they also often treat them very well and care for them lifelong), this case is just something else. Really scary and bizarre.
In the previous thread on the topic linked to in the post, Amitabh explains how some Sindhi Hindus workship in gurudwaras.
brown@ 93:
Did you read my response to your post? I agree with you wholeheartedly that these discussions need to remain civil, but I do believe my post was misread, as I was not making a generalization.
JGandhi@92:
“Its amazing how people can be so cruel and also so “relgious” at the same time. Didn’t they ever connect the lessons they learned at the Sikh Center w/ what was happening at home?”
This always baffles me as well, but it does seem that religion appears to have little effect on many people who engage in such behavior! There are also those people who engage in religious formalities while paying little thought to the actual messages, and that appears to be quite common these days as far as my experience goes.
Akshay,
My comment was not directed at you but a general sentiment, I think I have seen these discussions go the other way too often in the past. Thank you for being gracious enough to clarify.
I am really glad these people were convicted on all counts thereby sending a message to everyone that mistreating domestic workers and anyone else is wrong. Since Samirah escaped and the case broke, I’ve been haunted by the feeling that the kids were most probably abused as well. I’m just praying for everyone involved in the case that they break away from the past and become better persons.
All that said, I am horrified by the antiIndian (anti “brown”) sentiments expressed in the comments sections of Newsday (and other online newspapers). In my rarified little part of the world, I’m rarely exposed to the opinions many people have of us.
Look I agree with most of the sentiments expressed here (I hope that their basic inhumanity is justly punished). But before making statements such as above I would like to:
1) see some statistical evidence of the probability that an Indian would torture domestic help period. 2) given this probability I would like to see that probability conditioned on a) social class b) place of residence
3) then I would like to see some comparative evidence–i.e. from other countries–on treatment of domestic help 4) then I would like to combine the two samples (the Indian sample and the say, international sample) and then condition the probabilities on social class, religion, region of residence, nature of political system, nature of legal system etc. (with other controls)
Then if I see that being Indian makes it more likely to torture domestic help, all other things being equal, only then would I make statements such as the above. Until them please speak for your own families and relatives (I don’t know what that says about your families and relatives) and leave “Indians” out of it.