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The New Slavery In Modern America
Part 1
by pat

The conviction and sentencing of Mahender and Varsha Sabhnani, for the torture and enslavement of two Indonesian maids, has once again brought to the forefront the issue of slavery in modern America.

This case, which made international headlines, in part because of the International cast of characters as well as the reported wealth of the perpetrators, was colored with salacious testimony. Ms. Sabhnani, an Indonesian married to an Indian–purportedly a Hindu version of Cruella de Ville–was a very successful business woman who resided in The Long Island Gold Coast. Both she and her husband were US citizens.

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.”

“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.”

Varsha was given 11 years, her husband, who never laid a hand on the women, was given 3 years, 4 months. The case generated publicity for a number of reasons.

Although this was initially thought to be a recurrent case of Muslims enslaving others, it does not appear that is true. But the victims were Muslims, (as was the alert Dunkin Donuts employee who fed, consoled and called the police for one of the escaped maids), and this generated anger in the Muslim blogosphere.

Because only Muslims get to enslave others, you know.

As to that proposition, there have been such cases. They gather headlines, but there is no pattern–other than the arrogance of the Saudi royal family, something that even other Muslims have trouble stomaching.

Examples

Saudi Gets 27 Years to Life for Enslaving Maid
Barbara Ferguson, Arab News

WASHINGTON, 1 September 2006 — A Saudi man convicted of sexually assaulting an Indonesian housekeeper and keeping her as a virtual slave was sentenced yesterday to 27 years to life in prison in Colorado

Homaidan Al-Turki, the 37-year-old Saudi national, denied the charges and blamed anti-Muslim prejudice for the case against him. He said prosecutors persuaded the housekeeper to accuse him after they failed to build a case that he was a terrorist.

Al-Turki, who was studying for a doctoral degree at the University of Colorado, was convicted June 30 of unlawful sexual contact by use of force, theft and extortion. All are felonies.

He was also convicted on misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment. This next one involves a lovely Saudi Princess:

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