I've been following the story of the Indian Diplomat that was arrested for basically engaging in slave labor with her housekeeper.
I could see a formal protest from that country, but instead we have massive protests in the streets, accusations that our law enforcement engaged in gang rape in their treatment of her etc...
To which I say really? Seriously? India! You can't be serious!
You have China which violates your border almost daily. You have Pakistan that kills and beheads your soldiers along the Line Of Control on about a quarterly basis.....
And then you have us. Americans. Not perfect friends but the hand is out and this is your reaction?
I love ya India but if you're gonna be a world player then its time to grow up.
Update: Keith requested links to some of the stories covering the protests. I'm posting just a FEW below. As an additional sidenote. Let me add that this arrest was handled by the US Marshals Service. Quite honestly I list them as being the top dogs when it comes to kicking in doors. By that I mean professional. No cowboys but they are hardcore. This diplomat was handled by the book if they did the job...plus you have to know that the US District Attorney was breathing down their neck every step of the way. There is no way in hell this woman was mistreated.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25430792
http://nypost.com/2013/12/18/protests-continue-in-india-after-nannygate-diplomat-arrested/
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/indian-diplomat-devyani-khobragade-row-protesters-attack-dominos-pizza-outlet-in-mumbai/1209931/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/maid-arrested-indian-diplomat-great-stress-article-1.1554687
can you update this with a hotlink to the article?
ReplyDeletei'm on it Keith. give me a sec.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAn Indian official compared the search to a gang rape
Deletehttp://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/u-s-arrest-strip-search-of-female-diplomat-sparks-outcry/article_eca2326c-691a-11e3-846c-0019bb30f31a.html
oh good God......
DeleteShe is pissed that she got caught and is trying to cause a scene so the matter wwill go away.
Thankfully, the DA isn't dropping it.
This honestly is probably due to India's still there caste system. Maybe the diplomat was higher caste and didn't think the maid deserved a higher wage and thinks she is completely justified in her mistreatment....
First I am opposed to harassment of any honest individual in any form and I support the rule of law.
ReplyDeleteBut I fail to understand what this incident has got to do with references of Pakistan or China in the first place. However in border incidents I can assure you these are handled properly although it does not come to news.
Secondly we in India have reason to believe there is much more to the incident than meets the eye. The international affairs seldom have a straight line view. Taking the case of US, in Raymond davis affairs diplomatic immunity was claimed for a man who had been directly charged with multiple homicide and believed to indulge in acts that were far from any diplomatic activities.
I have nothing against US but truth has many shades hidden behind media reports and diplomatic cloak.
Samar,
Deletei bring up the issues with China and Pakistan because i don't see street demonstrations on those issues while we have what APPEARs to be wrong doing on the part of an individual turning into protest marches. additionally you didn't see protests in the streets when it came to the Davis issue.
that's what i mean and thats why i compared them. what ever the reason i don't understand why the populace would become enraged behind this.
Yeah, if they won't treat their servantry the way we treat our workers here they will have to leave them at home. The US is our country and we say what comes and goes around here.
ReplyDeleteI will say that our police while better than some parts of the world don't treat the people they deal with well enough.
They trample the fourth amendment at every opportunity. And if you ever get into more trouble than a speeding ticket you too can experience first hand the consequence governed disrespect they dish out.
i'm big on police misconduct but thats why i pointed out that the US Marshal's service was involved. they're pros. additionally thats why i pointed out that the US District Attorney was present...to emphasize that this was done by the book.
DeleteSolomon,
ReplyDeleteAfter her arrest, she was handcuffed, strip searched, and cavity searched for absolutely no discernible reason at all. A lot of the anger from the Indian side stems from how she was treated in this manner (FYI, doing a cavity search on a prisoner amounts to custodial rape in India). The USMS spokesperson at first implicitly agreed that she was strip searched and cavity searched but now denies that a cavity search took place. Either way, the manner of her arrest and her treatment afterwards were grossly over the top.
As far as the maid is concerned, there is plenty of evidence that she was not mistreated or overworked in any manner: She was given every Sunday off for instance. Her salary may seem far below the US minimum wage but that would ignore the fact that the perks and benefits provided for by the consulate and the diplomat in question more than adequately covered full cost of living and then some: Free room and board, all medical/healthcare expenses covered, free cell phone with phone bills paid for, access to a free 24/7 taxi service etc. She was even given a free iPad for personal use.
There is also circumstantial evidence that the maid had planned this out beforehand as a quick way to emigrate and get a permanent residence permit in the US. Please do read the following two articles:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/edit/maid-in-manhattan-a-migration-project.html
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131221/jsp/frontpage/story_17705344.jsp
More if you are interested...
Yeah I can see the anger now. The cavity search is an outdated process that dates back before the advent of X-rays and other imaging equipment. There are many a of former inmate who's complaint fell on deaf ears LOL.
DeleteI'm sure the marshals did things by the book but cavity search shouldn't be on the books anymore. I think a couple fingers on the insides is a couple fingers more government involvement than I want in the world.
Perhaps we should let this crook go and change this part of law enforcement/corrections.
You must understand that this is basically a sideshow being engineered in India by the ruling Congress.
ReplyDeleteThere were some pretty significant local elections a couple of weeks ago where they mostly got their asses handed to them, including in the capital Delhi. Post election there was a wave of anti Congress sentiment which was threatening to take matters out of their hands and then conveniently this little fiasco shows up and blows all the political stuff out of the papers.
The story here is straightforward, an uppity diplomat thought that the US was like India, where status and job title means you can get away with things. In any other time the story would be ignored and everyone would go about their lives but now suddenly its become public distraction number 1.
Most likely no cavity search. Just the simple bend over spread your cheeks and cough.
ReplyDelete