An Ethiopian maid who survived a fall from the seventh floor of a building in Kuwait’s Sabah el-Salem area while her employer filmed has explained that she wasn’t trying to commit suicide.
Ethiopian maid in Kuwait: I wasn't attempting suicide in cruel employer's viral video
“I wasn’t trying to commit suicide, I was trying to escape from the woman who tried to kill me,” the unnamed maid said in a video posted by Ethiopian media this weekend from the hospital where her broken arm is being treated.
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
The maid was filmed by her employer, a Kuwaiti woman, while she hanged outside their building tightly gripping the window frame with one hand until she fell onto a metal awning seven floors below.
Local media reported that she was attempting to commit suicide despite her call for help before falling.
The Kuwaiti woman, who had since been arrested, did not make an attempt to rescue her, and posted the 12-second video on social media, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah reported.
The woman was arrested for not helping the Ethiopian maid who was rescued by health professionals and rushed to the hospital with blood oozing from her nose and ears as well as a broken arm.
Human rights bodies have called on the authorities to investigate the incident and refer the matter to court.
The Gulf state has thousands of domestic helpers from Africa and Asia who are complaining of abuse from their employers.
DISCRETION: Below is the distressing video of her fall from the building.
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }