Domestic help of Bangladesh consul general in New York has filed an abuse case against him and his wife and the case looks like a repetition of the Devyani Khobragade case that strained India-US relations.
Mashud Parves Rana in his lawsuit filed with the Manhattan federal court complained that consul general Monirul Islam and his wife, Fahima Tahsina Prova, “compelled” him to work for about 17 hours, seven days a week and he did not get “promised salary of $3,000 per month.”
Mashud went to New York in 2012 and his employer, who became the Bangladesh ambassador to Morocco in January, is supposed to leave New York for Rabat within a few days.
In the similar fashion, an underpayment case had been filed against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade by her domestic aid.
Mashud is being represented by Dana Sussman, the same lawyer who’s representing the domestic worker of Khobragade.
When contacted, Monirul Islam said Mashud left his Manhattan apartment two or three weeks back when the consul general asked him [Mashud] to go with him to Morocco.
“I was posted to Morocco and I told him to come with me there but he told me that he came to America to stay here, not to go to Morocco,” Monirul said.
When Monirul told him that he would become illegal if he stayed back, Mashud said that he would prefer to become illegal to stay in America.
“When I told him that I would inform the police, Mashud threatened me that he would file case against me like the way the domestic aid of Devyani did,” Monirul said.
The consul general informed the State Department office in New York when Mashud left the apartment.
Monirul along with his wife and school going son lives in a three-bedroom 1500 square feet apartment. “I, my wife and son live in one bedroom and we gave him a bedroom with attached washroom and there is a TV in his room,” he claimed.
In the lawsuit, it is written: “Mr. Rana would complete his daily tasks by approximately 11:00 pm each night. However, if defendants were attending an event outside the house, Mr. Rana was required to wait for them to return to let them in and prepare a late meal for them. On these occasions, Mr. Rana did not finish work until approximately 1 am.”
When asked about the allegation, Monirul said on some occasions, they came late but the allegation that Mashud had to wait for them or prepare late meal was false.
“He watched TV late at night no matter if we were inside or outside the apartment and maybe he opened the door for us but that did not mean that he waited for us. He eventually slept late,” Monirul said.
When asked about allegation that Mashud cooked for the family, washed clothes by hand, looked after his 11-year son and cleaned apartment daily, he said: “My wife cooks for us.”
The family owns a washing machine, so there is no point of washing clothes by hand and his apartment is small and it takes little labour to clean it with modern cleaning gadget, Monirul said.
“My son’s school starts at 8 in the morning and my office at 9. So, we start early in the morning and I come back in the evening,” he said. “In this time, what work he could do.”
When asked about the salary, he said, the non-monetary benefit is too high for him.
“If anyone wants to live in a single bedroom apartment in Manhattan area, it will costs him $3,000,” he said. “In addition to that we gave him full salary and provided all the necessary things.”