Ah, like clockwork: diplomat's father says maid was "like family"

[Recursion]

So, that may not resonate with you, but saying "our staff is like family" is one of those phrases like "some of my best friends are black" is in the US.

And, yes, he probably is genuinely mystified why she would run away.

http://online.wsj.com/article/APb377c28885204f87a331f8854caebfbd.html

On Friday, the diplomat's father, Uttam, said his daughter treated the housekeeper, Sangeeta Richard, like a member of the family. He said Richard had Sundays off and was free to attend church and visit her friends.

He filed a lawsuit in India earlier this year on his daughter's behalf, saying Richard was wrongly accusing his daughter of treating her like a slave.

But Richard's lawyer said Thursday that the housekeeper worked from morning until late at night, seven days week, for less than $3 an hour. Unable to get better pay, she made sure Khobragade's two children were cared for one day and walked out.

From that moment on, lawyer Dana Sussman said, Richard relied on the kindness of strangers within the Indian community in New York City, and even was looked after at one point by a Sikh temple. She eventually connected with the nonprofit Safe Horizon, which has an anti-trafficking program.

And, just to recap, the "blackmail" she is accused of in the Delhi court ruling is -- I'm not kidding -- her request to Khobagadre to pay her the back wages she is owed under the original contract submitted with her visa. For this, the Indian court issued a no-bail warrant, meaning she would be required to stay in jail for as long as it takes the court to hear the case (the Delhi docket is backlogged by about 3 years currently, but the trial jurisdiction would probably be Mumbai, which is slightly better).

The CIA doesn't pull people out of diplomats' houses and send them to homeless women's shelters, so that little conspiracy theory doesn't go anywhere.

If we're going to take the diplomatic heat for this, we should at least get the story right...