The dreams of foreign maids in Lebanon turn into nightmares

The dreams of foreign maids in Lebanon turn into nightmares

Migrant-Rights.org translation on an article that appeared in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat last week.

The Ethiopian maid "fell" from the balcony yesterday

The investigation into the death of migrant workers is taking a more "professional" approach. The death yesterday of Melomasen A., Ethiopian domestic worker, in Ashrafieh, was not declared a suicide. Investigations into the circumstances of the death are ongoing. She "fell" from the balcony of her employers and died immediately.

Al-Akhbar newspaper reported today on the incident. It mentioned that the security forces waited for the forensic team to come and remove the evidences, in case it was more than a case of suicide. This is considered a progress.

Al-Akhbar's text:

سقطت أمس العاملة الأثيوبية ملوماسن أ. من شرفة منزل مشغليها في منطقة الأشرفية. الشابة السمراء لقيت حتفها فوراً، وفق ما قال شهود. لم تُعرف أسباب هذا السقوط أو كيفية حدوثه. لكن من اللافت أن رجال قوى الأمن رفضوا رفع الجثة بانتظار رجال المباحث العلمية في الشرطة القضائية لأخذ الأدلة ومراقبة وضعية الجسم للتأكد من سبب الوفاة، فهل نتج من عملية انتحار أم أن ثمة اشتباهاً بحدوث جريمة قتل.

هذا التصرف يعدّ تقدماً ملموساً، ويلتقي مع مطالبات مدافعين عن العاملات، وذلك بعدما تكرر الكلام على ضرورة إجراء تحقيق جدي ودقيق في أسباب وفاة أية عاملة أجنبية، وعدم التحدث عن انتحار قبل أن تبيّن التحقيقات ذلك.

Ethiopian maid commits suicide in Ashrafieh. Merry Christmas everyone!

I just got a phone call from Nadim (HRW).

A few hours ago, an Ethiopian maid committed suicide in Ashrafieh. Her body is still laying on the road.

Ethiopian Suicides blog wishes you a Merry Christmas!

Ethiopian minister of culture visits Lebanese officials

Ethiopian minister of culture visited several Lebanese ministers, accompanied by the Ethiopian deputy minister of labor and social affairs. On the agenda of the talks was the situation of Ethiopian migrant domestic workers in Lebanon.

The Lebanese minister of Social Affairs declared after receiving the Ethiopian delegation that Lebanese housewives should treat these women, especially the Ethiopian, like their daughters.

وزيـر الثقافـة الإثيوبـي يتابـع قضايا مواطناته العاملات في لبنان , As-Safir newspaper, December 24, 2009

Bengali maid in Lebanon attempts suicide by drinking detergent

Al-Akhbar newspaper reported today the suicide attempt of S. I., a Bengali national working as maid in the Bekaa, Lebanon. She was rushed into Bekaa hosptial after drinking a quantity of detergent (Flash) at her employers' house.

The following is Al-Akhbar's one sentence report in Arabic:

أُدخلت العاملة البنغلادشية س. ي. إلى مستشفى البقاع قرب تعلبايا وهي في حالة اللاوعي، وتبيّن أنها تناولت كمية من مادة الفلاش في منزل مشغليها، وجاء في التقارير أن س. ي. حاولت الانتحار.

The Daily Star: Migrant domestic workers left unprotected despite reforms

By Farah-Silvana Kanaan, Special to The Daily Star

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

BEIRUT: A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report issued this month reveals that although Lebanon has begun to introduce important reforms for migrant domestic workers’ rights it is still falling short of offering adequate protection mechanisms. As a result, around 200,000 women migrant domestic workers still remain largely unprotected by labor laws and are subsequently subject to exploitation and frequent abuse by employers and agencies, the HRW report titled “Slow Movement: Protection of Migrants’ Rights in 2009.”

In a landmark case last week, a Lebanese woman was sentenced by a Batroun court to 15 days in prison and a fine after being found guilty of beating her Filipino maid, yet the general response of the Lebanese government has proven to be “far from sufficient,” the report said.

Among the many complaints made by domestic workers, – most of which hailing from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia – are delayed payment of wages or total lack thereof, forced confinement to the workplace, no free time, and both verbal and physical abuse.

Lebanese labor laws specifically exclude domestic workers from rights guaranteed to other workers, such as paid holidays, and workers’ compensation.

As immigration sponsorship laws ties a domestic workers’ residency to a specific employer, it is near impossible for a domestic worker to change employers, even due to legitimate reasons such as non-payment or abuse, or to get access to the Lebanese justice system.

According to HRW’s report, temporary, employment-based visas which do not specify a migrant’s employer would facilitate the transfer of sponsorship.

Migrant workers rarely file complaints, as they fear detention on the basis of their illegal status, which they are automatically burdened with if their sponsors terminate their contract or they leave their employers.

In addition, disputes between employers and migrant workers often take years to be adjudicated by courts, which according to HRW could be remedied by enacting legislation that provides a “quick and simplified dispute resolution mechanism.”

HRW also recommends granting temporary visas in the case of pending legal procedures to combat the difficult conditions migrants workers face whilst being detained and avoiding detention beyond the terms of their sentence.

The Labor Ministry introduced a standard employment contract earlier this year that clarifies certain terms and conditions of employment for domestic workers, such as the maximum number of daily working hours, however, the need for a weekly day of rest, and paid sick leave lacks enforcement mechanisms.

The contract also leaves certain issues vague or omits them, such as a worker’s right to leave her employer’s house and to retain their passport.

In the report, HRW recommends that the Lebanese government “amends the labor code to provide comprehensive legal protection for domestic workers,” and calls upon the Labor Ministry to create an inspection unit tasked with monitoring working conditions for migrant domestic workers.

At least 45 migrant domestic workers died in Lebanon in 2008, most of whom due to suicide or attempting to escape.

Miss Philippine Lebanon on Lebanon's New TV

Yesterday, Lebanese had the opportunity to see on prime time TV (after the 8 o'clock news) a live interview with a Filipino maid working in Lebanon and elected Miss Philippine Lebanon 2009 in an event held in Lebanon. I only succeeded in shooting with my digital camera the last 5 minutes of the program "Lil Nasher" of New TV, but they are enough to send one important message that I had already blogged about: most Lebanese are far from being evil racist people, and that abuse of migrant workers is not as widespread as it appears.

In the footage above, the employer of the Miss Philippine Lebanon calls live to the show and says that she has a daughter of the age of her maid out of Lebanon and understands the difficulty of living abroad and that she treats her maid like her daughter. Joy (the nickname of the Filipino maid) was working for 4 years at her employer's who was happy to send her for the contest.

The TV program finished by hosting Maria, the Filipino who organized the Miss Philippine Lebanon event. She spoke English.

Ok. I have to add here that the employer does succeed to objectify her maid at first by saying "The agent who sent her to work in my house asked me to try her for a month. He said she was sent back [Arabic term used for a defect product] by a previous employer".

But that was only the unconscious use of discriminatory language and not a sign of racism.

Filipino media celebrate Lebanese court ruling condemning Lebanese woman

Filipino media celebrated Lebanese court ruling condemning Lebanese woman for beating her Filipino maid following the publication by the Filipino Department of Foreign Affairs of a press release which named (for the first time) Fayrouz Fayez as the women sentenced to prison.

The Global Nation Inquirer declared that "justice came after three years to an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) after a Lebanese court convicted her employer for abusing her."

In a radio interview, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Gilberto Asuque said the Philippines is still waiting for Lebanon to approve a law on the protection of foreign workers. “There is no law protecting Filipinos in Lebanon. Their labor laws only benefit the Lebanese. They saw that they are lacking in that area so there are now proposals to create a law for the protection of migrant workers. We will let Lebanon work on that internal matter,” Asuque said in Filipino.

The following is the Filipino DFA press release.

Lebanese Convicted for Beating Up Filipino Domestic Worker

December 18, 2009 by DFA-PISU

The Philippine Embassy in Beirut reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on the conviction of a Lebanese employer for the abuse of Filipino domestic worker, the first in the history of Lebanon.

Fayrouz Farez was sentenced last December 9 by a Lebanese court to 15 days in prison, US$34 in court fines, and US$7,200 in compensation to Ms. Johnalyn Malibago.

“The Embassy views this case as an important legal precedent in Lebanon, being the first conviction of a Lebanese employer for the abusive treatment of a migrant worker, who significantly happened to be a Filipino,” Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot said.

During the Lebanon-Israel crisis in 2006, Welfare Officer Mario Antonio rescued Ms. Malibago from her Lebanese employer who was beating her up as she tried to escape Farez’s car around 200 meters away from the Sassine Evacuation Center in Beirut. Mr. Antonio is a Lebanese employee of the Beirut office of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and a local volunteer at the evacuation center.

Mr. Antonio discovered bruises on Malibago’s body. She was immediately brought to the hospital for treatment by then Labor Attaché Glenda Manalo and another Welfare Officer from Riyadh.

The Embassy had coordinated with the Caritas Migrant Center, an international NGO branch in Lebanon specializing in the welfare of migrant workers, mostly women, for filing and pursuing the case against Farez.

“It also serves to affirm that many Lebanese are working hard for the recognition and protection of the rights of migrant workers, and that the efforts of human rights groups has begun to take effect in Lebanon’s judiciary,” Chargé d’Affaires Lomondot said.

The Philippine Embassy official also expressed hope that the case would push the Lebanese government to enact laws and regulations to protect the rights of migrant domestic workers.

Exerpts on Lebanon from HRW's Protection of Migrants’ Rights in 2009

Slow Movement: Protection of Migrants’ Rights in 2009

Human Rights Watch, December 16, 2009

Exerpt on Lebanon:

There are an estimated 200,000 domestic workers, primarily from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia in Lebanon. New arrivals have also come from Nepal, Madagascar and Bangladesh. The restrictive kafeel residency system has direct implications for a domestic worker's ability to have recourse to the Lebanese justice system. Disputes between employers and migrant workers regularly take years to be adjudicated by courts. Human Rights Watch research found that at least 45 migrant domestic workers died in Lebanon in 2008, a majority of whom committed suicide or died while trying to escape in a hazardous way.[4] The high death rate persisted in 2009 with at least eight domestic workers dying in October alone.[5]

In January 2009, the Ministry of Labor finally introduced a standard employment contract that clarifies certain terms and conditions of employment for domestic workers, such as the maximum number of daily working hours, the need for a 24-hour rest period each week, and paid sick leave. While the standard contract is a step forward, there are no clear enforcement mechanisms, and the contract is vague or omits the worker's right to leave the workplace and retain her passport.

Human Rights Watch recommends the Lebanese government:

• Amend the labor code to provide comprehensive legal protections for domestic workers, and for the Ministry of Labor to create an inspection unit tasked with monitoring working conditions for migrant domestic workers.
• Reform sponsorship laws that require the consent of the employer to change sponsors. Facilitate transfer of sponsorship by making temporary, employment-based visas issued to a migrant nonspecific with respect to the migrant's employer.
• Enact legislation that sets up a quick and simplified dispute resolution mechanism to settle salary disputes between employers and migrant workers. In addition, grant migrant workers temporary visas (or an alternative to detention) while they have pending legal procedures.

List of proposed solutions to insure the rights of foreign maids in Lebanon

The following is a listing solutions and measures meant to secure the fundamental rights of female migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. These proposals have been collected in reports, studies and press releases from Human Right Watch, the International Labour Organization and Caritas-Lebanon. They address to the Lebanese government, foreign missions of the sending countries, private and public institutions or associations, businesses and NGOs.

• Revise labour laws to include migrant domestic workers on an equal basis as Lebanese citizens regarding to labour international protection standards.
• Revise sponsorship laws (make temporary professional visas non specific about the employer so that the migrant worker can escape him without losing legal status; eliminate exit laissez-passer that require consent of the employer).
• Have Lebanon ratify and enforce the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
• Establish a unified autonomous governmental bureau responsible for policy-making and information-gathering on migrant workers in the country (guidelines for other departments; data collecting through polls and inquiries; cooperation of migrants’ rights group…).
• Inter-government cooperation between Lebanon and sending countries to improve the standardized work contract (set up in January 2009) which should be written in the native language of both the employer and the employee and which should enshrine more strictly several fundamental guarantees (remuneration, working conditions, freedom of movement, conservation of passports, work and rest hours…) and implement legal mechanisms to enforce it on a daily basis.
• Monitoring working and living conditions of female migrant domestic workers in Lebanese households for example through regular meetings between an appointed labour inspector and the worker alone or through unexpected checking visits by officials, thus enforcing the standard employment contract’s provisions.
• Sign-up bilateral agreements for swift repatriation in case of serious abuse or withholding of the worker’s identity papers by the employer.
• Arrange « safe houses » (particularly in sending countries’ embassies) providing legal and social assistance to female migrant domestic workers and their children (accommodation for “runaway” maids; health care; trauma counseling; free of charge lawyers; recreational activities; awareness sessions on migrant’s rights and mechanisms of complaint and redress; vocational training and schooling; activities shared with Lebanese people in order to promote inter-nationality dialogue and respect).
• Expand microfinance loans allowing female migrant domestic workers to pay off their debts at home and thus giving them the opportunity to escape financial traps (which restrain them to accept abuse and appalling working and living conditions) and to pay for migration costs thus lowering financial pressure on Lebanese employers (whom therefore should be less keen on protecting their investment by seizing the maid’s passport and restricting her freedom of movements).
• Provide police forces with training to identify and respond to abuse against migrant domestic workers (conduct real investigations rather than classifying abuse cases; properly investigate cases of suicide among domestic workers; make sure abused workers fill in complaints form; send runaways to their foreign diplomatic mission rather than drive them back to their employer).
• Provide migrant domestic workers with information about their rights (and especially detainees for false accusation of theft or illegal status after running away).
• Improve courts liability and efficiency regarding cases of abuse against foreign domestic workers (ensure the presence of competent translators during legal proceedings; granting abused domestic workers with free legal assistance and representation; clarify and enforce complaint mechanisms; establish precedents regarding such strategic issues as withholding of passports and wages, physical and psychological abuse, poor living conditions and exploitative working hours and chores; mete out and implement proper penalties for employers and agencies violating migrant’s and laborer’s rights; invoke adequate provisions within criminal law and international conventions).
• Raise national awareness and attention on this issue (set up public media campaigns, focusing for example on drawing parallel with the Lebanese people’s own experience of emigration and on fighting racism which is deeply linked with female domestic workers’ lot, and get judges to make public statements and warnings).
• Enact special clauses within the staff rules of Lebanese private and public institutions, associations and firms and ensuring the registration and decent treatment of foreign domestic employees under threat of disciplinary measures.
• Regulate and monitor employment agencies (license-accreditation procedures; hold agents responsible for their actions; set forth clearly defined fees and placement practices…)
• Ensure any medical testing or administration of contraceptive medication is performed with informed consent and respecting confidentiality of medical information

The Daily Star: Landmark case lands Lebanese woman in jail for beating migrant maid

Daily Star staff, Tuesday, December 15, 2009

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109786

BEIRUT: A Lebanese woman was sentenced by a Batroun court to 15 days in prison this week after being found guilty of beating a Filipino maid working in her home. The accused, who has been identified only by her initials F.S., was also asked to pay a court fine of $34 and a further $7,200 in compensation to Philippines national Jonalin Malibago, by presiding judge Munir Suliman on December 9.

Malibago worked for the woman between February 2006 and July 2006 in her home in Achrafieh, Beirut, during which time she sustained bruises to her head, chest, back legs and arms.

The bruises were first noticed when Malibago was hospitalized in June 2006. Her employer told doctors she suffered from a blood disease known as Thalassemia, which could account for the injuries.

A medical report later commissioned by the Beirut Appeals Prosecutor confirmed the bruises were in fact caused by direct blows. The Batroun court last week ruled that they were sustained from the continuous beatings she was subject to by her employer while she worked as a maid in her home.

Malibago returned to the Philippines in late 2006 after filing the complaint and the court rejected the accused’s request to have her return in order to stand trial in Lebanon.

Nadim Houry, a migrant rights researcher for the US-based Human Rights Watch, sees the ruling as an important step in fighting this widespread abuse of migrant workers and expressed hope that the verdict would act as a precedent for future cases.

“The fact that a prison sentence was passed – even if it was only 15 days – will act as a deterrent to others,” Houry said. “The judiciary has been somewhat absent in the past but the judge in this case made the right decision, people need to be afraid of being named and shamed,” he added.

However, Houry expressed concern that a number of obstacles still prevent migrant workers from filing lawsuits against their employers, such as the high financial costs incurred and the prolonged procedures required for investigation.

“Many victims are forced to leave Lebanon before seeing justice, as the case takes so long to reach trial stage,” Houry said.

Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud said last week during a meeting with the Philippines, Ethiopian and Sri Lankan embassies in Beirut that the ministry intended to take their own measures in cases of abuse of domestic workers “out of utter respect for human rights.”

A recent report released by Human Rights Watch shows that at least one woman dies a week in Lebanon, while many more are injured trying to escape abusive employers and harsh working conditions.

In the past year, Ethiopia, Nepal and the Philippines took the step of banning all travel to the country due to the high number of suspicious deaths among the domestic worker community. – The Daily Star

"It's been two years that I didn't sing and dance and forget about work and madam"

"It's been two years that I didn't sing and dance and forget about work and madam" was the comment of Rachel Worko, an Ethiopian maid in Lebanon who attended a party for Ethiopians and Sudanese in Saida.

The event was reported today by Al-Akhbar newspaper and by The Daily Star. Ethiopian singer Ahmad Shumi had set the room on fire with his singing. The Ethiopians sang Sudanese songs, and the Sudanese sang Ethiopian songs, contributing to the cultural exchange between the two communities.

Image published in Al-Akhbar newspaper. Below are excerpts from the Daily Star article.

Sudanese, Ethiopian workers find reprieve at Sidon restaurant party By Mohammed Zaatari, Daily Star staff, Tuesday, December 15, 2009

SIDON: Songs, laughter and dancing are not uncommon in Sidon’s many restaurants, but the festivities at one establishment on Sunday were unique because they gathered Ethiopian and Sudanese workers for what could be considered one of their rare days of freedom. Men and women raised their voices and moved their feet, celebrating an event they dubbed “It’s my day off. It’s my day to sing and dance.” Ethiopian singer Ahmad Shumi sang songs of love in Amharic and called on his lost lover to come back while other guests danced to his melodies and forgot the hardships they often face in the homes of unjust Lebanese employers.

Life outside the walls of the Sidon restaurant is frequently harsh for foreign workers in Lebanon, many of whom are domestic workers. Many are believed to be forced to work for long hours without leaving the house of their employer and to suffer other sorts of abuse.

(...)

HoweverSunday was a cheerful day and an opportunity to meet new people. That was the case for Mohammad, a Sudanese citizen, and Gigi, an Ethiopian, who met on the dance floor and soon declared their love for one another. The party was very well organized with a lower entrance fee for women than for men because female foreign workers are paid less, as Mohammad Massar explained. “The aim of this gathering is to meet, have fun, unload the burdens of work and strengthen the ties between the two diasporas,” he added. The women also found in the celebration an opportunity to wear their best clothes and show off their looks. “Look how beautiful we can be outside of work,” said Moha Clomon. “Not only Lebanese women are pretty. Just wait to see us when we’re not working,” she added.

(...)

Ethiopians sang to Sudanese songs and vice versa as everyone remembered their homeland and the families they left behind. An Ethiopian worker explained that her country had love, dance and happiness but only lacked those dollar bills that Lebanon could provide. “These are stolen moments of joy for us,” said Inrahim Issac, a Sudanese engineer working at a Lebanese contracting company.