Domestic Workers in Lebanon Speak Out

Sujana Rana, a Nepalese domestic worker, shares her experience at a community center in Beirut.

The Wall Street Journal, By Mona Hammoud and Nour Malas
In any other context, this set of people would not be mingling in Beirut: artists, academics, and domestic workers. On a recent evening, all gathered at a community center to share research and experiences on an issue–domestic workers’ rights–not otherwise addressed much in Lebanese circles.
“I want to try and help our sisters who don’t sleep, don’t eat, and are afraid,” said Sujana Rana, a member of a Nepalese domestic workers group. “We leave our homes, our families to come to Lebanon,” she said with a quivering voice, “and work so hard to

Ethiopian domestic worker commits suicide in Tyre

An Ethiopian domestic worker died over the weekend in an apparent suicide in the southern city of Tyre, security sources told The Daily Star Sunday.

The woman allegedly threw herself off a balcony of the apartment building where she worked, the sources said.

Media reports said the woman had fled last week from her employer’s home. Security forces later detained the Ethiopian and returned her to her employer.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on April 07, 2014.