Nepalese perfornance in Hamra, Beirut, during a fundraiser for the Nepalese New Year

During a fundraising party on 16 April 2011 at T-marbouta, Hamra, Beirut, in support of the Non-Resident Nepali Association's 17th April celebration for Nepalese New Year. Organized by the Migrant Worker task Force. Mostly attended by Lebanese, and the Nepalese food was good!!

Kingdom Fiesta 2011, March 18 to 20 in Burj Hamoud

 

Kingdom Fiesta 2011, organized by Life Center, will be gathering a host of nationalities, including those of domestic workers in Lebanon Event will be held from Friday, March 18 at 7:00pm to Sunday March 20 at 10:00pm.
Location: Life Center ,Burj Hamoud ,under the bridge, Beirut, Lebanon

Facebook event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186781704675309

Ethiopia’s Consul General in Lebanon: The ban is still on for our citizens to work in Lebanon

The Anti-Racism Movement met, on August 17, 2010, with Ethiopia’s Consul General in Lebanon, Mr. Asaminew Debelie Bonssa, and his assistant, at the consulate in Badaro, Beirut. The following are some notes from the meeting.

The role of the Consulate and the role of the Lebanese government

• Almost two years ago, the Ethiopian government put a ban on their citizens to come and work in Lebanon. But the ban has been circumvented through 3rd countries, from which they are coming in big numbers. I used to work in the Ethiopian MFA when the ban was installed, and we were alarmed with the high death rate and the absence of legal protection of the Ethiopian migrants in Lebanon.
• The consulate is working with the ministry of labor to mitigate the plight of Ethiopian domestic helpers in Lebanon. There are an estimate of 43,000 Ethiopian domestic helper in Lebanon, not counting those who are here without legal residency (overstaying their visa).
• End of 2009, the Ethiopian government sent a big delegation to Lebanon and met with key stakeholders, including the General Security Office and the ministry of Labor. During these meetings, the delegation proposed to sign a memorandum of understanding concerning domestic helpers. But the political situation, the elections and the change of cabinet hindered the process. The memorandum was not signed.
• Overstaying in prisons – sometimes for 5 or 6 months before repatriation – is a problem facing the Ethiopian community. The minister of Interior, Mr. Ziad Baroud, told the Ethiopian consul, Consul General Mr. Asaminew that the cause behind overstaying the high number of migrant workers in Lebanon, the high number of cases where they end up in prison, and the small number comparatively who are investigating these cases in the police or the General Security.
• The consulate is working with the General Security Office (GSO) to repatriate Ethiopian nationals without legal residency in Lebanon. The GSO offered amnesty to all Ethiopians in prisons who were not facing criminal charges, and who could buy a ticket.
• Last Thursday, 88 Ethiopian girls went back home. And 148 girls went back on the flight prior. They had all been detained for illegal residency. The turnout is high. The jails empty up and fill up fast, when more illegal migrants are sent in, from various nationalities, including Ethiopian.

The “suicides”

• The latest case of “suicide”: On July 25, 2010, Ethiopian domestic helper, Zewdnesh Theshome Beyene, born in 1982 in Addis Ababa, presumably “jumped” at 8:30 a.m. from the 8th floor of her employer’s house in Msaytbeh. Her name was not published back then. She died on the spot. The consulate received that day phone calls from neighboring Ethiopian domestic helpers who witnessed the incident in Msaytbeh. The consulate dispatched a representative who arrived and saw the body on the spot, but could not do much more. They do not have the right to enter the homes of people, nor was the police interested in pursuing the investigation further, in the cause of the presumed “suicide”. The employer pays for the repatriation.
• The consulate will soon hire a lawyer to pursue cases of suicides and other incidents involving Ethipioans in Lebanon. We would like to know the circumstances leading to the “suicide” and the reasons behind it. More importantly, we want to if it was a suicide or not.
• The police is not effective and we have doubts sometimes. The police reports have a pattern. The police asks the employers what happened and almost all Lebanese employers say the following: “She was a good girl. She was part of the family.”
• Last year, among October’s four cases of Ethiopian deaths, one of the girls left a letter in which she talked about her sister and problems with her, before jumping from the 7th floor. Her uncle called the consul general to say that the case was not a suicide, but the consul general happened to have the letter on the table and asked the uncle to confirm to the saddened family that it was really a suicide.
• The consul said they have made efforts to explain to their Ethiopian girls in Lebanon key cultural differences, namely how Lebanese express themselves (tone of voice, anger), and how it differs from Ethiopian ways of expression.

Community leadership and outreach

• The Ethiopian girls, in general, like Lebanon. They find freedom here despite the difficult circumstances. And they have access to a Coptic church, to a Protestant church and to mosques, each in accordance to her religion.
• Since the consul general arrived one year ago, the consulate organized several meeting with community leaders. A small community support fund was set up. Recently, the fund supported an Ethiopian girl who was hospitalized after a car accident on airport road. But the consulate is looking forwards towards an Ethiopian-Lebanese Friendship Association, partly because Ethiopians as foreigners cannot form their own association legally.

Domestic workers behind the uniform

Domestic workers behind the uniform
US photojournalist Matthew Cassel exhibits ‘Unseen Lives’
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=4&article_id=115832
Friday, June 11, 2010 - Simona Sikimic - Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: Art can be at its most powerful when it incorporates a clear political or social message. The world’s injustices have certainly served as an inspiration to many.

One such injustice spurred Beirut-based photojournalist Matthew Cassel to embark on a project uncovering the real lives of those perhaps most forgotten by society, resulting in the photography exhibition “Unseen Lives: Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon” at Hamra’s Masrah al-Madina.

Theresa Seda, a 28-year-old Filipino maid, jumped from the 7th floor balcony of her employer’s apartment on January 4. The mother of three, who suffered both physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her employers, had been in Beirut for only two months prior to her suicide.

Chicago-born Cassel, who holds a degree in photography, stood witness as her body lay in the street for hours before medical services came to take away the bloodstained corpse. Cassel photographed the corpse to capture the chilling incident and later posted the images on his blog. Here they caught the attention of Lebanese human rights group KAFA, committed to overcoming gender discrimination.

Stirred by the photos and the reaction they received from readers, KAFA approached Cassel to put on an exhibition addressing the daily lives of domestic workers.

العاملات الأجنبيات في لبنان: صُوَر «تؤرّخ» يومياتهن

كيف تعيش العاملات الأجنبيات في لبنان؟ جزء من الإجابة سيأتي بالصور في إطار معرض تقيمه منظمة «كفى» ابتداءً من يوم غد. سيكون المعرض مناسبة لإعادة الكلام على وضع هؤلاء العاملات وعلى مشاريع لمساعدتهن قانونياً ونفسياً

زينب زعيتر
تعرضت سوماري، العاملة البنغالية للتحرش الجنسي في المنزل الذي تعمل فيه، مرات عدّة. كانت الشابة الثلاثينية تحاول أن تجد وسيلة لإيصال شكواها، ووضع حد للمضايقات التي تعانيها، فاتصلت بمحامية منظمة «كفى» مهانة إسحاق وطلبت منها المساعدة. خلال النقاشات بين سوماري والمحامية، طلبت منها الأخيرة التروّي ونصحتها بعدم الهرب من منزل مشغّليها، وإلّا فقد يتهمها أصحاب المنزل بالسرقة. عملت سوماري بالنصيحة، فبقيت في المنزل حتى استدعتها النيابة العامة. جرى التحقيق أيضاً مع أصحاب المنزل، بعدما تقدّمت إسحاق بإخبار للنيابة العامة يفيد بعملية التحرش بسوماري، و«بما أنّ القانون لا يقف إلى جانب سوماري بسبب عدم الحصول على دليل واضح للتحرّش، جرى التفاوض مع المدّعى عليه». تقول إسحاق إن سوماري تنازلت عن الدعوى مقابل الحصول على أجرها الذي لم تحصل عليه لشهور، ودفع مشغلوها ثمن بطاقة تسفيرها إلى بلادها، وغادرت لبنان الأسبوع الماضي.
معاناة عدد من العاملات الأجنبيات في لبنان باتت تقلق الناشطين في مجال حقوق الإنسان وجمعيات أهلية لبنانية ودولية، والآن تُدرس تحركات ومشاريع واقتراحات قوانين لوضع حد لهذه المعاناة. من المشاريع المقررة، «لا لاستغلال عاملات المنازل الأجنبيات» الذي تنظمه منظمة «كفى». في المشروع أربعة محاور لتوثيق ومواجهة مجموعة السلوكيات السلبية والنظرة السائدة التي تعانيها العاملات الأجنبيات في لبنان.

Ethiopian singer Teddy Afro held a concert last sunday in Beirut

Hundreds of Ethiopians attended in a festive environment.
http://www.teddyafro.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Afro

Now Lebanon coverage.

Ethiopians distributing Christian teachings booklet on Sunday

Several Ethiopian girls, last Sunday, were distributing a small booklet in Arabic (photo above) entitled "He understands your problems" in the area where I live. It seems to be part of an Evangelical church's preaching activities and spreading the Gospel, the website of which is http://aoglb.com/.

On Sundays, thousands of maids go to church. Like Lebanese, they are divided among Catholics and Protestants. It's their opportunity to socialize.

The photo below was taken outside a Catholic church on Sunday, 28 February, 2010

Hayeon Lee: Where to get delicious Philippine food

If you walk around Hamra on Sundays, you will discover the dynamic streets of another world: the world of Filipinas on their day off. While one out of three Asian and African domestic workers in this country are not allowed to go outside of the house, those who can seem to make the most out of it.

Continue reading.