Migrant domestic workers develop survival techniques amid harsh conditions

Not all domestic workers are allowed outside their employers’ homes and when they are it’s often to perform tiring duties.

February 11, 2012, By Annie Slemrod, The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Last week, an Ethiopian domestic worker named Paltishi Hendor was found hanging by women’s socks in her employer’s house in Ghazir, Kesrouan. Last month, the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper reported on Lila Aacharya, a Nepalese woman who was trafficked into Lebanon and found dangling out of a balcony window near Beirut.

And in January alone, three Nepalese domestic workers committed suicide, according to a source at the Nepalese Consulate.

Despite their terrible frequency, the details of these deaths often remain unreported – except in Aacharya’s case, whose ordeal caused a

عمال أجانب يحتفلون بعيدي الميلاد ورأس السنة في لبنان

جريدة السفير، جهينة خالدية

عيدهم عيدان. احتفالات متنوعة لمناسبة عيد الميلاد ورأس السنة، وفرحة لا توصف لخروجهم إلى «الحرية» ليوم واحد، بعيداً عن بيوت مخدوميهم. أبناء وبناء جاليات أفرو - آسيوية مختلفة، يتجهّزون، يزينون، يحتفلون، ويبتهجون بعيد الميلاد على طرقهم الخاصة.
وتبقى لذّة العيد مختلفة بينهم، فهم، في نهاية المطاف، غرباء بعيداً عن أوطانهم، وعائلاتهم، وأطفالهم، وبيوتهم ليست هنا، إنما في النيبال وأثيوبيا وسريلانكا والفيليبين والهند، ...لو وجد بابا نويل، لكان طلبهم الأول والأخير منه هو أن يعود بهم إلى «هناك»، إلى بلادهم الأم، ولو لليلة واحدة فقط.
لكن، بما أنهم هنا، وبما أن مزلاج الشيخ ذي اللحية البيضاء لا يطير، فما العمل؟

حفل فني ساهر مع «أوجان»

سنة تلو الآخرى، استطاع أبناء بعض الجاليات، لاسيما الأثيوبية، «تنظيم صفوفها»، والتحضير لحفلات ميلادية متنوعة، تجلب الفرحة وتجمعهم في سهرات غنائية مبهجة. وهو تحديداً ما تعلن عنه البوسترات واللافتات المنتشرة في بعض أحياء النبعة وبرج حمود وكرم الزيتون والحمراء، بحيث تقدم برنامجاً ساهراً متكاملاً.
وجوه الفنانين والمغنين في الصور مجهولة بالنسبة إلى أي لبناني يمر أمام اللافتة، فلا يمنحها من اهتمامه، في حين يكاد تشاندرا، الشاب الهندي، يقفز من الفرحة أمام اللافتة التي تعلن عن حفل للمغنية «ماهي»، والمغني «أوجان»، والمغنية والعازفة «راجينا». يقول الشاب الذي يعمل في شركة للتنظيفات، إن «هؤلاء ليسوا بفنانين مشهورين، ولكن أكيد هم يعرفون أشهر أغاني رأس السنة الهندية والآسيوية. لا بد من أنهم سيغنون بلغتي، وهي أكثر ما اشتاق إليه». الحفل الذي يتحدث عنه تشاندرا ليس مخصصاً للجالية الهندية فقط، لا بل ان أبناء الجالية النيبالية هم الذيم ينظمونه، مستهدفين فئات مختلفة من أبناء الجالية الأفرو - آسيوية المقيمة في لبنان.

This Sunday, Celebrate International Migrants Day! #Lebanon

Program includes:

·       Welcome word by Caritas Lebanon Migrant Center

·       Word of Caritas Lebanon president

·       Word of the Archbishop of the Maronite Diocese of Saida

·     Testimony of a migrant domestic worker and Summary of ILO convention: Decent Work for Domestic Workers.

·       Projection of the documentary “Multicultural Lebanon”

·       Nepali community Dance

·       Sri Lankan Community Dance

·       Ethiopian community Dance

·       Lebanese Employer testimony 

·       Madagascar community Dance

·       Philippine community Song  

·       Medley of Beth Aleph School Children

Dutch pastor reaches out to domestic workers

Father Theo, center, at a gathering with domestic workers in Beirut.

The Daily Star on November 11, 2011, on page 12. By Jos Van Noord

BEIRUT: Between the poorest of the poor is where Father Theo Vlugt feels at home. “My Big Boss says in the Bible: What you have done to the poorest of my people, you have done to me!” he points out, in his native Amsterdam accent.

Already in his 80s, Father Theo is still going strong with a whole life of selfless service to the poor over 60 years as a Jesuit and half a century as a Catholic priest.

“Every day I am happy that I can do this job,” he says, eyes sparkling, at the celebration of his jubilee at the premises of his Asian-African Welfare Center, next to the church of St. Joseph in Ashrafieh, where Father Theo bases his efforts to assist migrant domestic workers in Lebanon.

“These young ladies, they are like

قناة الجزيرة من بيروت: العمالة المنزلية في لبنان والمشكلات التي تواجهها

Helping migrant workers improve their skills in Beirut

BEIRUT, 12 May 2011 (IRIN) - For two months now, a project run by volunteers in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has offered migrant workers free classes to learn skills that could make them more competitive and hopefully improve their livelihoods.

"All sorts of students come," said Alex Shams, who with Janie Shen founded the Migrant Workers Task Force (MWTF). It has 130 members, and 30 Lebanese and foreigners who contribute specific skills including drama, film-making and cooking.

"[These are] mainly those who work as domestic workers, in kitchens and elsewhere; also people who used to be married to Lebanese and now raise their children

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

Malagasy migrant workers celebrating Christmas (French)

Bishop says half of Christians in Middle East are vulnerable migrants

Source: Catholic News Service,  Oct-19-2010

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Up to half of the Catholics in the Middle East are migrant workers, mostly from the Philippines, who pack the few churches in the Arabian Peninsula each weekend and often turn to the church when their employers exploit or abuse them.

Bishop Paul Hinder, the apostolic vicar for Arabia, is responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. There are more than 2 million Filipinos in the region, and about 80 percent of them are Catholic. There also are tens of thousands of Catholics from India, Sri Lanka and Africa, he told reporters at the Vatican Oct. 19.

Given that situation, he said he thought the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East was "too focused on the classical Oriental churches in the Middle East" and on problems facing the region's native Christians because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq and the continuing tensions in Lebanon.

"The church cannot distinguish between

Nepalese Community in Lebanon celebrates Dashain

 

Yesterday, 17 October 2010, members of the Nepalese community in Lebanon flocked to a church hall in Sed El Boushrieh, North of Beirut, to celebrate Dashain Festival. A Kafa flyer in Nepalese was distributed. The Anti-Racism Movement contributed to the organization and to mobilizing Lebanese to join the celebration.

This is Al-Akhbar's coverage of the event, in Arabic: http://www.al-akhbar.com/ar/node/210739

 

"Migrants are tomorrow’s citizens and leaders either in their host countries or in their home countries"

ARCHBISHOP BERHANEYESUS DEMEREW SOURAPHIEL C.M. OF ADDIS ABEBA, ETHIOPIA, PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE ETHIOPIAN CHURCH, AND PRESIDENT OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA said during the Fifth General Congregation of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, held on October 13 in the Vatican’s Synod Hall:

“Ethiopia has about eighty million inhabitants, half of whom are below the age of twenty-five. The great challenge which the country faces is poverty and its consequences, such as unemployment. Many young people, aspiring to escape poverty, attempt to emigrate, by any means. Those who emigrate to the Middle East are mostly young women who go legally or illegally to seek employment as domestic workers because most of them lack professional training. In order, to facilitate their journey, the Christians change their Christian names to Muslim names, and dress as Muslims so that their visas can be processed easily. In this way, Christians are indirectly forced to deny their Christian roots and heritage. … Even if there are exceptions where workers are treated well and with kindness, the great majority suffer exploitation and abuse. … It would seem that Christians who die in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to be buried there; their bodies are flown to Ethiopia for burial. Could the Saudi authorities be requested to allocate a cemetery for Christians in Saudi Arabia? Many Ethiopians turn to the Catholic Churches of the Middle East for assistance and counselling. I would like to thank the Catholic hierarchies in the Middle East who are doing their best to assist victims of abuse and exploitation. We are grateful, for example, for the great work of Caritas Lebanon. Modern migration is looked upon as ‘modern slavery’. But let us remember that today’s migrants are tomorrow’s citizens and leaders either in their host countries or in their home countries”.

Source: http://www.dfwcatholic.org/fifth-general-congregation-11218/.html

Children of migrant workers celebrate end of school year

On Friday, the wonderful Insan Association School held an end of school event for all its children. Insan Association is an NGO which caters to children of migrant workers, including migrant domestic workers.

After a word by the administration, the children performed beautiful songs, dances and theater.

The event was inspiring, with children coming from many backgrounds and continents and languages, playing together and sharing the same struggle for dignity in Lebanon.

(note: The Lebanese National Anthem was played at the beginning of the event. Hmmmm.)

Coverage and photos by Farah from http://www.nasawiya.org/

العاملات الأجنبيّات مشغولات بالانتخابات أيضاً

"Madam is happy because mister won presidency of the municipality" said one of the maids interviewed for Al-Akhbar's article on the interest of some migrant domestic workers in the ongoing Lebanese municipal elections.

المصدر: جريدة الأخبار
عدد السبت ٢٢ أيار ٢٠١٠

نقولا أبو رجيلي
(الأخبار)(الأخبار)أمام كنيسة إحدى قرى زحلة، وبعد خروجهن من قداس يوم الأحد، تجمعت أكثر من 10 عاملات من الجنسيّة الإثيوبية، في لقاء بنات الوطن الواحد. لكن اللقاء لم يقتصر على تبادل القبل، وإفراغ ما في جعبة كل منهن من أخبار سعيدة حيناً، وهموم العمل وفرقة الاغتراب في أغلب الأحيان، بل اتخذ منحى آخر، فنتيجة الانتخابات البلديّة والاختيّارية، احتلت حيزاً كبيراً من نقاشاتهن. العاملة الإثيوبيّة إيروس (19 عاماً) كانت بينهن، ونقلت إلى ربة عملها «أم أحمد»، ما حكته لها بنات وطنها