Body of Bengali woman found in Tripoli

The body of a Bengali women was found in Tripoli. No further information was given in the National News Agency brief today.

امن - العثور على بنغالية جثة هامدة في الميناء
Thu 29/09/2011

وطنية - 29/9/2011 افاد مندوب "الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام" في طرابلس محمد الحسن انه عثر اليوم على البنغالية جوليان بيهام جثة هامدة في شارع في محلة الحمام المقلوب في الميناء.
وقد حضرت عناصر الادلة الجنائية وفصيلة الميناء والطبيب الشرعي الذي يجري فحصا على الجثة.

Press and blogosphere review

Lebanon: Empowering Migrant Workers With Language
Global Voices Online
In Lebanon, approximately one domestic worker a week dies under murky circumstances (often described as “suicide”). Eighty percent of domestic migrant ...

Don't Let Her Commit Your Crime
Migrant Rights
Kafa is a local NGO operating from Lebanon, a country where a 2008 HRW report stated that the average death toll for domestic workers in Lebanon is one per ...

Domestic workers in Lebanon: Employed or enslaved?
Washington Times
One human rights advocate reported that at least four domestic migrant workers committed suicide after enduring workplace abuse in year 2007. ...

The Real Maids of Beirut « AFRICA IS A COUNTRY
By dmosh
If you've followed the news from the Lebanon over the last few years, you've read quite a bit about the difficult to desperate situation of domestic workers. Maids, child care providers, housekeepers face unrelenting abuse. They are assaulted ...

The Experiences of an Ethiopian Migrant Worker and Filmmaker in ...
Beirut is a drama about a group of Ethiopian girls in Lebanon working as domestic workers. It is loosely based on the Ethiopian girls that I have encountered ...

The Plight of Ethiopian Women in the Middle East: Q & A With Rahel Zegeye

Tadias recently interviewed Rahel Zegeye, who works and lives in Lebanon, about her new film called "Beirut" - which deals with the conditions of Ethiopian women working there.

Tadias Magazine, by Tadias Staff, Tuesday, September 13, 2011

New York (TADIAS) – Widespread news coverage of an Ethiopian migrant worker in Libya, Shweyga Mullah, who had cared for two of Moammar Gadhafi’s grandchildren and suffered abuse and severe burns, has elicited heated reactions from Ethiopians worldwide. Her story brings to the forefront the plight of thousands of female Ethiopian migrant workers who continue to work under dangerous conditions in various countries in the Middle East.
“My heart is burning,” said Rahel Zegeye, who left Ethiopia when she was 20 years old to work as a maid in Lebanon. She still works and resides there. “The Ethiopian government should press charges against the madam (Aline Skaf-Hannibal). I would like to see equal treatment of the case no matter who committed the crime.”
Rahel is also the Director of a new film called Beirut, which documents Ethiopian domestic workers in Lebanon.
We recently interviewed Rahel Zegeye about her movie and the living conditions of Ethiopian women in the Arab world.

TADIAS: Thank you Rahel for your time. Please tell us a bit about yourself. Where you were born, grew up, and when did you move to Lebanon and why?
Rahel Zegeye: I was born in Addis Ababa as the middle child of nine siblings. At school I took acting and film classes. When I was 20 years old I left Addis for Lebanon in order to work as a maid to earn money and help support my family back home. My father was a soldier and retired early. Since I was very young my dad has always been unemployed which was the main reason why I left to work...

For the full interview: http://www.tadias.com/09/13/2011/the-plight-of-ethiopian-women-in-the-middle-east-q-a-with-filmmaker-rahel-zegeye/

Advocacy video by Kafa association: "Don't push her to commit your crime"

Kafa Association video highlighting the suicide rate of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon.

Original caption on YouTube:

يأتي هذا الإعلان ضمن مشروع أوسع حول حماية عاملات المنازل الأجنبيات في لبنان، وهو يضيء على نسب "الانتحار" العالية في صفوف هؤلاء العاملات... للمزيد من التفاصيل الرجاء الضغط على هذه الوصلة

Campaign background information in Arabic: http://kafa.org.lb/News.aspx?Newscode=31&title=

Campaign slogan: "Don't push her to commit your crime" The image below as put on billboards on streets.

PS: I view that almost all media campaigns over the past 3 years have proven to have close to zero impact.

The Daily Star: Migrant workers to get warmer welcome

September 09, 2011, By Olivia Alabaster, The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Migrant workers will now receive information packs on their rights and responsibilities upon arrival in Beirut, and airport staff will undergo training on how to recognize vulnerable people, General Security announced Thursday.

Staff at Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport will attend workshops, held by the nongovernmental organization Caritas, on migrant rights, how best to deal with migrant workers when they arrive in Lebanon and how to get them the relevant help if they appear to need it.

Dima Haddad, project manager at Caritas Migrants Center, said staff will be instructed on how to notice certain behavior. “Airport staff will receive training on how to detect vulnerable people, anyone who might have been trafficked, for example,” Haddad said.

The designated areas for migrant workers, upon arrival at the airport, have also been redecorated, in an effort to create a more welcoming atmosphere.

KAFA launches domestic workers rights campaign

September 06, 2011, The Daily Star, BEIRUT

The nongovernmental organization KAFA: Enough Violence and Exploitation has launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the often dangerous conditions which foreign domestic workers endure in Lebanon and to urge authorities to implement the relevant legislation needed to protect them.

The stark poster features the image of a hanging noose, and reads: “Don’t push her to commit your crime: toward legal protection for domestic workers in Lebanon.”

In a statement, KAFA laid out some of the rights which domestic workers are often deprived of in Lebanon, including the right to rest, travel and communicate and the right to keep their own private documents, such as passports.

The statement adds that many workers are subjected to violence, sexual abuse and even human trafficking.

حملة إعلانية لحماية عاملات المنازل

 Kafa violence against women launched a media campaign with the following headlines "Don't push her to commit your crime" and "towards legal protection of domestic workers in Lebanon". Assafir newspaper.

جريدة السفير - أطلقت منظمة «كفى عنف واستغلال» حملة إعلانية تحمل عنوانين «لا تدفعوها لارتكاب جريمتكم» و«نحو حماية قانونية لعاملات المنازل في لبنان»، كجزء من مشروعها عن عاملات المنازل الأجنبيات في لبنان الذي تعمل على تنفيذه منذ مطلع العام 2010.
وأوضحت المنظمة، في بيان لها، أنه «تم إطلاق هذه الحملة، بتمويل من السفارة النروجية، لرفع منسوب الوعي المجتمعي عن هذه القضية الإنسانية التي تعنينا جميعا وحض السلطات المختصة على اتخاذ التدابير القانونية اللازمة لتأمين الحماية للعاملات المقيمات في لبنان وهن بمئات الآلاف».

زوجة هنبعل القذافي اللبنانية، ألين سكاف، عذبت خادمتها في ليبيا (وفي سويسرا أيضا؟)

Lebanese wife of Hannibal Gadhafi tortured Ethiopian domestic worker

Luxury, horror lurk in Gadhafi family compound, by Dan Rivers, CNN Correspondent, Tripoli, Libya

(...)

At first I thought she was wearing a hat and something over her face. Then the awful realization dawned that her entire scalp and face were covered in red wounds and scabs, a mosaic of injuries that rendered her face into a grotesque patchwork.

Even though the burns were inflicted three months ago, she was clearly still in considerable pain. But she told us her story calmly.

She'd been the nanny to Hannibal's little son and daughter.

The 30-year-old came to Libya from her native Ethiopia a year ago. At first things seemed OK, but then six months into her employment she said she was burned by Aline [Skaff*].

Three months later the same thing happened again, this time much more seriously.

In soft tones, she explained how Aline lost her temper when her daughter wouldn't stop crying and Mullah refused to beat the child.

"She took me to a bathroom. She tied my hands behind my back, and tied my feet. She taped my mouth, and she started pouring the boiling water on my head like this," she said, imitating the vessel of scalding hot water being poured over her head.

(...)

* Aline Skaf is a Lebanese actor born in 1980 in Sebaal in Lebanon.

Full article:Luxury, horror lurk in Gadhafi family compound, by Dan Rivers, CNN Correspondent, Tripoli, Libya

«بيت المهاجرين»: مساحة خاصة بأبناء الجاليات المنتهكة حقوقها في لبنان

بريا تطلّ من شباك «بيتها»

جريدة السفير، 29 آب 2011، جهينة خالدية

حياة العاملين المهاجرين إلى لبنان صعبة، ومليئة بالانتهاكات. فالمعاناة تبدأ من رميهم بكافة أشكال العنصرية اللبنانية، ولا تنتهي عند الضرب والتعنيف والتعذيب والحرمان من أبسط الحقوق الإنسانية، كالترفيه عن النفس. فيواجه أبناء الجاليات النيبالية، والبنغلادشية، والهندوسية، والسريلانكية، والأثيوبية، والفيليبينية، وغيرها من أصحاب الجنسيات المهدورة الحقوق في لبنان، مشكلة في إيجاد مكان يجمعهم ويحضن بعضاً من نشاطاتهم.
ولكن، يبدو أن تلك الحال تمضي إلى تغيير، مع افتتاح مركز خاص يحضنهم في منطقة النبعة، يحمل اسم «بيت المهاجرين ـ Migrant house، يقع إلى جانب المدرسة الأرمينية الإنجيلية.
وفي الحادي عشر من أيلول المقبل، يُفتتح المركز بتمويل من «حركة مناهضة العنصرية»، وبمساهمات فردية وبمعاونة بعض الممولين الدوليين، وهو «يُعدّ ليستقبل المهاجرين/ات وعاملين/ات أجانب/يات في الخدمة المنزلية

Abboud urges tourism venues to adopt anti-discrimination policies

تعميم على المؤسسات السياحية بالمساواة في استقبال الزبائن

أصدر وزير السياحة فادي عبود تعميما يحمل الرقم 20، طلب فيه من جميع المؤسسات السياحية على انواعها كافة اعتماد المساواة في استقبال الزبائن دون تمييز لجهة العرق اوالجنسية والاشخاص ذوي الحاجات الخاصة المتمتعين بالاهلية القانونية.

August 27, 2011 - The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Tourism Ministry urged over the weekend all tourism-related establishments to adopt an anti-discrimination policies.

In a circular – number 20 – issued Saturday, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud urged to all tourism-related venues to cater to all customers without any form of discrimination, whether in terms of race, nationality or those with disabilities, reported the National News Agency.

(...)

New Wikileaks cables out: a wealth of information on the situation of domestic workers in Lebanon and the region

When searching for Lebanon related cables in the newly release batch of cables on Wikileaks (http://www.cablegatesearch.net/search.php?q=Lebanon), we can find a lot of information on the situation of domestic workers in Lebanon and the region, in the various US embassy reports written in the countries source of migration.

This is an extract from cable "Ethiopia: Trafficking In Persons Report (part 1 - Overview And Prevention) - Origin: Embassy Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) - Cable time: Fri, 16 Mar 2007"

(...)

-- From late 2005 to early 2006, Lebanon (refused to grant visas) to Ethiopian nationals. However, thousands of Ethiopians illegally crossed the border in pursuit of work (and/or as victims of trafficking). Over the last 14 months (since Lebanon has lifted their visa ban against Ethiopian nationals), the amount of trafficking to Lebanon has increased.

-- IOM officials cite Yemen as a significant transit point, for young Ethiopian girls (average age 14-15) being trafficked to Djibouti. A recent impact assessment concludes that many of these trafficked girls in Djibouti have HIV/AIDS.

-- There are no reports of trafficking of Ethiopians to the United States. A few years ago, IOM reported that approximately a dozen clients claimed that a smuggler was charging up to 80,000-100,000 birr (USD 9,050- 11,312) to smuggle them into the United States. Since then, there is little to no information available about these routes. Yemen and Lebanon have been identified as some of the most popular destinations for trafficking and smuggling. 

(...)

مكتب لتعليم الخدمة... والعقليّة اللبنانية

 An article about the recent "domestic workers training center".

إنه مكتب لتعليم الخدمة وليس استقدام عاملات. فهل تحتاج الخدمة إلى تعليم؟ تأتي الإجابة بـ«نعم»، في ظل معاناة تستمر أشهر بين العاملة وسيدة المنزل. قد لا يغيّر التعليم من منطق «الخدمة»، فهل يغيّر في منطق الحقوق؟

جريدة الأخبار، ربى أبو عمّو

في أوائل الشهر الماضي، افتتحت مؤسسة «راي غروب» المركز الأول في لبنان والشرق الأوسط للتدريب على التدبير المنزلي والتنظيف على أنواعه (خصوصاً للعمّال الأجانب)، إضافة إلى أسلوب جديد لإعداد المائدة اللبنانية، بحسب مؤسّسها رشيد بيضون. لكن هل يحتاج التدبير المنزلي والتنظيف إلى مكتب متخصّص؟ يجيب بيضون بـ«نعم»، مسلّطاً الضوء على معاناة اللبنانيين في تأهيل العاملات من الصفر. تشرح إحدى السيدات التي لجأت إلى المكتب لتدريب الفتاة الإثيوبية التي تعمل لديها، قائلة إنها «لم تكن تعرف شيئاً على الإطلاق. ولأنها امرأة عاملة، وجدت في المؤسسة فرصة قد تكون مفيدة». لاحظت السيدة الفرق. 5 أيام كانت كفيلة بإحاطة الفتاة بما يحتاج إليه المنزل. مدة التدريب هي 4 أيام في مقابل 170 دولاراً. وإذا أرادت سيدة المنزل تعليم الفتاة إعداد الطعام الأوّلي وترتيب المائدة، تُضاف 3 أيام في مقابل 100 دولار. تجارة هي إذاً. يرفض بيضون هذا الوصف قائلاً: «لو أردت أن أكون تاجراً لفتحت مكتباً لاستقدام العاملات».

بعض العاملات الأجنبيات يخضعن للتدريب في بلدانهن قبل

"Between 2008 and 2010, 15 Nepalese maids working in Lebanon committed suicide"

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56806

(...)


"Between 2008 and 2010, 15 Nepalese maids working in Lebanon committed suicide," says Sthaneshwar Devkota, executive director at the state-run Foreign Employment Promotion Board. "Being mostly illiterate and unaware, they are easily duped. For instance, though they get free visas, many agencies swindle them."

"The more dangerous ruse is making them go though India. If their documents are not in order or they are being lured to banned destinations like Lebanon, immigration authorities at Kathmandu airport will spot the fraud. So they are made to go to India first. It increases the danger of the women being forced into the flesh trade."

(...)

BBC: 'Slave maid' in Lebanon

Forced to work as a "slave maid" for wealthy families in Lebanon for 15 years, Abeline Baholiarisoa - a 59-year-old woman from Madagascar - finally achieved her freedom in March.

Original BBC report here.

Madagascar's government chartered a plane to evacuate her and 85 other women.

The youngest of her four children, whom she left behind when he was six years old, played a key role in her evacuation, tracking her down via a welfare agency that rescues "slave maids", she says.

Ms Baholiarisoa says she was trapped in "a living hell" after being duped into going to Lebanon.

A recruiting agency had promised her a nursing job for three years, with a salary of $800 (£486) a month.

Ms Baholiarisoa says she thought it would give her a chance to save money, which she could send to her children.