In just 12 days during October, there have four reported cases of Ethiopian maids who ended their lives in Lebanon: Tezeta Yalmiya (26) jumped from a third-floor balcony in Abra on October 28; 30-year-old Saneet Miriam fell to her death from a balcony in Mestita on October 24; Matente Kebede Zeditu (26) hung herself from a tree in Haris on October 20; and Kassaye Atsegenet (24), fell to her death from the seventh floor in Gemayze, Beirut on October 16.
NOW Lebanon carried a story yesterday about this string of suicides. They interviewed an Ethiopian maid in her 20s, who described how the severe physical and verbal abuse she suffered from her employer and his children drove her to attempt suicide by drinking cleaning liquid. She was kept locked in the house, and when she was able to escape, she turned to the Ethiopian consulate in Lebanon. She was then turned over to her employment agency, which returned her back to the house of the abusive family. After her abuse resumed, she attempted the suicide, but failed. She spent over a year with the family until she was able to flee for good. Nadim Houry of HRW and a former local community organizer of Ethiopians in Lebanon said that what drives these maids to suicide are their poor living conditions, abuse from employers, “treatment as second-class-citizen”, and isolation.
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November 2, 2009
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Elizabeth Tsurkov, Migrant Rights. Migrant Rights said: Lebanon: Four Ethiopian Maids Commit Suicide in 12 Days http://is.gd/4L1rD #MigrantRights [...]
November 8, 2009
It’s mind boggling to heard a such tragic story happening in 21st century. I am sure
these women were all seeking an opportunity to earn money and send remittances back to their families and they ended up living with monsters people. my only solutuion to my fellow Ethiopians is STOP going to the Middle East its place they still practice modern slavery.
November 16, 2009
I forwarded this story to my Lebanese friend in Lebanon. He forwrded the story to 120 people and to one news paper; so the story can be told again. My friend told me that a lot of his friends were shocked to read the story and were very upset. We need to spread this news, even if its a sad new to let people know whats going on.
November 17, 2009
Faisal,
I totally agree with you. This sounds like a story that happened at least 200 years ago. The problem in stopping these maids from coming to Lebanon just means that other maids will be abused. Something will change only if all countries ban their women from working in Lebanon. Another problem is that people who are desperate for jobs, will find ways around the ban and continue coming to Lebanon. You see this in Nepal, which banned its women from working as maids in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. But poor Nepali women who need the money turn to smugglers in India and Bangladesh to bring them into those countries. Illegal immigrant are even more vulnerable and dependent than regular migrant workers are, so I’m not sure if this is the solution.
Makda,
I totally agree. I hope more people pay attention to what’s happening around them.
November 22, 2009
[...] previous coverage of the string of housemaids’ suicides in Lebanon see this report and commentary on [...]
November 25, 2009
Gosh! how i wish those maids who suffer this violence from their employer will find justice!
December 3, 2009
i wish will stop caming fore evere to lebanone .
December 3, 2009
I WISH WILL STOP GONIG TO MIDELE ESTE AS AHAUSE MADE /I HAPP MORE PEPLE WILL AGREE&WILL ATTENTION WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE GIRLS IN MIDELE ESTE.
April 25, 2010
I’m an ethiopian living in the states. I have a friend who hired an Ethiopian girl for a babysitter. This girl seemed okay in the beginning, but after a while it was clear she had mental issues and was suffering from depression. Sure enough, she tried to commit suicide by drinking clorox bleach.
In Israel, where Ethiopian jews are supported and treated well, the rate of suicide is high and is baffling the Israelis.
My point is that suicide is a HUGE problem in the Ethiopian community, and Ethiopians are in denial about it. So a story such as yours makes things worse and does not help Ethiopians come to terms with this problem that needs their attention.
April 25, 2010
@Selam
Migrant workers of all nationalities commit suicide as a result of poor living and working condition and abuse by employers. If we claim that the problem is in Ethiopian culture itself, we let abusive employers and apathetic Middle Eastern governments off the hook.
Ethiopian Jews in Israel are not fully integrated in Israeli society that often exhibits racism toward Ethiopians, and therefore the prevalence of suicides in that community cannot be attributed to Ethiopian culture or something similar.
September 8, 2010
Hello fellow ethiopianS! where ever you are! revenge for your sisters death! and humulation! sexual abuse! generally all this massaccar!who is respounsable! in fact they were real slaves of france! OUR ETHIOPIA NEVER…………………… but today ! ethiopians become week! some month ago ! i mat an ethiopian girl in paris who had been house maid in lebanone!till 2007! she told me i ashemed to be ethiopian because i new our hero ethiopian males their heroic workes only at home or only locally!!ho! hero! she said we dont need local hero to kill his own people! or his own brother! “we need our male hero who could be compitant with out side world”! with out side men! look she said! even arab men protecting his women from danger by working hard keeping their economy stabel in that desert! and bringing ethiopian girls or your sister as slave and giving her to his son to train well in sex before he married the engaged or selected wife from his country! she saide we have no man! so we are sexual dish for the others! dear brother i walked more than 15 minet i did not remeber what was my feeling! i felt some thing very strang ! i felt as i am a loser! REALLY I HATE MY SELF! MAY BE What I said ‘REVENGE’ YOU could see it badly but i have no choice for the moment ! i feel down as ethiopian man ! when my women rap in middle east i felt they rub my skin antill i bleed! can not going on like this! let us do some thing please ! what is the meaning of our life after all this stigma!
August 19, 2011
[...] another story relating to clorox. An Indian domestic worker has also died drinking clorox. It was reported that she “mistakenly” drank the [...]
August 26, 2011
Ok, this is bad, really bad. People should be treated equally no matter who they are, and those girls never deserved this, but please, this has nothing to do with working for Middle Easterns nor Lebanese people. Four maids committing suicide in one country doesn’t mean the whole country or the WHOLE middle east will cause maids to commit suicide. There’s no perfect place in this world, you’ll always find worse somewhere else. Don’t tell me outside the Middle East such things don’t happen, ’cause they do, and it’s no one’s fault but those who treated them badly, but not the whole region’s or country’s. So for once, think before you comment. I’ve had enough of people being racist and judgmental about the Middle East, have you met ALL the people and ALL the maids there? Guess not.
August 29, 2011
Why so apologetic anonymous?