While we are not against progress, innovation and growth, we feel that during all the excitement about the opening of the the Burj Khalifa (formerly known as Burj Dubai), it is forgotten that those who built it, mainly south-Asian migrant workers, have paid a high price for this ambitious project. T…
Archive for the ‘Gulf’ Category
Saudi Housewives Investigate their Maids for Suspicion of Using “Black Magic”
January 3rd, 2010
The Arab Times published today what seems to be a serious report titled “Fear of black magic forces maids’ probe“. The underlying message of the title and the report is that the housewives are “forced” to protect themselves against their maids. According to the report, the ...
Top 5 Migrants’ Rights Stories in the Middle East for 2009
January 2nd, 2010
Bahrain Housemaids Kuwait Lebanon Legislation MR Site Sponsorship Suicide UAE Working conditions
After spending another year documenting abuses of migrant workers in the Middle East, it’s time that we look back at the most significant, influential and important stories that we’ve covered. 1. Death of Domestic Migrant Workers in Lebanon This story is significant not just because of t...
Maid Attempts Suicide in Kuwait by Drinking Detergent
January 2nd, 2010
The Arab Times reported yesterday about a Sri-Lankan maid who attempted to commit suicide by drinking a bottle of cleaning liquid. The maid was taken to the hospital from her sponsor’s house in Qurain on Thursday. As in the all stories of this kind in state-run Kuwaiti papers, the report concl...
Saudi Arabia: Filipino Maid Abused, Discriminated for her Faith
January 1st, 2010
Abusive employers Housemaids Saudi Arabia Working conditions
AsiaNews carried a story yesterday about a Filipino maid who was abused and discriminated for her Catholic faith. Because of this abuse, the maid recently returned to the Philippines, before the end of her work contract. Norma Caldera worked in Saudi Arabia for seven months as a domestic worker and ...
Saudi Kidnaps and Enslaves Indian Worker
December 30th, 2009
The Arab Times reported today about the case on an Indian worker in Saudi Arabia who was kidnapped by a Saudi man and brought to the desert to tend to his herd of camels. The worker, Noushad (28) tried to contact his sponsor but his abductor threatened to kill him as he took him 180 kilometers away...
Remittances: The Reality Behind the ‘Shiny’ Statistics
December 27th, 2009
This thought-provoking article from Bangladeshi paper The Star, ‘Remittance: Behind the Shiny Statistics’ explores the story behind statistics that suggest that migrant workers are still able to send plenty of money back home despite the financial crisis. Despite the economic crisis an...
The Impact of the Dubai Financial Crisis on Indian Workers
December 26th, 2009
Al Jazeera English recently showed a report about the impact of the financial crisis in the Gulf on Indian migrant workers. Many of the people interviewed have lost their jobs and some are on forced leaves. According to a recent study by an Indian think-tank, 264,000 workers from South Asia have los...
UAE: Couple Guilty of Forcing Three Women into Prostitution Receives Lenient Sentence
December 26th, 2009
The Gulf News reported earlier this week that the Iraqi couple that forced two women and one girl into prostitution in the UAE, was sentenced to three years in prison each. As we’ve previously mentioned, the couple held a 17-year-old girl and two Iraqi women in an apartment in Sharjah and forc...
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