Headlines involving domestic workers in the Gulf often fall into one of two categories: the horrifying or the ‘quirky.’ Reactions to the former – a maid raped, a woman tortured and enslaved – are instantaneous: absolute revulsion. But condemnation of the latter is less apparent, less…
Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Perceptions & Rights in Lebanon
November 7th, 2011
Recent events in Lebanon illustrate the importance of social perceptions to migrant rights. An anonymous Lebanese resident is tackling the disparaging conception of road cleaners; the designer by trade has posted signs throughout Lebanese streets asking citizens to respect the Sukleen street cleane...
Migrant Rights and The Arab Spring
October 29th, 2011
With the Arab Spring’s first post-revolutionary election tallied only days ago, it’s difficult to gauge the impact these new governments will have on migrant rights. But, we can assess the movement’s affect on foreign workers up to this point, as well as measure the inclusiveness o...
Saudi Limits Remittances
October 27th, 2011
Saudi Arabia announced recently that it will limit the income migrant workers are permitted to send home. The Labour Minister stated the new “Salary Protection Program” will prevent the ‘exodus’ of wealth leaving the nation in the form of remittances. He did not specify the p...
Embassy Acts as Sanctuary for Absconding Citizens
October 25th, 2011
Kuwaiti authorities are receiving complaints about an unnamed African Embassy protecting citizens that have absconded from their employers. Absconding, which involves leaving an employer in some manner without their consent, is a criminal offense under the Kuwaiti sponsorship system. The system bind...
Suicide of Detained Migrant Prompts Investigation
October 23rd, 2011
General Kuwait Prisoners Suicide
The suicide of an Indonesian maid in Kuwaiti custody is drawing questions about the conditions of her imprisonment.The woman hung herself with her scarf, her severed neck indicating that she had not been checked up on for days. Current accounts of the case are conflicting; one reports that security ...
‘Overseas Filipino workers joining ‘occupy’ movement abroad inevitable’
October 19th, 2011
Thus, said today by a Filipino migrants’ rights group in the Middle East as the ‘occupy’ movement around the world gains support from various groups and sectors denouncing ‘corporate greed’ by big businesses and establishments who got control most of a nation’s wealth. “To say that our...
Beheaded Bangladeshi Migrants Victims of Saudi Legal System
October 14th, 2011
General Legal cases Saudi Arabia
The dangers migrants face in foreign legal systems was touched upon briefly in our previous article spotlighting the impetus behind travel bans. The marginal legal rights migrants possess are further compromised once they commit a crime; the moment a migrant becomes a suspect, causal mistreatment th...
India Promises New Protections for Migrants
October 11th, 2011
“Corrupt and ineffective” are generally terms used to describe government oversight agencies unable to manage the difficulties facing their citizens abroad. India is making strides to reverse this conception by supporting their citizens across various phases of the migrant experience. ...
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