Archive for the ‘Lebanon’ Category

Lebanon has a bleak record of abuse against its migrant workers, with weak measures to ensure the protection of their rights. Sadly, the children of migrant workers, many of whom were born in the country yet have no legal status, have had to endure racism and marginalisation. From IRIN:
Children of domestic workers in Lebanon are [...]

In a recently released report, Human Rights Watch stated that every week, more than one domestic worker dies due to unnatural reasons in Lebanon.

“Domestic workers are dying in Lebanon at a rate of more than one per week,” said Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “All those involved – from the Lebanese authorities, [...]

There is hope for female migrant workers in Lebanon:
Why maids are a priority for Lebanese NGOs:
As a middle-income country populated by enterprising people, Lebanon is bursting with NGOs working on every issue imaginable, from the reconstruction of Nahr al Bared refugee camp to the promotion of eco-tourism in its beautiful green hills.
But there is one [...]

With employers frequently abusing their rights, a legal system that ensures them no protection and rights groups that aren’t , the situation of domestic migrant workers in Lebanon is very bleak.
“I have only six months left and then I will go back to the Congo,” says Angelique, speaking to IRIN from across the balcony [...]

Nadim Houry writes on the Daily Star Lebanon:
Over a month ago, a French documentary, “Liban, Pays des Esclaves,” harshly criticized Lebanese society and the authorities for their treatment of migrant domestic workers. But instead of being outraged by the behavior of their fellow citizens, many Lebanese expressed outrage against the filmmaker who dared to sully [...]

Zeina Karam recently reports the following incident from Beirut:
BEFORE she escaped, Chandra worked 16 hours a day, seven days a week, cooking, cleaning and running a household for a family of six in Lebanon. The only time the Sri Lankan maid was allowed to leave the home was to throw out the rubbish. If she [...]

After less than one month on the job, Filipino housemaid Amelyn Albores Sayson has commit suicide by jumping from the fifth story balcony of her employer’s (read: owner’s) apartment.
These stories come out of Lebanon rather frequently. Migrant Rights posted an article regarding the dismal situation of migrant house maids from the Philippines and Sri [...]

NaharNet is reporting that over 300 Filipino migrant workers from Lebanon and Saudi Arabia are returning to their home country, with Filipino Labor Secretary Arturo Brion reporting that many of them had complained of “unpaid salaries, abuses, maltreatment, sexual harassments and rapes.” It is widely known, but rarely recognized in Lebanese and Saudi media, that [...]

by Yaman Salahi
Sushar Rosky, born 1987, hangs from the balcony of the apartment in which she worked as a maid for only 20 days in Sidon, Lebanon. She hung herself with bits of clothe carefully tied together in 2005. No investigation was conducted into the circumstances leading up to her death.
Almost ten years ago, Lina [...]

A Modern-Day “Slave Trade”: Sri Lankan Workers in Lebanon, reported by Reem Haddad:
In what can be termed a modern-day slave trade, Sri Lankan women arrive in Lebanon only to find themselves abused, imprisoned, raped, hungry, defenseless and alone. Siriani P., 27, came to Beirut in a desperate attempt to save her family from a life [...]