By BARBARA SURK for the Associated Press.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Foreign housemaids in the oil-rich Gulf sometimes work 21-hour days without medical care, enough food, or the right to go home, and they also face violence and harassment, a human rights report said Wednesday.
Dubai’s government, shaken by a rash of recent labor protests, [...]
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 [...]
Kuwait Times- Monday, November 19, 2007
Report by Shruti Ganpathy
Kuwait- No food No amenities, no clothes only shelter. This is the story of 120 Indian workers who haven’t been paid for months. When they asked for their salaries, their employer refused. The contractors tell of previously being paid as little as KD 1.5 per month [...]
Business Standard features a Q&A session with overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, who discusses the recent uprising by Indian workers in Dubai:
For the first time after the attack on Kuwait, things are getting worse for Indian workers in the Gulf. How worried are you about this?
Just a few days ago, Dubai saw a major [...]
Featured on LA Times’ “Babylon and Beyond”:
Human rights advocates have shined a spotlight on the plight of maids from South Asia imported to the Middle East. The nonprofit group Human Rights Watch has accused the Lebanese and other governments in the Middle East of failing to curb serious abuses against Sri Lankan domestic workers.
New-York-based HRW [...]
The Financial Times reports:
The governments of the Gulf are failing to curb the abuse of domestic workers, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.
The pressure group called on states such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait to widen existing labour regulations to cover maids, most of whom come from India, Sri Lanka and [...]
“I still cannot believe that I am out of this ordeal that I have undergone for the past 10 years,” said Anista Marie, 40, who since 1999 hasn’t received her salary. Marie called up Arab News a little over 3 weeks ago saying she has been imprisoned and abused in the home of her sponsor [...]
Campaign to ensure implementation of break rule in Bahrain launched
By Suad Hamada, Special to Gulf News
Manama: A massive labour inspection campaign started yesterday to ensure implementation of the ban on construction and other outdoor work between noon and 4pm, labour official said.
The Director of Public and International Relations at the Ministry of Labour Subah Al [...]