Two weeks ago, a piece by Sarah Stillman appeared in the June 6, 2011 edition of The New Yorker. Titled “The Invisible Army,” her piece follows the perils of contract workers “recruited” to work on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, introducing to me a term I had ne…
Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Is Any Country in The Middle East Safe for Migrant Workers?
June 2nd, 2011
Israel Oman Recruitment Agencies Workers
This week, the Philippine government determined that out of all the countries in the Middle East, only two - Oman and Israel – qualify as “safe” for its migrants. This decision becomes all the more shocking considering the low standards set by the Philippine government in order for...
Elementary School Students in Lebanon Tackle Abuse of Domestic Workers
May 29th, 2011
Abusive employers Housemaids Interviews Lebanon Racism
Below is an interview we conducted with a group of elementary school students from Lebanon who chose to focus on human rights of domestic workers in their class project. For their research, the children interviewed maids about the abuse they suffer and sought to understand the causes of this abuse. ...
Migrant Workers in the Gulf: A Historical Perspective (video)
May 16th, 2011
Bahrain Gulf Housemaids Interviews Saudi Arabia Slavery Suicide UAE
Below is a great video interview of The Real News Network with Dr. Adam Hanieh about the historical changes that occurred within the working class of the Gulf region since the 1950s. The program also discusses the recent popular uprising in Bahrain, the tensions created by the al-Khalifa regime̵...
Report: 4 overseas Filipino workers held ‘hostage’ by employer
May 15th, 2011
Abusive employers General Housemaids UAE Women
15 May 2011 Group alerted the PH consulate to secure their safety A chapter of an alliance of Filipino migrants’ rights group providing assistance to distress overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said yesterday it received report of alleged abduction of four OFW-domes...
Lebanon: One more Ethiopian Domestic Worker Presumably Commits Suicide
May 10th, 2011
Death Housemaids Lebanon Suicide
The Lebanese National News Agency reported on May 9 2011 the presumed suicide of an Ethiopian domestic worker, who was found dead in the bathroom of her employer’s office in Antelias, North of Beirut. She presumably hung herself, according to the news brief. She was taken to Abu Jawdeh hospita...
Report: ‘Suicide’ of Pinay-DH in Lebanon
April 24th, 2011
April 24, 2011 Migrant rights group urges PH govt. to investigate, seeks justice An officer of a Filipino migrants’ rights group in the Middle East, said he had received information from fellow overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon about a reported death of a Filipina domestic helper. John L...
Filipino “suicide” by hanging in Lebanon
April 19th, 2011
The Lebanese National News Agency reported today the death by hanging of Filipino domestic worker Maritis Penno on the balcony of her employer’s house in Hasbaya, South Lebanon. Internal Security Forces, criminal investigators, and a doctor, Ahmad Daher, examined the body and the house, and co...
Israeli High Court Forbids Deportation of Pregnant Migrant Workers
April 17th, 2011
In a landmark ruling, the Israeli High Court of Justice declared this week that the Israeli government’s “pregnant worker regulation” is “unconstitutional”, “disproportional and therefore unreasonable” and “must be abolished”. The regulation enta...
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