The show featured a 5 minute act where a couple was “negotiating” with a representative of a recruitment agency for a migrant domestic worker. The couple became aggressive and sexually explicit to the point where the recruitment agency representative responded to the couple: “Do you think that I am a pimp? I run a workers recruitment agency here!”. The “couple” then asks for a dirty maid, peeing unwillingly and smelling, and hitting children. The “husband” at the end of the video suggested to the recruiter “to shove up his *** the broomstick that their last maid had used before she jumped from the balcony”. At that point, when we understood that the couple are upset because of the suicide of their maid, the couple’s sudden unwarranted slurs and foul language are covered by a long sequences of “beeping”!

This is not MTV’s first time racist shows. MTV’s odious, unethical and immoral show comes at a time when Lebanese and international media keep reporting on the trafficking and slavery of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon.

You can read here Ethiopian Suicides’ take with some social media comments reproduced in the post.

And you can read here Anti Racism Movement’s commentary.

As for the video itself, you can view it on this link. Do read the comments under it. [UPDATE February 9, 2012: the original video and the original comments were removed and the link was changed to another source].

As we have blogged before, black African migrants have been the target of attacks by anti-Gaddafi forces on suspicion of being mercenaries for the regime since the conflict in Libya began. Recent reports suggest that the danger for migrants from Subsaharan African countries has intensified since the Gaddafi regime lost control of Tripoli, with rebels turning their wrath against those suspected of being mercenaries. Dozens of migrants are being held in a prison in the Suq al Jouma neighbourhood of Tripoli, according to the New York Times and Time magazine.

Libya had previously been very welcoming to migrants from elsewhere in Africa,  but the line between regime soldier and dark-skinned southerner or migrant worker has become blurred in the midst of the conflict, writes Time‘s Abigail Hauslohner in Tripoli.

Hauslohner visits a camp outside Tripoli and examines the background in depth:

The displaced mostly hail from countries across West Africa, like Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Many have lived in Libya for years — even decades — and carry the legal papers to prove it. Their presence is rooted in Gaddafi’s legacy of fostering close relationships with fellow African regimes and recruiting loyalists from among their citizens. But for a man who often sought to portray himself as a leader of the continent, Gaddafi may have done more to divide his country’s future than to encourage tolerance and respect.

It’s popular knowledge among the predominantly Arab and Berber rebel ranks here that Gaddafi funded questionable African warlords and armies, even as his own population struggled. And at his home in Tripoli’s Bab al-Aziziyah compound, rebels hold up old pictures of Gaddafi posing with African children dressed in fatigues as further evidence of their former ruler’s betrayal.

His alleged mercenaries — particularly the men who populated the fearsome Khamis Brigade, which was used to assault the rebels over the course of their six-month revolt — often came from the southern town of Sabha or the neighboring countries of Mali, Niger and Chad. The foreigners were alleged to receive benefits and even fast-track residency in exchange for their services as loyalists and fighters — a practice, whether real or exaggerated, that has fueled deep tribal, ethnic and geographic mistrust.

Anti-Gaddafi forces are currently holding Subsaharan Africans captive in a building in central Tripoli:

More than 120 other suspects — most of them foreign Africans — are being held at a school in central Tripoli, in the absence of a functioning government or justice system. There are rumors of other ad hoc prisons. And a guard, Jamal Mohamed, is sure the captives are snipers. “Polisario,” he adds, referring to a resistance movement in Western Sahara, from which Gaddafi allegedly recruited. Some of the captives have been punched in the eyes or nurse bandaged wounds sustained during fighting. Many were apprehended during battles in Gaddafi-stronghold neighborhoods. At least two admit to being members of the regime’s forces.

But many others say they were captured by accident or targeted out of racism or xenophobia. Abou Bakr from Niger says he had merely gone outside to look for water but lived in the wrong neighborhood, one where rebels happened to be searching for loyalists.

Tripoli is a racially diverse city, with skin colors ranging from pale to very dark — largely because Gaddafi encouraged such integration. And the Libyan rebels display the same diversity among their ranks. But a latent racism festers, along with the hazy rules that only locals seem to understand that distinguish between “good” black people from “bad.” The logic follows the lines of Gaddafi’s uneven favors, which even in Tripoli often served personal ambitions more than the public good (full story here)

According to this report in the New York Times, suspicion of black Africans is now endemic:

Many Tripoli residents — including some local rebel leaders — now often use the Arabic word for “mercenaries” or “foreign fighters” as a catchall term to refer to any member of the city’s large underclass of African migrant workers – link

In a circular – number 20 – issued Saturday, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud urged to all tourism-related venues to cater to all customers without any form of discrimination, whether in terms of race, nationality or those with disabilities, reported the National News Agency.

Abboud also called on the venues to ensure the provision of facilities and access ways for people with disabilities in accordance with decree 4221/2000 as well as the organizational decision of Jan. 12, 2010.

Human Rights Watch and Anti Racism Movement have worked extensively to highlight the issue of racial segregation in Lebanon.

Here are some examples from Anti Racism Movement’s blog:

Outrageous signs banning guests from bringing their maids to beaches/hotels

Another sign at a beach, showing entrance fees for adults, children and ‘miscellaneous’ (for maids)

ARM’s first press release (in Arabic)

The article is very well written because it depicts the whole mentality behind the “owners” of this business by just stating facts and statements that they said. Read the full article in Arabic to get the full picture. Here is a quick wrap up of what has been mentioned in the piece.

- “The wage of a domestic worker does not exceed 125$/ month. Who would I pay 170$/ 4 days to train her?”

- “No this is not a business.. If I wanted to open a business, I would have opened a recruitment agencies for domestic workers.”

-Training includes teaching the worker how to perfect the coffee to the preferred taste of her employer.

- “Africans do not like Lebanese people.”

It is also good to know that the counter academy has its doors still open for interested employers.

It is important to always remember that the situation of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon is severely in crisis not just because of the non-existent labour rights for them but also because of rampant levels of racism.

A blogger reports about this ad here here.

Kidane describes watching people dying of dehydration in the desert heat, “there was nothing we could do, there was so little water even for ourselves; we sent a prayer to God and moved on”. Sadly, Kidane’s journey is not unique. This is the typical journey, this is the reality. The estimated 18,000 Eritrean asylum-seekers currently residing in Israel have fled from one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. In 2009 Eritrea was ranked last in the World Press Freedom Index, even more oppressive than North Korea.

Fleeing Eritrea does not necessarily result in escaping the corruption of the regime, Kidane explains: “The Israeli Ministry of Interior demands Eritrean identification cards…we don’t have them, they are not important in Eritrea or the smugglers steal them from us”. To obtain an identification card, the people must go to the Eritrean embassy in Israel and pay $1,500 USD, which goes directly to supporting the very regime from which they just escaped. How do they afford this? Kidane explains: “you either suffer for a year or you borrow from someone; we suffer a lot”.

Furthermore, upon receiving the ID card, the asylum seeker must provide personal details to the embassy. This information is relayed back to Eritrea where it is viewed as betrayal and opposition to the regime, and can result in reprisals for the family remaining in Eritrea. To add further anguish, the asylum seeker must then sign a declaration stating that if they return to Eritrea they will accept any punishment the government deems necessary. Obtaining this document is not only a financial burden—it can mean a life sentence.

“We are tired, we want change; we want to get rid of the dictatorship”, says Kidane. The community is hopeful the toppling of many North African dictatorships in the past year will have an overflow effect on Eritrea and result in global condemnation of such regimes.

Five months ago, with the support of the African Refugee Development Centre (ARDC), a five-member strong committee was formed in order to support the broader Eritrean population living in Israel. The Eritrean committee aims to promote advocacy and awareness amongst the Israeli population regarding the plight of asylum seekers, as well as to strengthen unity within the Eritrean community. The five members were elected by the Eritrean community and report to a group of three elders, who settle any disputes that may arise and ensure accountability. Isaac explains that it is not always easy for asylum seekers, particularly Eritreans, to trust NGO workers. “Trust doesn’t come easily, even in the committee, we are friends, but the [Eritrean] regime has traumatised people”.

by Zoe Peck

M-R: Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Our names are Dima, Manuella and Tala. We go to International College (school) in Ras Beirut, Lebanon. We are 11/12 years old.

M-R: Could you tell us a little bit about the project you did for school about human rights of housemaids in Lebanon?
Last year in school, we had an exhibition, and we could pick our topic freely. All three of us were interested in making our project revolve around human rights, more specifically, maid rights. We interviewed maids outside of our school, collected information from the computer (mostly from this site). And from our results we noticed the lack of care for the maids and how much they were missing out on their rights.

M-R: Why did you pick this subject for your project?

We picked this topic because it was different… Unique. We thought that it was an uncommon topic that people were not paying attention to. We wanted to open their eyes to the fact that all of us need to have equal rights… But no one really cares about the rights of the maids.

M-R: What was the reaction at school to your project? What do your parents think about it?

We noticed that people at school enjoyed our project and were interested in it. When they asked us what our project was about, and we told them, we felt that they always had an enthusiastic look on their face to find out what kind of research we had done. Our parents were very happy that we took interest in a topic like this, and tried to help out on other peoples’ rights. They were open to help us with whatever they knew, and whatever they had noticed about the rights of maids.

M-R: Why do you think so many maids are abused in Lebanon?
We think that maids are abused in Lebanon because of racism and lack of care. We also think that when someone has a maid in their house, they consider him/her as THEIR maid, and they think that they can do whatever they want with him/her.

M-R: What can Lebanese people do to improve the conditions of migrant domestic workers in their country?

People in Lebanon can take action to make a law against abusing maids and guaranteeing their rights. They can also simply not abuse the maids and respect their rights. If everybody cared for the rights of maids, no maid would be abused. Also, people can make other people more aware of how the maids may feel, and that MAY impact them a bit (or a lot).

M-R: Do you think many people in Lebanon are aware of this issue? What would you like people in Lebanon to know about the rights of migrant domestic workers?

We don’t think that many people in Lebanon are aware of this issue because many maids are being abused (based on our research). We would like people to know that the maids are not their slaves, and there is never any reason to be racist. They should know how the maids feel, and they should picture themselves in the maids’ shoes.

M-R: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
To add, the maids’ abuses are so bad that some maids are committing suicide (which we know from this website), which means that people not only need to be aware, but they need to TAKE ACTION TO MAKE EVERYTHING OKAY.