This thought-provoking article from Bangladeshi paper The Star, ‘Remittance: Behind the Shiny Statistics’ explores the story behind statistics that suggest that migrant workers are still able to send plenty of money back home despite the financial crisis.
Despite the economic crisis an…
Remittances: The Reality Behind the ‘Shiny’ Statistics
December 27th, 2009
The Impact of the Dubai Financial Crisis on Indian Workers
December 26th, 2009
Al Jazeera English recently showed a report about the impact of the financial crisis in the Gulf on Indian migrant workers. Many of the people interviewed have lost their jobs and some are on forced leaves. According to a recent study by an Indian think-tank, 264,000 workers from South Asia have los...
UAE: Couple Guilty of Forcing Three Women into Prostitution Receives Lenient Sentence
December 26th, 2009
The Gulf News reported earlier this week that the Iraqi couple that forced two women and one girl into prostitution in the UAE, was sentenced to three years in prison each. As we’ve previously mentioned, the couple held a 17-year-old girl and two Iraqi women in an apartment in Sharjah and forc...
The dreams of foreign maids in Lebanon turn into nightmares
December 25th, 2009
Abusive employers Housemaids Lebanon Legal cases Slavery Suicide
The following is a translation on an article that appeared in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat last week. The dreams of foreign maids in Lebanon turn into nightmares The rise of suicide rates to one case a week due to maltreatment, and humanitarian organizations ring the alarm bells Friday, 18 De...
Abusive Employer to be Tried in the UAE
December 25th, 2009
Abusive employers Housemaids Legal cases Slavery UAE
A Filipino maid who was abused by her employer will testify before a court in Ajman, UAE in two weeks, the National Newspaper reported today. According to the report, the 25-year-old maid, Marilyn Vinluan, was repeatedly slapped, kicked and beaten with an electrical wire by her female employer, whil...
Lebanon: Ethiopian maid “falls” from the balcony, dies
December 25th, 2009
The investigation into the death of migrant workers is taking a more “professional” approach. The death yesterday of Melomasen A., Ethiopian domestic worker, in Ashrafieh, was not declared a suicide (yet). Investigations into the circumstances of the death are ongoing. She “fell...
Bengali maid in Lebanon attempts suicide by drinking detergent
December 22nd, 2009
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported today the suicide attempt of S. I., a Bengali national working as maid in the Bekaa, Lebanon. She was rushed into Bekaa hosptial after drinking a quantity of detergent (Flash) at her employers’ house. The following is Al-Akhbar’s one sentence report in Arabic...
Miss Philippine Lebanon on Lebanon’s New TV
December 21st, 2009
Last Saturday, the Lebanese had the opportunity to see on prime time TV (after the 8 o’clock news) a live interview with a Filipino maid working in Lebanon and elected Miss Philippine Lebanon 2009 in an event held in Lebanon. I only succeeded in shooting with my digital camera the last 5 minut...
HRW Overview of Migrant Workers Rights in the Middle East in 2009
December 20th, 2009
Egypt Housemaids Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Legislation Saudi Arabia Sponsorship Suicide UAE
Human Rights Watch (HRW) published last week a summary of the reports and research they’ve conducted over the last year on migrant rights. The end-year report highlighted the lack of protection of migrant workers in many Middle Eastern countries. In Kuwait, the report focused on the Sponsorshi...
Loading... 