Women worked to death in Lebanon | Dalila Mahdawi | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

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Four Ethiopian domestic workers are thought to have killed themselves in three weeks. Lebanon must protect these women

o Dalila Mahdawi
o guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 November 2009 21.00 GMT

They mop floors, take out the rubbish, walk the dog, buy groceries and care for the children, the elderly or disabled. Many a well-to-do and lower middle class Lebanese family relies on migrant domestic workers to take care of their household, but when it comes to providing for these women, not all return the favour.

Migrant domestic workers – women who work as live-in or freelance housekeepers, cooks, and nannies – form a vital presence in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East, where women's increased participation in the workforce has not been accompanied by state-backed social or childcare services.

There are thought to be about 200,000 women, mostly from the Philippines, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, in Lebanon alone. But although they are becoming an intrinsic part of the country's social fabric, their contribution is often overlooked. While many Lebanese people are careful to ensure their housekeepers are well treated, a significant number abuse them. In extreme cases, migrant domestic workers are killed or kill themselves.

The spate of suicides has become so bad in recent weeks it prompted Lebanese blogger Wissam to launch the grimly named Ethiopian Suicides blog. The website is dedicated to monitoring media reports on the deaths of foreign migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. "I have a dream," Wissam says. "That migrant domestic workers will be treated humanely in Lebanon and will stop trying to commit or commit[ting] suicide."

In the last three weeks alone, Wissam notes, four Ethiopian women have died. Lebanese police say the deaths of Kassaye Atsegenet, 24, Saneet Mariam, 30, Matente Kebede Zeditu, 26, Tezeta Yalmiya, 26 were probably suicides. But as human rights activists here will testify, the truth about what happened to them may never be known because police usually only take into account the employer's testimony. Migrants who survive abuse or suicide attempts are not usually provided with a translator, meaning their version of events often does not get registered with officials.

Sadly, violations against such workers occur throughout the region and in some cases the women end up in slave-like conditions.

Reflecting the concern of sender countries for the wellbeing of their citizens, Ethiopia and the Philippines have placed bans on working in Lebanon and Jordan, but this has not stemmed the flow of illegal migrants smuggled in through third countries. Without the necessary work papers and embassy support, migrant women become even more vulnerable to human rights abuses.

One reason the women are driven to the edge is that, in Lebanon at least, they are not given protection under the country's labour law. Such exclusion means that those who withhold salaries, confiscate passports, confine their employees to the house or otherwise abuse them, can literally get away with murder. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that five months after parliamentary elections, a Lebanese government is only now being formed.

The campaign to grant migrant domestic workers greater rights in the region has been led by Human Rights Watch. This summer, it contacted Lebanese beach resorts and found that 17 out of 27 private facilities practised some form of discrimination against such women by prohibiting them from swimming in the pool or even the Mediterranean sea.

A study conducted by the organisation last year found that more than one migrant domestic worker was dying in Lebanon each week – mostly from suspected suicide or by falling off a balcony while trying to escape abusive employers. The numbers sent ripples throughout the rights community and resulted in far more sustained local media coverage on the issue of domestic migrant workers. Judging by Wissam's recent statistics, however, this does not appear to have persuaded the authorities to take sufficient measures to protect their rights.

The embassies of countries that supply migrant workers have a duty to protect their citizens. They could start by offering amnesty and assistance to all illegal workers, increasing their legal protection capabilities and properly informing women at home of their rights and responsibilities while working abroad. Many countries, such as Nepal or Madagascar, which are sending women to the Middle East in increasing numbers, would do well to increase their diplomatic representation from consular level to embassies.

Many migrant workers come to the Middle East seeking a better life for the families they left behind. The Lebanese themselves have a long history of migration and hardship, and should know first-hand the difficulties of living and working in a foreign country. Just as many Lebanese abroad work hard with the hopes of eventually returning home, the Lebanese should ensure that these women get to go back to their countries – alive and well, not in body bags.


Women worked to death in Lebanon | Dalila Mahdawi | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

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Spate of suicides by foreign maids in Lebanon sheds light on abuse - CNN.com

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By Olivia Sterns, CNN
December 2, 2009 12:02 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* 10 maids die in seven weeks, all suicides or falls from high buildings
* HRW: abusive work conditions, isolation and lack of recourse are causes
* 200,000 foreign maids work in Lebanon -- one for every four families
* Poor regulation of domestic labor and racism conspire against maids

London, England (CNN) -- A recent spate of suicides by foreign maids in Lebanon is prompting outrage among human rights groups, who say the government is doing too little to protect migrant domestic workers from severe abuse.

Over the past seven weeks at least 10 women have died, either by hanging themselves or by falling from tall buildings. Six of these cases have been reported in local media as suicides and four more have been described as possible work accidents.

An Ethiopian woman working as a cleaner in Lebanon told CNN by phone that she was sad about the recent suicides, and that she had a friend who killed herself several years ago, when she too was working as a live-in maid.

"If the Madame maybe she is very bad, they feel there is no way, no solution," said the woman who asked not to be identified, referring to abuse by the female employer. "Everyone has a different case," though she added.

This is modern day slavery ... these suicides are just the tip of the iceberg
--Wissam, Ethiopiansuicides.blogspot.com

"We are clearly seeing a high rate of suicide. The two leading causes of death for migrants is suicide [and] dying while trying to escape from employers," said Nadim Houry, Senior Researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Lebanon.

"This pattern [of abuse] is on going," Houry told CNN, citing "bad working conditions, isolation and a feeling of helplessness that comes from lack of recourse," as the sources of desperation that can drive these women to their deaths.

"It is ridiculous ... this is modern day slavery," said Wissam, a Lebanese activist who started a blog after he noticed four Ethiopian women committed suicide within 10 days in October.

"What about the things we don't know? These suicides are just the tip of the iceberg of the mistreatment of these women," he said.

In August 2008 HRW reported that more than one domestic worker was dying each week, either from suicide or failed escapes from abusive employers.

Rampant Abuse

There are more than 200,000 migrant domestic workers in Lebanon -- roughly one per every four families. Overwhelmingly they are women in their 20s and 30s who come alone from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nepal and Madagascar, to earn money to support families back home.

According to HRW, more than one third of foreign domestic workers in Lebanon are denied time off and more than 50 percent work at least 10 hours per day.

A 2001 International Labor Organization survey of Sri Lankan domestics in Lebanon found that 88 percent were given no time-off. Among the 70 respondents, nearly 30 percent said they were not given enough food to eat.

Over the past several years there have been increasing reports of exploitation documented in the media, including testimonies from domestic workers about withholding of wages, verbal or physical abuse and restrictions on free movement. Statistics on abuse are difficult to find though, because employees are often afraid to complain, prevented from doing so, or simply don't know how.

"The isolation is key ... Their passports are confiscated and they are often locked in. They are far from home, and not all of them can contact their families -- some can once per month," Houry told CNN.

One Nepalese maid who spoke to HRW from her hospital bed, after jumping from the third floor of her employer's building to escape, said she had seen snow-capped mountains from the window and thought she could walk across to find her village. She did not understand that Lebanon was thousands of miles away from her home in Nepal. "She just had no idea where she landed," Houry said.

Both charity organizations and foreign embassies in Lebanon say they have their hands full dealing with runaways and incidents of abuse.

In August, the Philippines Embassy reported that 117 women who had escaped from maltreatment were sleeping on the embassy floor. The Catholic relief organization CARITAS also estimated that they have an average of 40 runaway domestics sleeping in their shelter at any one time.

Roots of the Problem

The abuse faced by migrant domestic workers is a common problem throughout the Arab Middle East, both because of generally poor labor regulation and also cultural prejudice.

"The responsibility lies primarily with the state. There are no inspectors who can check on working conditions. The laws need to be modified," Houry said.

"The mistreatment of these women and the absence of any government protection is not just in Lebanon -- it's in all the Arab countries," Wissam said.

Neither the Lebanese Labor Ministry, nor General Security, who regulate migrant workers, could be reached for comment on this article.

Because domestic work is performed in the private sphere, it is not considered formal labor and is not covered by Lebanon's labor laws.

In January, the government issued a uniform contract for all maids, which took the critical step of guaranteeing one day off per week and decent working conditions. Rights activists say that the contracts though are not being enforced.

Both Houry and Wissam also pointed to social norms of prejudice that condone abuse. "There is racism against people of poor background and darker skin," Houry said.

This past summer an HRW investigation found that 17 private beaches, out of a nation-wide total of 27, do not allow Asian or African domestic workers to swim, which they argued reflects latent cultural racism in Lebanon.

"There is a mind set among some that says these women have to work for me, and if they don't do it, I have to beat them," Wissam said. "This misconception dehumanizes these women."

Spate of suicides by foreign maids in Lebanon sheds light on abuse - CNN.com

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• Lebanon's foreign domestic workers fight back at abuse (telegraph.co.uk)
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