Women worked to death in Lebanon

[Hetty ter Haar]

Women worked to death in Lebanon

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


Dalila Mahdawi
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,
and the Lebanese should ensure that these women get to go back to
their countries – alive and well, not in body bags.

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