Lebanon

Visualizing Human Rights for Migrant Workers in Lebanon

Date: 28/12/2012 - 12:19

Five decades after the development of thekefala [sponsorship] system, Lebanon’s 200,000 migrant domestic workers continue to be denied their inalienable rights, including freedom of movement, just conditions of work, the right to marry and to found a family, the right to legal recognition, and freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment.

ILO issues service directory for migrant workers

Date: 28/11/2012 - 09:51

The International Labor Organization issued a report Tuesday mapping out services available to migrant domestic workers in Lebanon with the aim of improving the accessibility and effectiveness of NGO efforts.

In conjunction with the report, which documents the development of NGO services to domestic workers and recommendations for coordination, the ILO released a directory of services for domestic workers to distribute around the country.

Lebanon: Investigate and Punish Army Attacks on Migrants

Date: 12/10/2012 - 09:09

Lebanon's judiciary should investigate and prosecute any army and intelligence officials responsible for the beating and serious abuse of at least 72 male migrant workers on the evening of October 7 in the Beirut neighborhood of Geitawi, Human Rights Watch said today. According to victims and other witnesses, those beaten include at least 45 Syrian, 20 Egyptians, and 7 Sudanese migrant workers.

Lebanon: Rally calls for migrant workers’ rights

Date: 30/04/2012 - 09:44

Hundreds of people took to the streets Sunday to advocate for the rights of migrant workers and celebrate their cultures, in a pre-Labor Day parade that included dancing, singing, and sloganeering.

A crowd of around 400, hoisting country flags and signs, weaved from Dora to St. Joseph’s Church in Monnot, where they feasted on food and watched dances from a wide range of countries.

Lebanon: UN expert on slavery urges authorities to investigate the suicide of a migrant domestic worker

Date: 03/04/2012 - 15:05

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Gulnara Shahinian, urged the Government of Lebanon to carry out a full investigation into the death of Alem Dechasa, a 33-year-old Ethiopian migrant domestic worker who committed suicide on Wednesday 14 March 2012, a few days after she was seen been beaten by men and dragged into a car in the Lebanese capital.

These acts of abuse caught on video* and posted on a social media websites, show the victim shouting and struggling to resist a man dragging and forcing her into a car as bystanders stood by.

Real racism in Lebanon

Date: 16/03/2012 - 11:03

The tragic case of Ethiopian migrant worker Alem Dechasa, who committed suicide this week, has once again shone light on the shameful neglect of basic human rights in Lebanon.

Dechasa was seen being beaten and forced into a car by a Lebanese man, in footage released last week. She killed herself Wednesday morning while undergoing psychiatric treatment in hospital, and her embassy is now pressing charges against the man, who was last week arrested before being released without charge.

Invisible victims in Lebanon

Date: 01/12/2011 - 16:47

Lebanon is home to 1.2m foreign migrant workers out of which the domestic migrant worker(DMW) population is estimated at 400,000 and almost all female. The incremental growth in domestic workers hasbeen due to a combination of Lebanese views on social status and feminism where household chores are viewed aslowly and unw

Lebanon: UN calls for protection of domestic workers

Date: 18/10/2011 - 08:35

The U.N. expert on slavery Monday urged the Lebanese government to introduce legislation to protect some 200,000 domestic workers in the country, warning that many are living in servitude.

During a news conference at the end of her first visit to Lebanon in the role, Gulnara Shahinian said that while the government has taken some positive measures, much more still needed to be done.

Interview with Ethiopian Migrant & Filmmaker Rahel Zegeye

Date: 04/10/2011 - 10:07

Rahel Zegeye is a domestic worker in Lebanon, but that is not all she is: this is precisely the filmmaker’s message in her rising film “Beirut,” which delves into the personal lives of six fictional Ethiopian migrants.

Click here to read the interview

Source: Migrant Rights

Picture: Janie Shen / African Women in Cinema Blog

The experiences of an Ethiopian migrant and filmmaker in Lebanon

Date: 06/09/2011 - 08:58

Rahel Zegeye from Ethiopia, talks about her passion for filmmaking and her desire to tell the experiences of Ethiopian migrant workers in Lebanon, where she lives and works.

Janie Shen of Migrant Workers Task Force has this to say about Rahel Zegeye: "A very talented and unique woman, she is most probably the one domestic worker in Lebanon (or the world?) who has put all her savings and free time to filmmaking."

December 18 is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

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