Spate of suicides by foreign maids in Lebanon
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."
Well if they would have read some Bible stories I enjoy you would have seen that suicide is a sin we must not commit. For our life belongs to God and only he should decide when it should end.
yes Adam_n beautiful ladies
with their terrible behaviour for their maids
Sir Dolly this is not lebenon.
Lebanon, you'd expect something good to come from that country?
If I treated my maid back home, the way some locals & expats treat their maid here, the union would be at my doorstep reading me the labour rights charter.
______________________________________________
shhhhhhh irene!!!!!
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
You scare me so much. hahahaha!!!!!
Go aaw aaw somewhere else...
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
Take off your rose colored glasses people if you do not think abuse like that does not happen here in Qatar or in other parts of the gulf.You can have your Minisitry of Human Rights and say you do right by the people, but this part of the world is behind in the Human Rights Department. Take a look at your waitresses or your common construction workers, who work longer hours here and do not get overtime, live in cramped shi**y flats, and get treated like second or third class citizens. I guess this country does not mind other people doing all of the work for them at a cheap price, while they sit back and wonder why they are getting large and lazy. It is the definition of laziness. I have never been to a country where it is normal for its inhabitants wake up late every day, drinking coffee/chai at leisure and keeping up on their name brand products. When was the last time you saw someone get out of the Land Cruiser and get their own pack of Cigarettes at a corner store or their BIG SIZED meal at the local Mcdonalds, or pick up some trash they left behind. Lazy with a captial L. Things need to change here, where people are not more valuable by what color dress they are wearing or what color their skin is or where they are from. Or are they?
dies because of maltreatment from people supposedly would protect and treat them humanely (emphasize on humanely), there is no exaggeration here. Even one death should be treated horribly!!!!! And PM said it all!
"I'm back, simple as that"
but it's particularly disappointing that so much of this happens in the Arab world where we hear all the time that people conduct themselves by their religious beliefs. Why aren't there better laws and enforcement? I can only assume it is because the citizens don't care enough.
I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM
Lebdrak, its never a good thing to bash any nationality. You see the problem is that we may experience some problems with a few people from one nationality and then we automatically assume, that they are all the same. its silly really, we all know that theres good and bad in every culture or nationality.
Well put..
We as lebanese have many issues to deal with, we can accept objective criticism..never been a problem..but she sounded like she had some personnal conflicts to resolve..
It's never a good thing to bash lebanese :)
what happened lebdrak is that iren was great at dishing criticism out but when Alexa outlined some valid points on irens culture, well lets just say, she didnt take it as well as she gave it.
bonne nuit!hehehe!
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
I do not wish to go personal & that doesn't mean I'm not tough. I will not stoop this low.
You took the comments personal, out of context and could not accept criticism of your countrymen.
Everyone knows that every country has the good the bad and the ugly. General traits remain there and the numbers speak for themselves...
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
I'm disappointed Irene, I thought you're tougher!!!
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
Aammo, hehehehe!!!!!
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
yeah but you started it iren!!!
we were discussing how true and how exagerated these reports were , and you jumped in and started the bashing...so once again , you asked for it...
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
I can see your objectivity by ignoring the following comments made by your countrymen...
second did u really expect from us to read your comments and stay calm???...you should've known better...do not even try to critic us...it simply wont work!!
whatever we do in life ,our heads will always be above the stars...
I could also talk about your countrywomen, who are working as maids and get into detail what they do and do not do.
I could also talk about your accusation of decadency and how that kind of thing usually comes from envy
I could also talk about the morality you mentioned...and how it obviously does not apply to some of your countrywomen.
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
heheheheheh
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
iren , listen habibti..you wrote "The lebanese are the worst in the middle east" , so , u met a couple of lebanese and you built the idea that we're the worst in the middle east...very well , let us say this is not an insult...
"they tend to think of themselves as highly superior beings to everyone else not realizing that they have set the bar too low"...this is also not an insult...."It is very sad for the domestic helpers that people like the lebanese will take at least 3 or 4 generations to maybe evolve and reach the current level of the civilized world:...and in ur last comment you said "I didn't start any insults"...so ur insulting and you're denying it...you're getting more angry than you should...so what's the story here , did a lebanese man dumped you?!??!is your lebanese boss being rude with you?!?!are you jealous from you lebanese colleaugue cause they're a bit smarter then you?!?!? what is it tell us? spill the bean!!!
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
QUOTE:
"The lebanese are the worst in the middle east they are slightly more educated than the rest of the arabs so they tend to think of themselves as highly superior beings to everyone else..people like the lebanese will take at least 3 or 4 generations to maybe evolve and reach the current level of the civilized world."
"..your attitude speaks volumes about you and your countrymen"
"Your comments are typical of Lebanese.
So narrow minded, they think they are perfect and with no faults, and can't handle any form of criticism"
"you are forgetting to mention the behaviour (moral or other...)of Lebanese women in the UAE and other GCC countries but let us not go down this route... Everyone knows..."
"This is not Lebanon so don't go on trying to bully people like you do amongst yourselves in your country. "
If this is your idea of objective criticism then i think we have a problem.
created by few "misguided" lebanese people. But the problem is, one suicide have a lot to tell, more if there are 10. I have quite a number of Lebanese friend, they are very nice and good but visiting them at home sometimes give me this bad impression. Not all though but few of the few friends I have!
"I'm back, simple as that"
I didn't start any insults. Go back to Alexa's post and read between the lines...
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
From reading your posts one can detect your level of social awareness and civilised behavior, if you were interested in the topic u wouldn't have shifted into labeling and irrelevant insults..if you have some personnal vendetta against the lebanese open up a new topic and we'll be happy to oblige, just don't hide behind the banner of human rights,
Legal_pad ur more than welcome to visit now..a lot can happen in 30 years..
You obviously are supporting the Lebanese blindly. I suspect you are one of them. You are running out of arguments and steam and trying to shift the focus of the discussion from what the Lebanese are doing to a completely different subject. I am willing to discuss the subjects you raised in another forum. P.S. you are forgetting to mention the behaviour (moral or other...)of Lebanese women in the UAE and other GCC countries but let us not go down this route... Everyone knows...
Regardless of what I think and what you think, the facts remain the same and the numbers speak for themselves. The statements mentioned in this forum are done by reputed reporters and the same can be substantiated by your Lebanese government and by the UN.
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
Your comments are typical of Lebanese.
So narrow minded, they think they are perfect and with no faults, and can't handle any form of criticism.
How can you progress with this attitude?
Secondly have you ever heard of cultural progress taking place in less than three or four generations? This kind of thing does not happen overnight...
By the way, the tone in your messages has also gone up a notch. This is not Lebanon so don't go on trying to bully people like you do amongst yourselves in your country. People take constructive criticism very calmly in most parts of the civilized world. If you can't handle criticism or hear the truth then I feel very sorry for you. Nobody is perfect and there is room for improvement for everyone.
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
I was there during 1980 Lebanon civil war as a Peace Keeper, very scary times to be in the middle of a civil war.
“terrorists rely on an endless supply of people living in extreme poverty, with no other options in life. The only chance we have to see the end of terrorism, is to end extreme poverty.”
Graduated from Xavier Institute for Higher learning
Yes Olive, the police would be there too & I would be drowning in a lawsuit.
Lol Alexa, yep its Lebanese day lol..
Alexa is right, for every person who mistreats their maids,, theres one who doesnt, and right again Alexa, its probably not reported as much i GCC.
Iren- oh my you do seem to know it all, your right, everyone who has a maid does exactly what youve outlined in your post. Have fun and enjoy your ride on the "generalisation train".
Jackfrost, I can see you responding to every post with a copy and paste of what youve previously written on other threads. We get it okay, you dont like Arabs and Muslims. It must be very tough for you to live amongst us, but(psssst) ill let you in on a secret, theres a place called the airport where you can fly away from here and live in a place that is perfect for you. Im not being sarcastic, i really feel for you. I would hate to live in a place where i hated everyone and everything. oh and please dont say Qatar needs you, Im sure Qatar will survive without you.
so iren , i just got home , and im seeing all these comments on us lebanese,,,i will start by you ,...you started the bashing of lebanese by saying that we need 4 generations to evolve...and you got my reply on that...second did u really expect from us to read your comments and stay calm???...you should've known better...do not even try to critic us...it simply wont work!!!also note that i didn't mention your nationality :)
heero-yuy2: well this is us , the french language is our second one...so this is natural from us to mix a little bit...it could happen to anyone , we r not perfect you know!?!!
Selamchal...im not enjoying the fact that some housemaids are commiting suicide , but i also explained that it could happen anywhere on this earth...
dmighty solomon : lebanese diversity consists on different religions , different cultures and habits...but we do share one thing:whatever we do in life ,our heads will always be above the stars...so it doesn't matter which lebanese you met..believe me the outcome will be the same...
jackfrost :what can i say: you're my man ;)
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
mr khalid, pick up the good things and IGNORE THE BAD THINGS to my opinion is not correct. i guess you need to paraphrase that statement, because you missed your good intention.
admission is the first step to changes, to improvement.
the supremacy syndrome kills and destroys. the superiority complex commonly is the most subtle way of covering the inferiorities in us. maids saw and experience the evil of it....and many responsible people are denying their participation.
progress
Alexa,
Numbers are not reported by individual countries only but also by individual Consulates/Embassies in various countries directly to the UN.
I am certain that no one is brainless enough to abuse their helpers in front of "outsiders".
Do you know if your friends gave their helpers a day off and let them roam free once a week as they please? Did they let them work 8 hours per day only? Where they compensated for "overtime"? Did they feed them properly or did they let them eat the kids leftovers? Do they give them their salary on time or do they delay it by a week or 10 days or two months? How many husbands tried to sexually harass the helper when nobody was at home? Did the helpers have proper accommodation or is a shoddy room the size of a bed if they get that previlege?
This is not to mention the verbal abuse they have to endure if they dare to make a mistake or brake a household item. How frequently did they allow them to call family and friends at their expense?
Just wanting to have a helper 24/7 when you don't have a physical disability is by itself decadent behavior, letting the helper raise the kids and not caring for your own kids when you know that they are absorbing the cultural/moral/social values of the helper speaks loudly enough about the so called middle class people who employ them.
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
Rules are a guideline for intelligent people, but they must be adhered to by idiots.
you will know if there is something true in this posting! I've met some here in Doha and honestly, I'm not surprise about this news. I just hope no one commit suicide here! Lol!!!!
"I'm back, simple as that"
SIR DOLLY
you mean you are eating their soul cause you i saw many of their dead bodies have been coming back to home.
Try to be human.place your shoes in the place of them
ATLEAST COMMENT RIGHT BY ACCEPTING THE TRUTH.
who knows may be one of them might be in your home.
...around here.
And the sad part is that they mix the French words along with the whole English paragraph.
Who da hell is using 'sth' on a business letter or a memorandum??
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
Your post is futher proof of your racist roots.
Accept constructive criticism at face value.
I dont remember when spelling was a measure of evolvement. However, your attitude speaks volumes about you and your countrymen.
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
Iren...you wrote "It is very sad for the domestic helpers that people like the lebanese will take at least 3 or 4 generations to maybe evolve and reach the current level of the civilized world"...sometimes it's very hard to read stuff like that iren...but you're way evolved im sure you know that...hhehehee even you can speak french!!! personnelment is written PERSONNELLEMENT ..so how does it feel having a lebanese person correcting you?!?! especially that this person needs 3 to 4 generations to evolve...wonder where that puts you?!?! maybe 6 to 8 generations behind ...
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
It's THEIR CONTINUOUS ATTITUDE towards their maids. They ALWAYS treat Third Country Nationals as cheap labor that they can easily dispose or insult of.
Gypsy already mentioned this before.
So why do they continuously hire them in the first place if they know (or maybe they do not know) they are also responsible for the lives of their maids?
Gah! Responsibility over another human. They can crush them with their speeding cars anytime!
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
It is a very sad fact of life that demand for maids and domestic workers is only common in third world countries
where awareness and enforcement of human rights is very poor. In all other countries where labor laws are enforced, the costs of having a domestic helper is so prohibitive that only a very small percentage of the population (i.e. the very rich only) can afford to have one. So it is sadly not surprising that these workers get abused for the most part. It is this type of society where the woman thinks too highly of herself and her head gets soo high in the clouds where she can be served and pampered and have everything done for her that she starts thinking of herself as a superior being and starts looking down at the helpers. Hence, the de-humanizing look on the helpers and in their own twisted way they start justifying the abuse.
People and particularly in Lebanon and in the Middle east forget that they are dealing with humans. As long as they can afford to pay your salary, no matter where you come from, they tend to think of you as modern day slave. The lebanese are the worst in the middle east they are slightly more educated than the rest of the arabs so they tend to think of themselves as highly superior beings to everyone else not realizing that they have set the bar too low...as such they think of themselves as highly superior to everyone else and they mistreat everyone else. It is very sad for the domestic helpers that people like the lebanese will take at least 3 or 4 generations to maybe evolve and reach the current level of the civilized world. In the meantime domestic helpers have to endure...I hope that people everywhere in the world realize that the domestic helper is a human being and not a robot and has feelings and needs just as their employers have.
Ne prenez pas les choses personnelment.
"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
Ok, lets not start bashing the lebanese and generalising but we cant ignore the fact, that maid in lebanon have the highest rate of death/suicide. Thats alarming.
Abuse of Maids is an international case.
Olive : u can only dream of living in lebanon.
legal_pad : ur from antactica? r u ashmaed to metion from where u r !
To those full of hatred to Lebanese and Lebanon, u can kiss my ....
yeah selamchal , we lebanese are ethiopian maid eaters :D
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
lebanon is the horrible country when it comes to the house maids right. i can say most of the people who have maids acts the same bad way as if they have the same institution for cruelty.
it is becoming a miracle going back home safely after you live as a housemaid in lebanon...
imagine they go to lebanon with a big dream of changing their life
HOW ON EARTH PEOPLE WOULD CHOOSE SUCIDE UNLESS THEY ARE TREATED BY DEAMON.
i feel sad for my Ethiopian sisters out there.
Also, what is so hard about cleaning your own house, driving your own car, and raising your own children??
In the US, this is not as common place as it is here, the art of Human Trafficking and servitude... Alot of these women come here out of bondage and do not know what they are LEAD into. It is indeed a sad state of affairs to see these women treated like modern-day slaves.. But here in Qatar and as you can see in this part of the world, it seems that only certain types of people command respect. Living here for two years, I am still having a hard time understanding this...
It wouldn't be the union at the doorstep Ice Maiden. It would be the police!
the lack of proper laws and regulations.
As much as I hate reading this about my country, I admit that part of it (if not all) is true.
But, beleive me, everyotheir nationality would tend to overuse manpower and domestic helpers (unless they are saints) if there weren't proper laws to regulate it and active human rights associations.
This is happening in all countried (not olny Lebanon) who don't have a clearly implemented regulation concerning domestic helpers: all Middle East, some Asian countries, most if not all of African countries...
This is sad, and a pity..
Your fingers are not identical in one hand.
What is found to be bad in one country can be 10 times more bad in another countries, for exampl in Holland there is what is called the red street where women are exposed as goods and Marigwanah is legal there, mala to male marriage, the daughter can leave her family when she is 13 or 18 yrs old and probably come pragnant with out getting married and suffering to know who is the father, the homeless who are sleeping infron of the shops are plenty, the suicide in Sweeden is high (people killing them selves), naked people beaches in Sweeden, the aids and diseases.
I am just giving an example as Holland, but I have to admit that there are many good things in Holland such as hospitals, educations, technologies, research centres, libraries, and many other good things.
Let us pick the good things and just ignore the bad things.
Also remember no country is perfect, and it is only proportion.
Respect to Holland and Sweeden.
heheehe , to be fair you're right , it happens more in arabic countries :D
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
Point taken :O)
yeah i agree with that brit...but in your comment you said it happens regularly in lebanon and other arab countries...you could have said that it happens everywhere like i did before :)
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
Yes, it occurs in other Western countries, but not to this degree. In addition, there are laws and safety nets in place to ensure that the rights of the individual are protected and the perpertrator punished - in most cases.
and other western countries too!!!
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
It's a sad fact of life for these poor souls. People assume that when they are hiring maids, they are taking bonded labour or a slave to be treated as their property. They forget that the person is human.
Whether we like to admit it or not, this happens regularly in Lebanon and other Arab countries.
3. Kindness to workers. Workers are our brothers and sisters. They are our helpers. We need them; we depend on them for many things that we cannot do for ourselves. Workers should not be given work beyond their capacity. They should have a humane and safe environment for work. They should be compensated if they are injured on the job. They should have time for work and time for themselves and their families. Children or minors should not be used for labor. Women should have proper environment for hijab without jeopardizing the rules of khalwah (privacy). They should not be employed in vocations that are unsuitable to their gender, and they must be ensured maternity benefits in their employment. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Your brothers are your responsibility. Allah has made them under your hands. So whosoever has a brother under his hand, let him give him food as he eats and dress as he dresses. Do not give them work that will overburden them and if you give them such task then provide them assistance" (Al-Bukhari).
4. Proper and timely wages. Workers should be given proper and just wages. Exploitation of any person is not allowed in Islam. Allah says [ To the Madyan people We sent Shu`aib, one of their own brethren. He said: "O my people, worship Allah; you have no other god but Him. Now has come unto you a Clear (Sign) from your Lord. Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due; and do no mischief on the earth after it has been set in order: that will be best for you, if you have Faith] (Al-A`raf 7:85). Allah warns those who take full measure but give less to others: [ Woe to those that deal in fraud. Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure. But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. Do they not think that they will be called to account? On a Mighty Day. A Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds] (Al-Mutaffifin 83:1-6). Workers should also be paid on time. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Give to the worker his wages before his sweat dries" (Ibn Majah).
5. Freedom to form unions. Based on all the above principles, we can also infer that workers in Islam have a right to exercise the freedom of association and the right to form unions. Special trade unions and associations help workers in their work and socialization. They can also help workers to seek justice for their rights and bargaining power to receive proper compensations. However, employers and employees all must fear Allah in the exercise of their rights and duties.
source:
www.islamonline.com
E laborating on this, Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, president of the Fiqh Council of North America, states the following:
Workers justice is a very important topic and it should be discussed in detail by Muslim scholars. There is a great need for developing specific rules and legislations for governments and corporations in the Muslim world. Among Muslim countries, to my knowledge, Pakistan and Iran have some specific rules in this area. The full and proper implementation of these rules is also needed. To explain briefly some basic values and principles related to workers rights, let me say the following:
Justice and fair dealings are basic values of Islam and they must be always emphasized. No peace and harmony in the society can exist without justice. Justice should be done to all people. What is justice? There are two words used for justice in the Qur'an: al-`adl and al-qist. `Adl is to follow the balanced way, neither going to one extreme nor to another, neither extravagance nor negligence. Qist means to recognize that every person and everything in this world has some rights. To give every one his, her or its dues is justice. Injustice is to deprive others their dues. Almighty Allah says in the Qur'an: [ O you who believe, stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you swerve, and if you distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well acquainted with all that you do] (An-Nisaa' 4:135).
All people are equal. It does not make any difference to what race they belong, what color they have, what country they come from, what their gender is or what their occupation is. Young and old, rich and poor, white and black, citizens or foreigners with legal work permits are all equal; and they all should be respected, honored, and treated equally. Almighty Allah says: [ O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full Knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)] (Al-Hujurat 49:13).
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said the following words in his last sermon:
"O people, indeed your Lord is one and your father is one. Behold, there is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor for a non-Arab over an Arab, nor for a white person over a black person, nor for a black person over a white person, except through piety." (Musnad Ahmad)
High Regard for Work and for Workers
Islam has given high regard for work. Those who work and earn their living by their own labor must be respected. Of course, the work has to be lawful and it should be done in an honest and sincere manner. All anti-social works, irresponsible behavior, and work done with cheating and deception are forbidden in Islam. Employers and employees all must be honest and must deal with each other justly.
On the treatment of workers there are general and specific teachings in Islam. The following five points must be emphasized:
1. Clear and proper agreements. All agreements, whether oral or written, must be clear and transparent. The agreements must be just and lawful. Employees should know their duties and responsibilities and they should be told their rights in terms of vacations, leaves, compensations, etc. Allah says in the Qur'an [ O you who believe, fulfill your contracts] (Al-Ma'idah 5:1). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Muslims must abide by their agreements, unless there is an agreement that makes halal what is haram or makes haram what is halal" (At-Tirmidhi). This means that illegal terms and conditions are not valid under Islamic law. It is the duty of both the employers and the employees to fulfill their agreements to the best of their capacities.
2. The dignity of workers. Islamic law allows all human beings the right to enter upon any lawful profession or occupation and to conduct any lawful trade or business. The workers should be treated with dignity and honor. No work is menial or degrading. Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kissed the hands of a laborer who showed him his rough hands due to his hard labor. He prayed for him and spoke very highly of those who labor over against those who sit idle or go begging. Islam teaches that workers should be treated with kindness. Allah says [ Serve Allah, and make not any partners with Him in His divinity. Do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the way-farer (you meet) and those whom your right hands possess (your workers): for Allah loves not the arrogant, the vainglorious. (Nor) those who are stingy, or enjoin stinginess on others, or hide the bounties which Allah has bestowed on them; for We have prepared, for those who are ungrateful, a humiliating punishment] (An-Nisaa' 4:36-37).
totally right tess!!!
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
then you should've seen the real massacre!!! what you saw was a miniture of it!!!
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
Dunno about that, Dolly, I was watching CNN and saw the appalling carnage from the Israeli invasion that summer. It was horrifying and heartbreaking.
Mandi
Ooops.. I don't think hezbollah needs a maid and when they do this is what happens.
believe me mandi...the cnn is lying to you...and it's not the first time , it always had happened to us lebanese...during the war , they used to show two small holes in the ground in a field in israel...and a woman with messed up hair , running affraid...and refuse to show thousands of dead families in lebanon!!!!
it's not new to us mandi
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
Dolly, according to this CNN report there have been 10 women who have died in the past seven weeks in Lebanon. That's not exactly "two cases in the past few years." If you have different statistics, please cite your source and reason for believing it.
Mandi.
Have the same problem in my compound too. The way some of the Lebanese treat their maids..as if they are not human. Make them work like donkeys. Some even come to houses to ask for help and a lot have even run away.
Arrogant showoffs. I've travelled the world and its the first time I've encountered such ..... Think too much of themselves. The worst part is how they bring up their kids.
there were only two cases in the past few years...im not sure were ur getting your stories from...anyway...yeah i do feel ashamed about how some lebanese treat there housemaids..but to be true these things happens everywhere...without any exception!!!!
one other thing...it's a government issue...well first we still don't have a "working government"...we r still fighting on everything...there are 5 million opinions on any subject in lebanon...
another thing...for the guys who said , i don't want to live in lebanon , or i hated lebanon ...guess what?!?!
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I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise
comes to the domestic workers they employ.
An expat Arab couple on my compound once yelled at MY nanny (when I wasn't around) and told her she wasn't allowed to go into the swimming pool with my child. When I heard about it, I marched over to their house and explained that she most definitely WAS allowed, and that I, in fact, expected her to do that, and that if they had a problem with it, they could take it up with ME, not her.
But I definitely got the vibe that they felt that an Asian nanny would somehow 'pollute' the pool or something. Ridiculous...
I also have heard from my nanny that other families deny their housekeeper/nanny adequate access to food...and so I end up sending food from my house over to them privately.
It's awful really -- anyone who lives here and can employ a domestic worker can afford to treat them well. There's no excuse. And the governments need to start advocating for these women -- starting with having the labor laws apply to them. Even here in Qatar domestics are considered part of the family so labor law doesn't apply to them. But all that basically means is that there is no way for them to seek redress when they are discriminated against (because God knows, people never treat them like part of the family).
Slavery went out of fashion long ago. It's time the Arab countries started doing more to help protect the poor immigrant women who travel to their countries and work hard to help take care of their families.
"If you're looking for sympathy, you'll find it between sh*t and syphilis in the dictionary."
- David Sedaris
I'd kill myself if I had to live in Lebanon too.
Lebanon is like any country where is the good and the bad and it is a matter of proportion.
Honestly many stories which are about maids abuse are reported from Lebanon according to what I see in the Arabic Magazines, but also believe me that maids abuse is an international issue.
Here are some basic questions and let us answer them:
1. Those who abuse the maid do not they know that this maid did alot to come and work here to get money for theeir family?
2. Those (x,y,z) who abuse the maid, would (x,y,z) like to be abused?
3. What makes (x,y,z) abuse the maid?
If the maid is bad just deport her.
"I agree with you about Lebanon, it is what it is, a violent country and full of hate and violent people. "
Why thank you..i can only invite you to visit sometimes :)
I agree with you about Lebanon, it is what it is, a violent country and full of hate and violent people.
“terrorists rely on an endless supply of people living in extreme poverty, with no other options in life. The only chance we have to see the end of terrorism, is to end extreme poverty.”
Graduated from Xavier Institute for Higher learning
I actually read about this particular subject a couple of years ago and it was documented with pics, and yet the suicide patterns are on the rise.
Very sad, This is utterly disgusting, despicable, and inexcusable but they will be one day be held accountable for their actions.
Its pretty disgusting and typical of what i saw in lebanon. A lot maids are abused and if not physically abused, emotionally abused and treated like slaves.