Tuesday, October 14, 2008

LEBANON: Lucky to be Just 'Ugly' and Slapped

By Mona Alami

"BEIRUT, Oct 14 (IPS) - "My maid is extremely ugly, I can't fight the urge to slap her when I see her early in the morning," boasts a Lebanese trader from Ain Anoub village just outside Beirut. He laughs.

It gets worse. A recent report by Human Rights Watch disclosed that at least 95 migrant domestic workers have died in Lebanon since January 2007. About 40 of the cases were classified suicides. And 24 were described as workers falling from high-rise buildings, often in an attempt to escape their employers.

Having Sri Lankan, Philippine and Ethiopian workers at home is a matter of social status in Lebanon, and very much the norm. Most earn less than the 300 dollars monthly minimum wage......"

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