(April 10, 2012, Lebanon)--The suicide on March 14 of 33-year-old Alem Dechassa, an Ethiopian domestic worker and mother of two children who had arrived in Lebanon only three months earlier, provoked public outrage – both in Lebanon and abroad.
There were also vigils for Dechassa around the world following the widespread dissemination of a video on the Internet of her abuse and humiliation at the hands of Ali Mahfouz, the Lebanese agent who had brought her. He has since been charged with contributing to her death, but we will never know the full story of her experiences during the three months she was in the country.
One can only hope that this case has spurred into action the police, as well as the Labor Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Justice Ministry and General Security. But that remains to be seen.
Dechassa’s death was one of scores of similar incidents that have occurred over the years. These have been poorly investigated by the Lebanese authorities, and were documented by Human Rights Watch four years ago.
Embassies of countries representing migrant domestic workers have been powerless to intervene. The latest reported abuse is that of a Bengali domestic worker who was raped six weeks ago by a policeman guarding her at the Nabatieh courthouse. She was “caught” and imprisoned after she had “escaped” from an abusive employer.
Some have suggested that a separate law be passed to address migrant domestic workers. Others have proposed that they be integrated under Lebanon’s labor law. Whatever the solution, there needs to be a cultural change in the treatment of foreign women who are frequently the domestic backbone of the Lebanese family – and the economy. Read more from The Daily Star Lebanon »
There were also vigils for Dechassa around the world following the widespread dissemination of a video on the Internet of her abuse and humiliation at the hands of Ali Mahfouz, the Lebanese agent who had brought her. He has since been charged with contributing to her death, but we will never know the full story of her experiences during the three months she was in the country.
One can only hope that this case has spurred into action the police, as well as the Labor Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Justice Ministry and General Security. But that remains to be seen.
Dechassa’s death was one of scores of similar incidents that have occurred over the years. These have been poorly investigated by the Lebanese authorities, and were documented by Human Rights Watch four years ago.
Embassies of countries representing migrant domestic workers have been powerless to intervene. The latest reported abuse is that of a Bengali domestic worker who was raped six weeks ago by a policeman guarding her at the Nabatieh courthouse. She was “caught” and imprisoned after she had “escaped” from an abusive employer.
Some have suggested that a separate law be passed to address migrant domestic workers. Others have proposed that they be integrated under Lebanon’s labor law. Whatever the solution, there needs to be a cultural change in the treatment of foreign women who are frequently the domestic backbone of the Lebanese family – and the economy. Read more from The Daily Star Lebanon »
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