The Migrant Worker´s Abuse in Lebanon

2455 Words5 Pages

The migrant workers’ abuse in Lebanon has attracted the international press due to its enormous rate and presence. Indeed, domestic maids coming from Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines are subject to different sorts of abuses. They can range from simple verbal abuse to rape or even murder. This harsh treatment has led to the new expression “Modern Slavery”, in which the Lebanese society is considered extremely cruel, depriving maids from the basic human rights in the name of rightful injustice and logical inequality. This topic is extremely interesting in terms of statistics and examples, thus communicating with society in order to make it aware of the situation will certainly be beneficial when it comes to implementing a solution. Lebanon has a long history of social inequalities. Indeed, a similar model to the European feudality has only recently disappeared in Lebanese rural regions. The “Bakawet” and “Aghawet” and other nobles used to own the majority of Lebanese land, employing the rest of the population to cultivate their plantations and take care of their proprieties. Lebanon, thus, is a land that has long been alimented by social hierarchy, and has become fertile for inequality. Also, the society here has a certain way of thinking of people as categories, with each category being higher or lower than the other. For instance, the doctor and the Businessman deserve more respect than the fisherman or the gardener. The poor man is at the service of the rich one, and villagers are considered “different” than the citizens. Logically, following this logical sequence, the foreign maid is under all of the other categories. Fortunately, there are some ways this situation can change. Many NGOs and other organizations are fight... ... middle of paper ... ...ony and eating food that she was not allowed to eat. One time, she claims she was held naked in the bathroom for days with no water that she had no choice but to drink from the toilet to survive. On top of all that, she admits that Reine’s brother sexually molested her 3 times and warned her not to tell anyone or else he would beat her. This is when the investigator requested to get the employer’s statement, but her brother told him that she was admitted into the hospital because of a nervous breakdown. Her psychiatrist “advised” the investigator not to take her statement since she was in bad shape. This was an abvious attempt to avoid taking to the authorities. In the end, the jury ordered Jonaleynne to be kept in Caritas until she was recovered and then sent back to her home, and Reine is currently in the Baabda prison for women. This is a picture of Jonalynne.

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