I am following with huge admiration the current campaign in Lebanon against racism especially racism against domestic workers whether from Africa or Asia. It is not a new campaign but now it is getting more powerful and is heard more.
Domestic workers in Lebanon can't go with their employers' families to private beaches , this is a fact I was surprised to know because as a touristic country we all know that families from Gulf go everywhere with their maids so I wonder if that rule is implied also on families from Gulf that go everywhere with entourage of domestic workers.
The activists filmed how a private beach refuses to let in a maid without giving a proper or logic explanation for their racist rule. The activists knew in advance the answer they would get from the cashier and this is why they filmed this incident secretly. Thank god that this video is translated in to English, I wish our activists in Egypt do the same thing in our videos. You can watch the whole incident below
I just wonder if that rule is implied on domestic workers or any dark skinned persons in general , in fact I wonder if that rule is implied on a supermodel like Tyra Banks and TV legend Oprah ; imagine if one of them is visiting Beirut and decided to spend a day in Sporting private beach !!?? Also what about light skinned domestic workers like from Egypt or Eastern Europe !!??
Lebanon is regarded as the real democratic country in Arab world by many yet I am afraid this serious social disease will affect a lot Lebanon's image outside. I am really happy and proud of the Lebanese activists attempt to change these old social diseases that needed to be cured. Of course this comes after a short time of the scandal of the Lebanese army against the Sudanese refugees.
Of course back home there are pools and beaches that refuse Egyptian ladies to swim because they wear veil before we speak about the status of our domestic workers. Our domestic workers recorder in Egypt is not bright , in fact it is much grimmer than the domestic workers in Lebanon as we are not speaking about the foreign domestic workers rights but also mainly the lost rights of the Egyptian domestic workers. It is a sad record for sure and I wish that our human rights activists care more for these workers , I wish that our activists use these bold methods the Lebanese activists are using like that video report.
Here are two recent reports about domestic workers' conditions in Egypt : Irregular Workers in Egypt: Migrant and Refugee Domestic Workers "UNESCO 2009" and Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 – Egypt " The State department from UNHCR"
To know more about the anti-racism campaign in Lebanon , I would recommend you to follow this Facebook group "Anti-Racism" Movement, Ethiopian Suicides Blog and Indy Act blog which follows independence Activism movement.
Great video. Good for them for posting it on YouTube. In order to prove racism it's a good idea for two different groups to try it, with major details similar except race. That helps when the business claims innocence and takes you to court.
ReplyDeleteDistributing flyers in front of their business to people who go inside is effective too, but I suppose in some countries it would get you arrested.
very unrelated but made me think of you: http://jalopnik.com/5589043/the-shah-of-irans-amazing-treasure-trove-of-supercars
ReplyDeleteI congratulate the makers of this bold video clip for exposing one of several human rights violations committed against domestic workers.
ReplyDeleteDomestic workers of all nationalities continue to be abused all over the world because they are left at the mercy of their employers.
International and local labor laws exist for domestic helpers but are not followed because of fear, ignorance or working illegally.
Legal domestic workers should be protected by their embassies however, workers loose their rights if they get into a foreign country under the radar.
In some countries, domestic workers have succeeded in protecting their rights by establishing their own labor union.
http://noonglobally.blogspot.com/2008/12/under-veil-of-racism.html
ReplyDeleteAn apparently racially motivated attack on Sudanese immigrants in Beirut exposes the subtleties of intra-Arab discrimination
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/22/pan-arab-narrative-myth-lebanon
Nice post.
The Lebanese have been mature enough to talk about their problems for some years now and that is the first step towards addressing them.
We never got to know what you think of racism in the Egyptian media towards non-Egyptian blacks - what is your take on it Zeinobia?
@Jason , the flyers are good idea and they are not prohibited in Lebanon
ReplyDelete@Naj , oh boy you are really coz at least you kept his cars , we do not know what happened to the Cars of King Farouk , legend says he had one hell of a collection :S
@anonymous labor union is a very bold step in the middle east especially with the fact that most domestic workers from the country itself do not register themselves as so , still it is a good idea.
@Sudanese Optimist , I guess from reading my blog you can understand my position about this issue and FYI in 1950 my grand dad was not allowed to enter a restaurant in the States due to the segregation policies because he was dark skinned
The media you are referring to is the cheap comedy films which as Egyptian insult me more than insults you , the best answer of these films is to ignore them because in time they are not remembered
There was silent film produced in American called the birth of a nation that glorifies KKK nobody remembers it now like for instance TV series roots.
OK - something positive at last.
ReplyDeleteSo we do have something in common - you also don't like the many Egyptian comedy films that portray the Sudanese and black Africans in a racist manner.
You say these films should be ignored - what about the contemporary films that feature racist humour??? What about Hilmy, Hineidy and Adel Imam?
It was so ironic that he was given in a role in the Mustafa Mahmoud crisis...
Quite a few Sudanese in the North find him funny but he is reviled by Southern Sudanese.
Why should something so damaging be ignored?
Why are you suggesting that one should be passive with this insulting behaviour instead of 'educating' people and reaching out to let the industry know that this is just not right?