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MIGRATION-LEBANON: Female migrants, largest export for developing countries

By: Simba Russeau

Beirut, February 2010 – Female migrants, for developing countries like Madagascar and Nepal, are becoming the main export as the labour market demand for a new form of modern-day slavery – domestic servitude – increases in the Middle East.

“The share of women migrating for employment rather than family reasons has increased over time,” says Maurice Schiff, World Bank lead economist at the Development Research Group.

Women made up 40.5 per cent of the global labour force in 2008, up from 39.9 per cent in 1998.

During the 1960’s, women accounted for nearly 45% of the total migration mainly for reunification with their spouses who were already employed abroad.

In the current financial climate many families, faced with a life of extreme poverty, are desperate to find a way out. Forcing women, who make up nearly half of the global migrant population, to leave their families and children to care for another’s household.

Escaping poverty

Yvette (not her real name), originally from Madagascar, arrived to Lebanon several months ago to work as a domestic worker. However, after several months of being employed Yvette just had a nervous breakdown, said her Lebanese employers.

At the Hospital Psychiatrique de la Croix in Jal Ed Dib, Yvette sits and waits. After knocking, a nurse dressed in all white answers the door. The Lebanese employer and his Filipino maid, Jess enters.

Aimee Haryl, a social worker at the Madagascan consulate, who came to translate and assist in finalizing Yvette’s ticket and paperwork so that she can travel the following day, accompanies them.

As the sun slowly peers into the windows, Yvette appears wearing a pink tank pajama top and pajama pants. Her hair is standing straight up and hasn’t been done for days. She is in a daze as her frail body wanders aimlessly into the waiting room where Jess, Aimee and her employer await to greet her.

“Yvette. It’s Baba,” says the male employer. “Haram, she needs water and should not be given more medication because she is not lucid.”

She expresses some excitement but is too drugged to even respond or become aware of what is happening around her. Aimee escorts Yvette to the chair while two nurses inform the employer of her condition.

According to Aimee, Yvette comes from a poor family in Madagascar and they took her to recruiters against her will. The recruiters forged her documents to state that she was of age but was actually only 15 years old.

Cases like Yvette are not uncommon in Madagascar, an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa, which has experienced a series of military coups and political turmoil since gaining independence from France in 1960.

“Many people in Madagascar are living in poverty,” says Aimee. “Every day applications are being processed for women seeking work abroad.”

Madagascar has an immigration rate of 0.9%. In 1998 there were only 300 migrant workers, mainly women, in Lebanon. But according to Aimee, after 2006 when the Philippines enforced a ban on workers traveling to the country an influx of workers poured in increasing numbers to more than 5,000.

“At least fifty to sixty women enter Lebanon every day from Nepal to work as domestic workers. Most are between the ages of 18-25 years old and some come under false employment contracts,” says Dipendra Upetry, a Nepalese community leader and migrant worker.

Located in South Asia, Nepal has also experienced constant political and economic instability.

Nepal has an immigration rate of 3.9%. In 1998 only eleven migrant workers, mostly male, were employed in Lebanon. However, after 2006 the country became a major destination for Nepalese women who comprise more than 90% of the 17,000 Nepalese migrant workers in Lebanon.

“People are desperate for work in Nepal and more women are leaving their families and working as housemaids because the employment agencies are advertising a need in this area, says Dipendra. “The bad side is that a lot of Nepalese men in Lebanon are trafficking women from Nepal because they earn a commission from local Lebanese recruitment agencies once the woman is hired.”

Remittances

Remittances worldwide, despite the financial crisis, have exceeded $318 billion in 2007, of which developing countries received $240 billion.

Although women make up the majority of remittance recipients worldwide they are also heavy contributors to remittance flows in developing countries.

In 2007, Nepal received nearly $2 million in remittances and Madagascar received $11 million.

The World Bank’s ‘Migration and Remittances Fact book 2008’ indicates that cash flows from migrants back to their home countries now far exceed direct aid flows from donor nations, about $104 billion a year, or foreign direct investment, about $167 billion.

Unregulated sector

The flow of domestic labour, a low-skilled and unregulated sector, has remained stable throughout the financial crisis in destinations in the Middle East, like Lebanon where social status has been a driving force behind the increase of employing a domestic worker.

Estimated at some 200,000 people – about five percent of Lebanon’s population – rights groups warn that migrant domestic workers, most of them women from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia, remain unprotected by labour laws and subject to a range of human rights violations including forced confinement, rape and unpaid salaries by their employers.

Several months ago, after reports surfaced of a high rate of domestic suicides, the Madagascan and Nepalese government enacted a ban prohibiting domestic workers from travelling to Lebanon.

Given that their working environment is the private homes of individuals, monitoring labour conditions and ensuring employers adhere to the rights set out in the new contract, approved by the Ministry of Labour in March 2009 has proven until now unenforceable.

Beirut: Ethiopia and Lebanon honor Ethiopian Airline crash victims

Image Caption: by kodama_atpl

By: Simba Russeau

Many in Lebanon were mourning the 83 victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, which crashed five minutes after take off on Monday after catching fire and plunging into the sea.

The flight, carrying 90 passengers, was heading for the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

Mebrat (not her real name) was one of many Ethiopian migrant workers in Lebanon that rushed to the airport to find out if members of their community were on board.

“I was at the shop downstairs from my employers house when the owner told me that an Ethiopian airliner had crashed. But he said that only Lebanese had died,” says Mebrat. “When I found out that there were Ethiopians on the plane I got worried because some of the women were just released from the prisons and returning home.”

According to Mebrat, when she other women arrived to the airport they saw Lebanese who had lost loved ones yelling at the Ethiopian women who were also mourning the deaths of their friends.

“It was horrible, they were blaming us. I mean we also lost people. You know also during 2006 war many Lebanese were lashing out at the Ethiopian community and suspecting us of being with Israel and America. Why do they treat us like this? We are human beings,” she adds. “Honestly, at first I was happy when I heard that only Lebanese died because of the way the Lebanese abuse and mistreat domestic workers in this country and many of the Lebanese on the plane were actually business people who steal from Africa.”

Throughout the night on Sunday into the early hours of Monday fierce storms continued to rattle Lebanon. The power would flicker on and off, thunder and lighting was raging and one individual in Ethiopia commenting on the Ethiopian news site Nazret had this to say:

“I know my question is too simplistic but if it is weather related who is responsible for giving the take off clearance in such dangerous conditions?”

Last night, Lebanese television confirmed the deaths on board including fifty-seven year-old Afif Krisht who was returning to his business in Angola. According to reports, Ethiopian airlines has always been a preferred choice for Lebanese wanting to access the African continent since the staff are well trained and the aircrafts are usually up to European standards.

However, in an interview on Lebanese television, Defense Minister, Elias Murr, accused the pilot of not following take-off instructions from the control tower.

“A command tower recording shows the tower told the pilot to turn to avoid the storm, but the plane went in the opposite direction,” Murr said on local Lebanese television.

“We do not know what happened or whether it was beyond the pilot’s control.”

Ethiopian officials, addressing the press in the capital of Addis Ababa, were quick to confirm that the captain of Ethiopian Airlines was a two-decade veteran pilot with the company.

“They cannot speak bad about our airlines. This is only a way to keep placing blame on us,” Mebrat says. “Our planes are the best in all of Africa.”

Escaping hardships

Like many of the Lebanese who live and work in Africa to provide a better life for their families, the Ethiopian women, mainly employed as housemaids, were escaping poverty and high unemployment for what they thought would be greener pastures in Lebanon.

However, upon their arrival, many are subjected to abuse, confinement and conditions akin to slavery. Already several cases of migrant domestic workers committing suicide on a weekly basis have surfaced in the local Lebanese press.

“It so sad to hear about the loss of life. Especially, the domestic workers who deserved a break from the hard life they endured in Lebanon. Hopefully some will make it!” says Ethiopian national Alena.

There are more than 20,000 Ethiopian migrant workers in Lebanon. According to members of the Lebanon’s Ethiopian community, many of the women who were travelling on Monday were recently released from prison, others had escaped abuse by their employers and some were returning home after completing their three-year contract.

“My cousin, Tigist Shakur 35, spent a year working as a maid in Lebanon and decided to return to Ethiopia because of abuse by her employers,” says Tewodros Abdisa. “We are still hoping to hear that she is alive.”

Those hopes were shattered on Tuesday as several local Ethiopian news sites released the names of the women who passed on Monday and Tigist was among them.

1) Addis Abera Demise (Ethiopia)

2) Bahrnesh Megersa (Ethiopia)

3) Kidist Wolde Mariam (Ethiopia)

4) Elisabeth Tilhum Habtermariam (Ethiopia)

5) Rahel Tadese (Ethiopia)

6) Etenesh Admasie (Ethiopia)

7) Woinshet Meugistu Melaku (Ethiopia)

Azeb Betre Kebede (Ethiopia)

9) Tigist Shikur Hajana (Ethiopia)

10) Hani Gebre Gembezo (Ethiopia)

11) Alunesh Tkele (Ethiopia)

12) Shitu Nuri (Ethiopia)

13) Selam Zigdaya (Ethiopia)

14) Yikma Mohamed (Ethiopia)

15) Seble Agezc (Ethiopia)

16) Aynalem Tessema (Ethiopia)

17) Eyerus Alem Desta (Ethiopia)

18) Mekiya Sirur (Ethiopia)

19) Lakesh Zeleke (Ethiopia)

20) Tigist Anura (Ethiopia)

21) Askalesh Soboka (Ethiopia)

22) Meselu Beshah (Ethiopia)

23) Julia Mohammed al-Haj, 3, and Mohammed Hasan Kreik

24) Hanna Nakhoul Kreidi (Lebanon)

25) Haidar Hasan Marj (Lebanon)

26) Ali Youssef Jaber (Lebanon

27) Ali Ahmed Jaber (Lebanon)

28) Abbas Mohammed Jaber (Lebanon)

29) Mohammed Mustapha Badawi (Lebanon)

30) Khalil Ibrahim Saleh (Lebanon)

31) Hasan Adnan Kreik (Lebanon)

32) Saeed Abdel Hasan Zahr (Lebanon)

33) Hussein Ali Farhat (Lebanon)

34) Mohammed Hasan Kreik (Lebanon)

35) Ali Suheil Yaghi (Lebanon)

36) Rawan Hasan Wazneh (Lebanon)

37) Bassem Qassem Khazaal (Lebanon)

38) Haifa Ahmed Wazneh (Lebanon)

39) Ali Ahmed Tajeddine (Lebanon)

40) Tanal Abdallah Fardoun (Lebanon)

41) Mustafa Haitham Arnaout (Lebanon)

42) Fouad Mahmoud al-Laqiss (Lebanon)

43) Mohammed Kamal Akoush (Lebanon)

44) Tony Elias al-Zakhem (Lebanon)

45) Hamzeh Ali Jaafar (Lebanon)

46) Hasan Mohammed Issawi (Lebanon)

47) Hasan Kamal Ibrahim (Lebanon)

48) Ghassan Ibrahim Qaterji (Lebanon)

49) Haifa Ibrahim al-Farran (Lebanon)

50) Hussein Youssef Haj Ali (Lebanon)

51) Fares Rashid Zebian (Lebanon)

52) Farid Saad Moussa (Lebanon)

53) Mohammed Ali Qatbi (Lebanon)

54) Yasser Youssef Mehdi (Lebanon)

55) Anees Mustafa Safa (Lebanon)

56) Hussein Moussa Barakat (Lebanon)

57) Antoine Toufiq al-Hayek (Lebanon)

58) Elias Antonius Rafeeh (Lebanon)

59) Tareq George Barakat (Lebanon)

60) Khalil Nami al-Khazen (MTV official)

61) Rana Youssef al-Harakeh (Lebanon)

62) Mohammed Abdel Hussein al-Haj (Lebanon)

63) Julia Mohammed al-Haj (Lebanon)

64) Hussein Kamal Hayek (Lebanon)

65) Asaad Masoud al-Fghali (Lebanon)

66) Ziad Naeem Qosseifi (Lebanon)

67) Rida Ali Mistokirdi (Lebanon)

68) Albert Jirji Assal (Lebanon)

69) Imad Ahmed Hather (Lebanon)

70) Fouad Mohammed Jaber (Lebanon)

71) Khalil Mohammed Madani (Lebanon)

72) Hasan Mohammed Abdel Hasan Tajeddine (Lebanon)

73) Yasser Abdel Hussein Ismail (Lebanon)

74) Jamal Ali Khatoun (Lebanon)

75) Afif Krisht (Lebanese-British)

76) Abbas Hawilli (Lebanese-Canadian)

77) Ana Mohammed Abes (Lebanese-Russian)

78) Akram Jassem Mohamed (Iraq)

79) Kevin Graingur (Britain)

80) Mohamed Abdel Rahman Saii (Syria)

Both Lebanon and Ethiopia have declared a national day mourning to honor the lives of the victims.

Burj Khalifa: Six years in the making, world’s tallest building opens in Dubai

In a bid to repair the country’s image and lure investors, Dubai unveiled the world’s largest building on Monday and analysts from the Times Online say, “Rising more than 800m (2,600ft) from the desert sand, the Burj was intended to be the new pinnacle of that achievement. From the tower’s observation deck on the 124th floor, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler, may reflect that the view is murky at best. The building will stay largely empty, and the economy is in the doldrums. The Burj could become the ultimate symbol of Dubai’s recklessness.”

Several months ago, the world markets went into shock after Dubai World was forced to borrow $26 billion from Abu Dubai to repay debts and avoid disaster during a financial crisis that left more than a third of Dubai’s real estate vacant.

Zawya reports that, “the Burj Dubai is being renamed Burj Khalifa after the President of the UAE – Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed – who, as ruler of Abu Dhabi, provided crucial funding to Dubai following its recent debt crisis.”

Following the global economic downturn, thousands of expats in Dubai, which amount to around 85% of the country’s population, were let go. Those who remain in the country say the storm has yet to pass, “It looks great but we all know Dubai is in trouble. It will take more than a tall building to change that,” says James, a resident worker from Sydney.

Located in the heart of Dubai, the 160-floor global finance and tourism center, which also boasts having the world’s highest speed of Internet, is according to developers of the project, a symbol of the Arab world. “The tower embodies Dubai’s determination and optimism of being a truly world city and a positive symbol of the whole Arab world,” said Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of Emaar Properties, the developer behind the project. “Burj Dubai is a great achievement of a successful global collaboration and that is what Dubai is all about. We live in a globalised world and through collaboration we can push the boundaries and achieve the impossible.”

In Taiwan, Taipei 101 was known as the world largest building before the construction of the Burj Khalifa. As a means of regaining its lost prestige, Reuters reports, “Taipei 101 will spend T$60 million ($1.9 million) over the next year to meet 100 criteria for an environmental certificate that it would hold over Dubai, spokesman Michael Liu said. The office-commercial tower that reigned for five years as the world’s highest building at 509 meters (1,670 feet) expects the U.S-based Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design to give it the certificate in 2011. “We’re focused now on becoming a Taiwan landmark, that won’t change, and on going green. We’d be the tallest building to get a green certificate,” Liu said by telephone.”

Analysts, however, from the International Daralhayat raise an interesting question about how companies can declare bankruptcy, impact world economies and still manage to create new projects like the Burj Khalifa?

“On the other hand, in spite of all the debts and the doubts about the future, with some declaring it ruined, in spite of all that I see, like everyone else does, projects being planned, executed and started to operate in Dubai. The latest is the Dubai Metro (costing more than 10 billion dollars), and then there is the highest tower in the world (160 storey high), costing over 20 billion dollars and contributing to the development of the surrounding area, and then there is the biggest market, even Sheikh Armani inaugurated his own hotel, a project designed in the Al-Waleed project.”

“What is confusing is combination of these two opposites: debts, trouble paying for debts, financial corruption, damage to the investment image, and at the same time, new colossal projects never stopped coming, and even being completed?”

في المقابل – ومع كل هذه الديون وما أثير حولها وتشكيك في المستقبل وإعلان فساد وملاحقة له – أرى مثلما ترى في دبي مشاريع تنشأ وتنجز وتبدأ التشغيل، آخرها مشروع مترو دبي (بما يزيد على عشرة بلايين دولار)، وكذلك بدء تشغيل أعلى برج في العالم (160 دوراً)، بتكاليف وصلت إلى 20 بليون دولار، بما فيها تطوير المنطقة المحيطة به، وأكبر سوق في العالم، حتى إن الشيخ «أرماني» افتتح فندقاً له، قام بتصميمه في المشروع الوليد. الحيرة تكمن في كيف يجتمع هذا مع ذاك: ديون وتعثر سداد وفساد مالي وتضرر سمعة استثمارية، وفي الوقت نفسه مشاريع جديدة ضخمة لم تتوقف، بل ظهرت على سطح الأرض؟

Despite a decline in Dubai’s Financial Market yesterday, market analysts are optimistic of positive growth levels in 2010.

“The general index of the Dubai Financial Market ended its transactions yesterday with a huge plunge of 2.6 percent, losing 49 points. Most shares remarkably declined today after the index began the trading with a downward trend, plummeting at its lowest levels for the day to 1808.86 points. However, it reduced some of its losses in the last moments of the transaction, retaining the market’s general index at 1817.13 points. The fall recorded today comes indifferent to many analysts’ expectations. Director General of the Jazeera broker company Ameed Kan’an says the markets began the New Year with positive performance and all indices were at good levels, including the general index of the Dubai market. Markets are on their way to achieving great achievements, he said.”

أنهى المؤشر العام لسوق دبي المالي تعاملاته أمس على انخفاض كبير بلغت نسبته 2.60 في المائة ليفقد من رصيده نحو 49 نقطة حيث شهدت أغلبية الأسهم تراجعا ملحوظا اليوم بعدما استهل المؤشر تعاملاته متخذا الاتجاه الهبوطي، منحدرا إلى 1808.86 نقطة عند أدنى مستوياته اليوم إلا أنه قلص بعض خسائره في اللحظات الأخيرة من التعاملات لتصبح المحصلة النهائية استقرار المؤشر العام للسوق عند 1817.13 نقطة . ويأتي التراجع المسجل اليوم على عكس توقعات كثير من المحللين حيث قال عميد كنعان المدير العام لشركة الجزيرة للوساطة إن الأسواق بدأت العام الجديد بأداء إيجابي وأصبحت جميع المؤشرات عند مستويات جيدة وفي مقدمتها المؤشر العام لسوق دبي، مشيرا إلى أن الأسواق في طريقها لتحقيق إنجازات كبيرة.

Lebanon: ‘Nature in the city: Blog Action Day 2009′

This post is part of Blog Action Day’s global discussion on climate change

By: Simba Russeau

Student project at IBSAR’s IBDAA day (©Simba Russeau)

Beirut, (Witnessing Life) – In Lebanon, cultures are deeply rooted in the land. No one is immune to the nature of everyday living.

The environment is facing unprecedented challenges from climate change and continued loss of biodiversity, sparking a need for a new era of conservation that embraces sustainable lifestyles and livelihoods as well as endangered species.

Cities themselves present both the problems and solutions to sustainability challenges in an increasingly urbanized world.

In December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly designated May 22nd, International Biological Diversity Day (IBDAA), and in keeping with this tradition, American University of Beirut’s nature conservation center for sustainable futures, IBSAR, hosted it’s 3rd annual fair highlighting 2009’s theme ‘Nature in the city.’

Biodiversity is nature in its diversity including non-living elements and diverse living forms, such as plants, animals, microorganisms and their genes, their habitants, and the interdependence that connects them.

This year’s theme highlighted the importance of conversation and creating sustainable use of biological diversity in urban environments.

Nour Najem, IBSAR staff coordinator for IBDAA 2009 said, in keeping with the idea of biodiversity, “We wanted to involve as many members of the AUB community as we could. There were people from ceramics, business marketing, literature, civil engineering, and chemistry and biology.”

“Because there were so many disciplines promoting IBDAA this year, I think it was successful.”

Hundreds of AUB students and faculty toured the Green Oval quad to view poster presentations set up by AUB students showcasing their personal interests in promoting biological diversity in Lebanon.

Some student projects built upon the efforts of previous research from 2008, furthering the work of their peers as a means of promoting sustainable utilization of Lebanon’s biological resources.

“An important highlight of this years fair is that we formed an advisory committee to look at all of the various ways of taking projects created in previous years to the next level,” says Dr. Najat Saliba professor of Chemistry at AUB.

“For successful projects we look for funding to develop the products so that they are ready for the international market.”

Among the themes was research conducted around pollution, climate change and fish farms.

“The first local Lebanese fish farm was created in 1965 in Hermel. Today, fish farms are everywhere in Lebanon; however, they are not properly managed.”

Pre-med students Zeinab Abou Yehia, Mobaddaa Assi and Radwan Masoud in the Biology department, concluded that the principle form of aquaculture – Fish farming – offers an alternative solution to the increasing market demand for fish and fish protein.

Relating it to IBSAR’s annual IBDAA event, Zeinab said, “I wanted to do a study for Lebanon and we have more than 200 fish farms due to the absence of regulations and you don’t need a license. Also, we wanted to emphasize the importance of having more environmental friendly fish farms and to conduct more research to find ways of protecting our native fish population.”

“We are disrupting nature’s cycle and changing the biodiversity of the fish by not isolating the farmed fish, which allows for sea lice and various diseases to infect the wild population,” adds Mobaddaa.

Indeed, IBSAR’s efforts to involve as many members of the community went into art – with drawings from students of AUB Instructor, Dr. Ghada Jamal as well as the ceramics department, which explored the relationship of clay objects to the sea and its shores.

The environmental health department developed several studies around the impact of war on the environment – such as the growing costs of landmines.

“Landmines have been planted in different parts of the world not only to secure borders but also to continue harming thousands of innocent people many years after,” Aya Fayyad an AUB student and creator of the project said.

“They also have adverse economical, environmental and public health affects. Also, the tentative restoration of lands and water bodies contaminated with landmines keep increasing yearly environmental costs. In order to minimize this global problem, states should sign the treaty to ban landmines, to secure a world free of landmines and a healthier future.”

It is well known that cigarettes are one major cause of pollution due to second hand smoke and the apparent display of cigarette butts that litter the streets of Lebanon.

“Every year more than five billion cigarette butts are collected, making it a major environmental problem,” say Chemistry students Samer AbouArbid and Adham Farah.

Using the AUB campus as the center of their research AbouArbid and Farah collected samples of cigarette butts and treated them so they can be used in alternative productions – such as cloth and video film.

A more enjoyable project dealt with the issue of traffic, which is becoming a major problem that is increasing with urbanization and affecting nature greatly, especially in Lebanon. ‘What if AUB students rode bikes?’ created by Sawson Allam, Rawan Gebran and Roy Souaid explored how bikes could increase the availability of parking spaces and decrease pollution and traffic levels.

However, one key component missing in the research was how to create lanes on Lebanon’s highways for bikers to reach their destination safely.

In the end, one of IBSAR’s own ‘Bio-prospecting in the Middle East initiative’ found a cozy home among the exhibits.

One of the main focal points for IBSAR is identifying various medicinal uses of plants native to Lebanon and for students like Mohammad Darwish and Ihsan Ghazal that seemed like an interesting cause to delve into.

“Inula has been regarded as one of the most important medicinal plants in the Mediterranean region,” says Darwish.

“When used as an ointment its treats anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. Our procedure shows a better, more natural and cheaper way of treating wounds but more importantly we’ve created a method for our product to be stored and preserved so that wounds can be treated in the city where the plant does not grow!”

“We are trying to raise awareness by recruiting non-conventional partners of biodiversity conservation like Cell Biologists, Family Physicians, or Economists,” adds Dr. Salma Talhouk, Director of IBSAR.

“It’s important to have a multi-disciplinary group that works closely with one another to introduce the various economic benefits of cultivating and producing products for the international market.”