Ethiopian domestic worker “disciplined” by rape in Lebanon

Kafala and its Defenseless Victims

Rape is one of the many risks Lebanon’s migrant domestic workers face as a consequence of the power imbalances created by the sponsorship (kafala) system.  The system renders workers overly dependent on both recruitment agencies and employers, neither of whom are adequately regulated by government agencies. This legal framework of bondage is compounded by gender, racial, and economic stratifications that render workers even more vulnerable to abuse. These overlapping constraints furthermore limit workers ability to report misconduct, as migrants who leave abusive employers may jeopardize their visa status and because authorities are often apathetic to their distress. Workers often chose not to report abuse because receiving a positive, enforced verdict is unlikely and rarely worth the risk.

Consequently, the abuses domestic workers face are purposefully invisibilised; grass-roots organizations such as KAFA and the Anti-Racism Movement work to elevate these narratives into popular and government consciousness.  As a result of their efforts, Lebanese media has increased coverage of  exploitation, suicide, sexual abuse, and other migration issues over recent years. But last week Beiruti’s al-Akhbar published a uniquely in-depth report on a rape crime committed against an Ethiopian domestic worker in the Northern Lebanese village

Family in Ethiopia is still unaware of Ethiopian domestic worker who died in Bahrain in January

Just another day with this tragic news which has become almost not uncommon for many Ethiopian girls and women whose lives cut short while searching for better life in the oil rich Arab countries. Sadly but truly, the exodus of these desperate women to their death trap is not to stop in the near future, as life is getting tougher and unbearable by day in their home country where the few TPLF cadres and their loyalist getting richer while millions of Ethiopians are struggling to meet the ends. This young Ethiopian woman most probably forced to end her life due to unimaginable physical, psychological, emotional and other pressures which millions of migrant workers have to go through by  their middle-eastern employers on daily basis. We have said millions times Rest in Peace to victims of to such cases in the past; but have we thought what impact this cliche term has done anything to change the way our sisters and mothers are being treated at home and abroad? NOTHING, I would say.

Aiqa Haider of The Gulf Daily News reported that relatives of Ethiopian domestic worker who committed suicide in a government shelter more than two months ago are still unaware of her death, according to community leaders.

Ethiopian Helper Beaten to Death & Dumped like a Trash in the Emirates Desert

A couple have been arrested on suspicion of murdering their domestic helper and throwing her body in the desert.

Col Rashid Mohammed Bourshid, the head of Abu Dhabi Police CID, said the body of a woman was found in Ajban wrapped in cloth and with burnt fingers.

Investigations revealed that the victim was an Ethiopian housemaid, who was staying illegally in the country, and the main suspect was an Arab, M A, who worked for a contracting company and who was arrested hours after the body was found, Col Bourshid said.

He said that the suspect initially denied being involved in her death but confessed after evidence allegedly showed that his wife, R Y, had murdered the Ethiopian after a dispute at the family house in Khalifa City.

The suspect admitted that his wife battered the victim with a thick baton on several parts of her body until she died. He then stripped the body and poured a corrosive substance over it in an attempt to make the body unidentifiable. He wrapped it in a piece of cloth, put it inside a bag and carried it to his car and the couple abandoned the body in the desert.

Col Bourshid said the wife was arrested at a hotel and admitted her role in the crime. After their arrest, one of the couple’s children, 2, was sent to the community support center while the other, 8 months, stayed with the mother in jail.

Source : TheNational

Emirati housewife sentenced to 15 years in jail for torturing her Ethiopian and Filipina maids

A United Arab Emirates court on Monday sentenced an Emirati housewife to 15 years in jail for torturing her Ethiopian and Filipina maids.

 

The Ethiopian maid died after she was forced to drink pesticide and developed pneumonia due to her infected wounds, UAE-based news site Gulf News reported.

 

In its decision, the Dubai Court of First Instance also found the housewife prevented the Ethiopian