Slavery in the 21st century: domestic workers in Lebanon

So, as if the cruelty of Egypt's daily news wasn't enough, I somehow got hooked up on the topic of abuse in general. In recent days I found myself discussing the issues of female genital mutilation, sexual abuse in prisons, sexual abuse as a weapon of war, domestic violence, organ trade and human trafficking with various friends and acquaintances. I do not want to spare you with all of this, and thus share some aspects of abuse of domestic labourers with you. 

Apparently Lebanon, has acquired some fame in this field. If we believe an article by the British newspaper TheGuardian, published in 2010, Lebanon is not only sticking out from other Arab countries by its liberal attitudes and its likening for plastic surgery, but also by its maltreatment of a large number of domestic workers. The article portrays the fate of Asian and African women who - by the help of false promises - were lured into becoming domestic workers in Lebanon. Other than they had expected many of these women do not earn enough money to provide a better life for their children back home in Madagaskar or Indonesia, but upon their arrival in Lebanon are forced into slave-like working conditions: their passports and visa papers are taken away by either an agency or their new employers, the new "masters" confine the maids to the house, limit their opportunities to social (virtual and real) contact, make them work up to 18 hours per day, deny them privacy and adequate payment. In many cases the domestic workers are even subject to physical and psychological abuse by their employers. Held in such a state of absolute dependency combined with acute suffering, many domestic workers see their only option in killing themselves. Of those, who chose to escape, many risk their live in attempts to climb down from balconies or windows. Together with the suicides, these dangerous flights kill more than one person per week in Lebanon, according to a HRW report issued in 2008. There seem to be few organisations in Lebanon addressing the issue. The UK basedKalayaan being one of them. Given that the shocking HRW report was published as early as 2008 one wonders how little has seemingly changed to the date when BBC picked up on the topic. Under the capture "Madagascar maids: Misery in the Middle East", BBC's Hannah McNeish pictures the story of Mrs Baholiarisoa, who in 2011 finally could return to her home country Madagascar after being enslaved in Lebanon for 15 years.

While the increase of servants and slaves in Lebanon seems to be tied to increasing wealth and aspirations of a more luxurious life, it is poverty and economic distress that drives Asians and Africans to leave their countries in the first place. At the same time, political and economic instability in the Northern African countries, allows for the deterrioriation of the security situation in the Sahel zone, and thus for (expected) easier crossing from Southern parts of Africa...