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Ethiopian domestic worker beaten in front of her embassy in Lebanon.

I don’t post much about Lebanon on this blog but a subject like this needs as much exposure as possible. I’ve always known racism was a big issue in Lebanon but I didn’t think it was this bad. Notice how no one intervenes to stop this from happening? [YouTube]

68 replies on “Ethiopian domestic worker beaten in front of her embassy in Lebanon.”

Things like this should never happen to no one. The police should get involved to she what happen to this lady and arrest all who took part in this. Seems that people just looked the other way. And why is this.The world needs to know how maid are treated.To many countries are covering up things like this……..

Police? Lebanon? MWAHAHAHA! the country is run by gangs and militias, no police in Lebanon my friend.
I am Lebanese.

Racism has become so common these days that most people don’t see it as a hate crime, but as a culture. It has grown even worst than how it was before, not just about the persons skin color, but also the ethnicity, social status & the level of english they speak. Social acceptance can only be thought to ignorant people like what we just saw by treating them the same way.

wow I feel sorry for her, soo many domestic workers are abused, in Lebanon and in Kuwait as well–its even harder to see that this is in broad daylight!

So waht’s your point if it happens her too than it’s ok why cant’t you just condemn the act instead of bashing other people country and you know the blog owner is from Lebanon so i’s ok if he sometime write about he’s country.

Your reasoning skills are atrocious.

How do you get “it happens here too so it’s okay” from “nobody would have done anything if it had happened here either”? If you think I’m justifying it, then how am I bashing other people’s countries? You don’t even know where I’m from. Seriously, what kind of backwards logic are you using here?

My point is that it’s NOT okay. I’m just wondering where all these people who are condemning it are when it comes to highlighting this very problem in Kuwait.

Slavery is the name of the business. The term “domestic worker” is just a more politically correct term for modern day slavery. This is a problem that has been spreading to other mideast countries and needs to stop. Certain nationalities should be barred from the middle east because no matter what the paperwork says, they will be treated as slaves.
I look forward to the day I see a khaleeji helping his wife in the kitchen. Or even better, a khaleeji construction worker. Only then will we have workers rights etc .

Are the police are taking a day off!! What’s wrong!?

That’s a really serious issue here! and definitely that could happen in another incident. Sham on you people just stop and watching a human being beaten like that!

They should not have masked the faces of these bastards. Their names should be made public and they must be prosecuted!

Mark please do let us know if you hear anything more about this case – like what happened to her or the perpetrators. This is heartbreaking!

see thats y i chose the west over the arab countries ppl in q8 leb saudia qatar and i can go on and on ppl there do this stuff so they feel good ppl have problems and the govermets just make them worse whenever we can all sit and chill and it dont matter what ur color is or where u from ill think of coming back to my homeland but for now the west is home

It’s no better in the West, read the news a bit. The New York Police Department put one of their own men into an insane asylum because he reported police abuses and they didn’t want him to talk.

Btw, some of those abuses were:

Police arresting/attacking innocent people because they “looked” suspicious (hint: they weren’t white)

The NYPD spying on Muslims because they’re Muslim, they have a catalog of residences, mosques, addresses, who they are friends with. This was a separate story that broke recently.

Police NOT helping people that were victims of crime, because if you don’t help them you don’t need to report the crime, and it makes your city look safer (Pay bonus!)

I can legally live and work in the US but I won’t, they give you the illusion of freedom but it’s just propaganda.

this monster should be given at least 5 yr of jail with hard labor and should be banned for whole life for hiring domestic labor..

this is really pathetic. I really hope the exposure of Kony 2012 inspires many to end different sorts of problems around the world.

Hope the justice system gets reformed f****** pricks..

If this was happend infront of me I would have punched this guy out cold. i wouldnt care what country or who it was… where is the humanity… we have become animals…

i really really don’t want to sound racist but..ethiopian workers are really not as nice as they seem, apart from the random killing sprees they go on in kuwait. How do we know this lady didn’t do anything shady? if i had a worker who hit my kid or did something..i would do much worse damage than what he was doing…if he hit her for no reason then shame on him, but imagine she did something traumatic like stabbed someone, is that beating that bad.

af – you sound like one of those idiots who are abusing the woman. In a civilized world, if she commits a crime, she stands before the law to pay her dues. But, in a barbaric world like yours and those idiots, the law is in the hands of the brainless animals. You know who I am referring to.

im not a man BTW…and don’t be rude I’m being the devils advocate..and if u really had a brain in your head or in the matter eyes u would read i wrote if he hit her for no reason shame on him..im being truthful..let me kill ur child and i want you to see me and move along, then i want you to shake my hand and give me a reward..be real..and stop being naive and stupid…u will probably get a gun not only hit. I’m being real, I’m not acting like I’m the good person and i have a halo around my head..im a human being if someone does something to my child i will do MUCH worse..trying to act all I’m good is kinda BS to me..its an act..when reality hits u and I’m sure of it will get the shot gun out!

af – congratulations on being so naive (having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality). That’s exactly the attitude all too common in this part of the world toward domestic workers. Reverse the situation to hitting your kid, what do you do when your kid hits them inside the house? (besides laugh). What do you do if they make a mistake in the early days of ‘joining’ your family? Yell at them – probably. These people are human as much as you and I. There are many situations were parents have children in this part of the world, have them as tropheys outside of the home. Inside, they do nothing to develop them, sit and play with them, coach them, act as mentors, help them make decisions whatever their age.

yeah you probably know me too well..NOT…i don’t raise my kids to be rude and judgmental (that says a lot about you) i have a nanny whom i respect like a family member and my kids love her like she’s part of our family thank you very much..so i don’t appreciate pointing fingers..when kids hit he is a child for gods sake..when an adult( whom ur comparing to a child) hits they are freaking adults…yes i will get pissed at my child if he hits..but i will flip if an adult hits a child..i guess u support child hitting that says a lot judge urself before u judge others

Didn’t it turn out that the Ethiopian maid in Kuwait did NOT kill that girl?

People are quick to generalize and dehumanize all the “domestic workers” we get here but in reality they’re severely mistreated.

she did kill..why would u assume all “domestic workers” are angels not all of them are..like everyone else no one is a saint..everyones country has the good and the bad..and she not only killed, she slaughtered a girl on her wedding day..heartless, and don’t make excuses for someone who did something for no reason.

“I don’t want to sound racist, but I’m going to go ahead and say incredibly stupid, racist things justifying this behavior anyway, okay?”

Sorry, you don’t get to say crap and then absolve yourself of responsibility for it. If you want to be a racist twerp, go right ahead, but at least have the guys to admit that that’s exactly who you are.

whats so stupid about what i said? i would love to hear it..ok then all people from poor countries are perfect and all others are bad..does that sound better in your head? clap clap if being truthful is racist then I’m 100 racists..if being a liar and trying to tell me everyone is perfect then lool ur fooling nobody but urself, as i said before if u can read “every country has the bad and the good” i repeat COUNTRY..if ur gonna be oblivious to the truth and only read some of the words, I’m not responsible for how you summarized what i wrote in ur 1 sided mind..i hate it when everyone assumes that she was beaten for no reason, u don’t know the story neither do i..thats my whole point..but instead of me saying “oh my god, no one should do this” i stated the other side, we don’t know what happened, maybe she did something wrong. u took ur fake view and i took mine. THE END

You know what I find truly racist and part of this culture is that the men’s faces are pixelated while her face isn’t. same thing in Kuwait when a criminal is caught and the papers write about it, if he is Kuwaiti usually no picture, if he Arab its pixelated, if he is a third world national then his face is right there posing next to drugs. Either hide them all or don’t show any. pixilating the men’s faces and showing her only sends the message that her identity is less important than theirs.

Dear,
Racism doesn’t really exist in lebanon, if this guy is an idiot, doesn’t really mean the entire country is, other than that, i want to remind about the Ethiopian women that killed the kuwaiti girl a day before her marriage, what was that? what was the reason? doesn’t she deserve to be sentenced to death? its not about racism guys, its more about what did she do to get that act? do you even know what she did? thats the question to ask first before anything else……… AND THEN LETS JUDGE!

“Racism doesn’t really exist in lebanon”

I want to live on your planet, where racism “doesn’t really exist” anywhere.

in what context are you bringing up the Ethiopian killing the Kuwaiti girl? That is of course a crime and law should take its course. But that doesn’t mean all Ethiopian deserve bad treatment in return! I don’t know which world you live in but to say any country not having racism is as stupid as it gets. Racism is a world problem, one that has been prevalent forever. Governments need to send a strong message across to let them know they won’t tolerate it instead incidents like these, show how helpless these poor workers are. There are claims that she was clinically ill, but that doesn’t give any rights to any freaking KHAFEEL to abuse the person. People are talking about the other part of the story, there might be one, but nothing nothing nothing can make beating and abusing right.

More than the governments of countries like Kuwait and other where domestic abuse of maids is so high, the main responsibility of the citizens lie with their own countries, which unfortunately let these crap happen. FTW humanity.

As a Lebanese it’s shocking to see this happen; but then again no wonder we are hated in parts Africa (due to bad treatment of workers).

Lebanon; a country of double standards.

U must have had a different link in ur video cache, try and view it again. That was violence. Perhaps not in your book, but certainly in most people that believe in equality and regard for human life.

When did this become a Lebanon vs. Kuwait debate? We each know each has its flaws and positives. But let’s focus on the issue in the actual video…

Does it matter that ‘well the same would have happened in Kuwait?’

It doesn’t justify the actions and it doesn’t make it more acceptable.

“If i heard a racist comment or i saw in the video he hit her then yes my tone would be different.”

No, it wouldn’t. People like you are all the same: You want to find every possible excuse to justify disgusting behavior because it’s easier than having an ounce of decency or showing a little compassion. It doesn’t matter what she did; if it wasn’t in self defense (and seeing as she was outnumbered, I highly doubt it was) then they are disgusting, violent CRIMINALS and you are no better. “It could have been worse” doesn’t make it all right.

Yeah lets call it racism !

I’m no racist. I’m an employer.
-An employer? Just like yourself working for a company? While your foreign maid is taking care of your shit?

Does she has the same rights as you demand from your employer? A reasonable salary? Is she allowed to strike? Is she protected by the same labor rights as you have? Right on privacy and a decent human life as you- and your love-ones have? No?
So, what do you mean?

You deny another human being the same rights as you claim for yourself? Are you serious?

This is racism and slavery.

But who cares? She’s only an Ethiopian maid (..and you know how they are(.) You can’t trust ‘these kind of people’. Before you know it they will seduce your man-, steal your money or kill- and eat your baby.

Do you feel uncomfortable now? Why?
Don’t feel guilty about it. The West isn’t perfect either.

‘I treat her as family’. Really? Do you really wish for your daughter the same life as your maid has?

Dream on.

i have a Philippine worker, she hates Ethiopian “workers” is my worker a racist?.. and u don’t know shit..again with the comparing! well you mean have room and eat for free while getting an allowance and i drive her around all day and she has a laptop, phone, iPod, TV..yes i would love my daughter to have this life..not everyones like you! i treat people like people..lool and its a joke, do u know how much a philippine college graduate makes in her country u ignorant person? she makes 15 KD…? 15kd(working from morning till morning)!she works here from 7am-8pm with frequent naps! if u want to strip her of her right to make 75kd then ur saving the wrong day(hero) ..slavery is owning someone and not paying them or not giving them their rights..im sorry not everyone is like you…i have a worker, and she chose to come here and no one forced her and she gets decent money compared to what she used make and her lifestyle in her country.( my houseworker has a house now in her country) do u own a house?..i surely don’t! I helped her get a house and a fishing boat and I’m glad i did it..i saved her from an awful life and gave her chance to change! and she’s happy! BTW she loved in a house in the Philippines with 10 other people..so i thinks she’s living a much better life here..so be on ur merry way! thanks THE END

Maybe you should have read the post- and comments first, before posting the most stupid comments I’ve seen for quite some time.

But, Mother Theresa, go ahead. I’m not gonna waste my time on you.
That fault in Kuwait is you.

Mark please before putting up this video see the circumnstances behind it. Yesterday on al jadeed tv they put exactly why this happened and had an intrview with the kafeel of the domestic worker .there are always 2 sides of the story. And what suprises me is all these tough people recording and not intrvening ?

Did you actually hear what the guy said? Do you think the fact she didn’t want to work for him anymore justify him beating her up like that?

I know I shouldn’t be shocked anymore – but I thank God that I am – this is awful – regardless of the crime – she may/may not deserve it – but that’s why we have courts to decide.

Us Arabs have a lot to learn about Human Rights – and it’s a shame these small few that don’t know anything are representing us as a whole. Its a shame that we rely on poorer nations to serve us, clean after us, raise our kids and then we have the nerve to give them shit for it too.

This is digusting 🙁 I vote for justice and humanity – but maybe am alone.

Unfortunately Ms. Neutral it isn’t really a few people that do this anymore. And its not just one country either. it is turning into a cultural phenomenon in the middle east. Kuwait, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan… culturally speaking, slavery is alive and well in Arab countries and has been for a long time.

Before i reply to your comment, could you please elaborate and state exactly how Lebanon is “much” better than Kuwait in “all” levels?

Btw i love Lebanon we have a summer home there and i have many Lebanese friends whom i consider brothers to me.

Although i do agree in some aspects they are better than Kuwait.

I am Lebanese, I don’t think Lebanon is even close to being as good as Kuwait on so many levels. We still get daily 3 hours power cuts in some areas. We’ve got huge oil reserves in the sea, Israel’s digging but we wont for political reasons.
Lebanon is run by thugs and militias. I grew up in England and I’d choose Kuwait over the UK any time.

Wow. Its sad that this happened. I didn’t see them strike her though? I saw them lifting her and forcibly putting her in the car. Then the report Mark posted said that she’s clinically insane and that she was taken to a psychiatric ward.

If we imagined that the car was replaced with a big white padded van, and the two guys putting her in it were all dressed in orderly uniforms, I wonder if it would be as shocking.

If any of you have dealt with clinically insane people, you’ll know it isn’t easy and Lebanon isn’t exactly developed (meaning no car service that comes to pick up disturbed individuals).

In Arabic, one of the men is saying “lets just leave her and go.” The other one that’s lifting her says, “no, my conscience won’t let me”. Doesn’t sound like there is a lot of anger.

The guy said a lot of things about her including he didn’t want to work for him, she tried to commit suicide, she’s crazy etc.. etc.. but whats more concerning is you watched the video above and describe it as “lifting her and forcibly putting her in the car” instead of the more accurate description of abuse, humiliation, kidnapping and abduction.

I think I was able to view it objectively because the same thing happened to people I know. They had to forcibly remove their maid to prevent her from hurting herself. She had been with them for years and suddenly fell very ill. It was traumatizing for all involved.

Having said that, the alternative of calling the authorities, as you know Mark, would have done more harm than good. They are untrained, violent and overall, indifferent. The option left to them was to leave her in the bushes meters away from a high traffic zone where, according to your news report, she had tried to kill herself in the past.

The best part about blogging is the debate that ensues from the posts. I would hate if a person offering a perspective that, possibly, isn’t readily available to other viewers/readers would come under attacks just for shedding light on a different line of thinking.

Your tact and diplomacy with handling your readers has ensured that your blogg isn’t like that. Please keep it up 😉

Yeah I could really see how she was trying to hurt herself by hugging the plants pleading and begging to be let go while she is being forcibly dragged by two men and shoved into a car. Could thing the two men were there to save her.

so effing racist – though as much as i love the middle east, the people here (locals) have to be some of the most racist folks ive ever met….

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