Ethiopia Bans Its Citizens From Working In “Abusive” Lebanon



Miscalleneous

Nothing can beat this story for it’s Im-ashamed-of-being-Lebanese effect.


We’d rather stay here than work in Beirut… (photo source)

Sure they’re starving and living in miserable conditions, but that doesn’t mean that they have to put up with the ultimate abusive environment: The Lebanese household.

On the occasion of Labor Day, Ethiopia has officially banned its citizens from traveling to Beirut in search of jobs, the African country’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has disclosed. Ethiopia passed the bill after it probed the human right violations and domestic violence Ethiopian migrants face behind closed doors in Beirut while employed as maids.

“Suspending work travel to Beirut was the only solution to minimizing the human rights abuses and dangers facing our citizens,” said Zenebu Tadesse, deputy minister of state for labor and social affairs.

During the past few years, a number of Ethiopians have died in Lebanon in questionable circumstances.

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Discussion

5 comments for “Ethiopia Bans Its Citizens From Working In “Abusive” Lebanon”

  1. It’s a terrible shame and the laws need to be upgraded and/or applied.

    OTOH, when the Lebanese are abused and their rights are violated where do they go?

    That’s why many of us hold or plan to hold another nationality. Keep up the good work you lousy political class from hell, until we’re all gone, and the Ethiopians too.

    Posted by JoseyWales | May 5, 2008, 3:46 pm
  2. Unfortunately, we have an abysmal human rights record when it comes to our treatment of foreign labor, be it “domestic” labour from poorer third world countries like Sri Lanka and Ethiopia among others or even construction workers from Arab countries. We mistreat and underpay them, but our abuses do not stop there. We treat the refugee communities in Lebanon, be they Palestinian or others with disdain and disregard to their human rights and rights as refugees. What is just as bad is that we institutionalize and legalize discrimination against women by granting their (male) “guardians” the right to veto their travel and by refusing their husbands and children the right to citizenship. The list goes on and on. It is simply sad that not only do we not uphold the laws that we do have but we have neglected the need to modernize our legal system to take into consideration the most basic of human rights. We squabble and discriminate and excel at being petty and vain. Shame on us.

    Posted by R | May 6, 2008, 5:42 am
  3. Lebanon has human rights problems? Yeah. But nothing compared to Eithiopia. They invaded their neighbour Somalia just at the moment when the Islamists in Somalia were close to unifying the country. They shell innocent civilians. They rape women and last but not least. They went inside a mosque couple of weeks ago beheaded 11 Sheiks who are part of Islamic sect which believes in non-violence. Oh and they kidnapped 40 kids who were in the mosque to learn Quran. They released 36 of them after pressure from Human rights organisations.

    Ethiopia has nothing to complain about. They treat Somalis and their own fellow human beings like Dogs. Ethiopia is the only country in the world where the government tied to starve it’s own people. Ethiopia is the only country to have been receiving AID money since 1945 and still be poorer then hell.

    Posted by Stormrage | May 6, 2008, 10:58 pm
  4. Stormrage,
    Regardless of Ethiopia’s own record, which I don’t know enough about to comment on, the Lebanese have no right to treat foreign workers from any nationality with the disregard that they do. Period.

    Posted by R | May 7, 2008, 9:56 am
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Hello, my name is Mustapha and I blog in The Beirut Spring about Lebanese society and politics. I started in February 2005 after the killing of P.M. Rafik Hariri.

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