New York (TADIAS) – One year after the video-taped beating and eventual suicide of Alem Dechasa in Lebanon that shocked and galvanized the Ethiopian community worldwide, domestic workers rights advocate Meskerem Assefa of Beirut recently traveled to New York to highlight the continuing problem in the region. She was invited by the Ethiopian Social Assistance Committee as one of the featured guest speakers at the organization’s annual Women’s History Month panel on March 23rd in Manhattan focusing on Ethiopian women in the Middle East.
“Every time I get the opportunity to speak to the media in Lebanon, I say stop abusing our girls,” Meskerem said in a follow-up interview. Meskerem, who moved to Beruit 11 years ago with her husband, is a Lebanese national by marriage.
“I have a bit more rights than most Ethiopian women in the country so I speak on their behalf whether they like it or not because silence and fear are the worst enemy,” she added. “And as an individual that’s the least that I can do.”
Meskerem said there are an estimated 80,000 Ethiopians living in Lebanon alone, half of them illegals operating under the radar of both the Ethiopian and Lebanese governments. She pointed out that this group is the one that is most exposed to abuse. Furthermore, there is a growing crisis of immigrant children that are born out of wedlock by domestic workers.
“These kids are not citizens of the country, they have no rights, no education, or access to medical insurance,” she said. “For me this is most heartbreaking.”
“Over time we are getting help from the Lebanese people and various local NGOs that working to change the law and improve the situation on the ground,” Meskerem said. “We can only get a solution by continuing to organize and speak out.”
“I wish that I could also do more to help the children,” she said. “I have tried to organize games, dance, and other activities for some of them; I know that’s not enough but there is no budget.”
Meskerem emphasized the necessity for more Ethiopians to step up and get involved. “I am asking that all those who can assist should contribute to solve this issue together,” she said. “Even those in Ethiopia with the intellect and resources must do their part. What’s the point of being Ethiopian if you do not feel this piercing your heart.”
“Stop sending these girls without basic training and their full knowledge of what they are getting into,” she asserted.
Meskerem noted that she had opened an information center in Addis Ababa a few years ago. “I paid rent for two years out of my own pocket and I had to close it because there was no help and interest,” she said.
Washington, D.C (TADIAS) – A crowd of Ethiopians gathered in front of the Embassy of Lebanon here on Thursday morning for an hour vigil to mourn and protest the death of 33-year old Alem Dechassa, the Ethiopian woman that was violently mistreated outside the Ethiopian embassy in Beirut as shown in a viral video last weekend. Alem died on Wednesday.
“I admire her resilience in resisting her abusers,” said Ephrem Amsalu, who drove with his friends from northern Virginia. “She is a true hero who put a spotlight on this enormous crisis.” He added: “I am here to show my deepest gratitude to her heroism and to express my concern about her sudden death a few days after the attack.”
Ms. Meseret Hassen of Silver Spring, Maryland also attended the event. “I am confident the Lebanese government will do the right thing,” she said. “I hope this uproar will continue until we come up with solid solution and I would also hope that the Ethiopian government would strengthen its relationship with its citizens abroad, particularly domestic workers in Arab countries.”
Ato Teklemichael Abebe spoke on behalf of the crowd. “Thank you for giving us this opportunity to listen to our issues,” he said. Addressing Lebanese Embassy staff he added: “We would like to thank you for primarily arresting the man who is behind this. However the Daily Star just announced that the man who is responsible for this action has been released. We would like you to explain to us the details surrounding the news.”
“We strongly condemn the tragedy that has happened to your fellow citizen Ms. Alem Dechassa,” Mr. Toni Frangie, Lebanese Embassy’s first secretary told the crowd. “What happened is unacceptable by all human rights standards and we can assure you that the Lebanese government is fully and strongly committed to take all the necessary steps and measures to hold accountable the offenders and to prevent any kind of human rights abuse.” He added: “I will convey your demands and your concerns to our government.”
Below is a slideshow from the vigil for Alem Dechassa in Washington D.C. on March 15, 2012.
BEIRUT: The Ethiopian consulate in Lebanon has filed suit against Ali Mahfouz, the man who was caught on tape beating domestic worker Alem Dechasa outside her consulate. Dechasa, 33, committed suicide Wednesday.
Asaminew Debelie Bonssa, Ethiopia’s consul general in Lebanon, told The Daily Star Thursday that “we have already sued him [Ali Mahfouz].” He declined to give the details of the lawsuit, saying it was “a legal issue that cannot be made public,” adding that the suit was in process before the consulate was aware of Dechasa’s death but that with this development “everyone is expecting something out of this.”
In a video released by LBCI last week, Dechasa was seen moaning as a man, later identified as Mahfouz, beat and tried to force her into a car outside the Ethiopian consulate, aided by another man.
Ethiopian Woman Beaten on Camera Kills Herself: Vigil for Alem Dechassa
TV broadcast shows 33-year-old Alem Dechassa being forced into a car outside the Ethiopian consulate in Lebanon. (LBCI)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: Thursday, March 15, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – The Ethiopian domestic worker that was violently mistreated outside the Ethiopian embassy in Beirut, as shown in a viral video last weekend, has committed suicide, Ethiopia’s Consul General confirmed to local media in Lebanon.
Alem Dechasa, 33, hanged herself using her bed sheets Wednesday morning, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
“My body is shaking and my heart is broken” said Ms. Zewditu Fessehaa, Chairwoman of the Ethiopian Social Assistance Committee in New York City, whose organization has been mobilizing efforts to assist the victim. “It’s depressing, it’s very sad and it’s unfair. She added: “As a mother I want to appeal to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia to do something. Our daughters are being treated like dogs and there is nothing we can do about it.”
Ethiopian General Consul Asaminew Debelie Bonssa spoke to the Daily Star following a visit to the hospital where she was found dead. According to the newspaper, the Ethiopian consulate official said he saw Alem Dechasa Saturday and she appeared fine. The diplomat also said doctors told him they checked on her at 5 a.m. this morning and when they returned at 6 a.m. she was dead. Bonssa said he was “deeply shocked by the news.”
In New York, the ESAC chairwoman called for a collective response. “I want to appeal to everyone. We need to pull together to stop this madness,” Ms. Fessehaa said. “The cruelty directed against domestic workers is a human rights issue.” She added: “It needs an in-depth understanding, and an innovative solution within and beyond the Ethiopian community. We need people from every profession to assist us to make sure that our sister did not die in vain.”
New York (TADIAS) – The recent, disturbing video of an Ethiopian woman who was violently mistreated outside the Ethiopian embassy in Lebanon, appears to have caught the Lebanese media and authorities by surprise. For many Ethiopians, however, the incident is the latest example of the prevalent culture of violence against female Ethiopian migrant employees in many Middle Eastern countries.
“It is time to end the unchecked exploitation of migrant women in the Middle East,” said Ms. Zewditu Fessehaa,” Chairwoman of the Ethiopian Social Assistance Committee in New York City. ESAC recently hosted a public forum to highlight the plight of Ethiopian female domestic workers in the Middle East. “As the world can see from this video the treatment of domestic workers in that part of the world is inhumane, barbaric, unjust and must be stopped,” Ms. Fessehaa said.
Meanwhile, local media in Lebanon say that the government is calling for an investigation. “The scenes of the Ethiopian domestic worker being beaten outside the Ethiopian consulate were considered as a crime by all those who saw them,” reported the Beirut based Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International. “The Lebanese state mobilized its efforts, especially the cabinet and the Lebanese public opinion that strongly denounced what happened, calling for harsh sanctions against the perpetrator of such acts in the future.”
LBCI reporters identified the abuser seen in the video footage, via his license plate number, as Ali Mahfouz. “Ali tried to justify his act by denying that he beat her; he stressed that the worker tried to commit suicide more than once and that he tried dealing with her humanely, but she refused to go to the airport for deportation,” he told the TV station. Labor Minister Salim Jreissati told LBC that the Ministry of Labor “decided to take the necessary measures to punish the perpetrator who turned out to be an employee in the domestic workers’ office. Jreissati said that the ministry summoned the domestic workers’ office for an urgent meeting on Monday, adding that a formal complaint will be registered.”
In New York, Ms. Fessehaa said she is urging everyone to speak out on behalf of the workers. “Men or women, it is time to break the silence on this urgent crisis,” she said. “We need to demand that our women are treated with dignity and humanity.” She added: “We need to start thinking about alternative solutions to the larger problem that continues to lure them to unsafe work conditions in foreign lands. This issue must be permanently solved.”
Tadias Magazine has contacted the Ethiopian consulate in Lebanon to shed light on the actual circumstances of the woman, her whereabouts, and whether or not she has received assistance. We will update the story if we receive a response.
Watch: Ethiopian Domestic Worker Beaten Outside the Ethiopian Consulate in Lebanon (LBCI)
New York (TADIAS) – In honor of Women’s History Month, the Ethiopian Social Assistance Committee in New York City is hosting a forum this weekend to highlight the plight of female migrant domestic workers in the Middle East. The issue received widespread news coverage last year when an Ethiopian nanny in Libya, who had suffered abuse and severe burns at the hands of her former employers, was exposed by a CNN reporter. Her story elicited heated reactions from Ethiopians worldwide, putting the spotlight on thousands of others who continue to toil under dangerous conditions in various countries in the region.
“The abuse of domestic workers is a human rights issue, which needs an in-depth understanding, and a strategic solution within and beyond the Ethiopian community,” ESAC said in a press release. “This travesty is still prevalent and we are asking that you join us and our panel of experts to work towards eliminating this issue by advocating, creating awareness and justice for the victims and or their families.”
The organization said it hopes to launch an initiative to build an advocasy task force in New York City. “The task force will include volunteers from various professions in our community. Our primary goal will be to engage respective governmental and non-governmental representatives and other international organizations in NYC to support domestic workers and hold employers accountable,” ESAC stated. “We are seeking volunteers for the task force.”
— If You Go:
March 3, 2012, 7pm – 10pm
828 2nd Avenue
New York City WWW.ESANYC.ORG
Video from Ethiopian Social Assistance Committee (ESANYC)
New York (TADIAS) – Widespread news coverage of an Ethiopian migrant worker in Libya, Shweyga Mullah, who had cared for two of Moammar Gadhafi’s grandchildren and suffered abuse and severe burns, has elicited heated reactions from Ethiopians worldwide. Her story brings to the forefront the plight of thousands of female Ethiopian migrant workers who continue to work under dangerous conditions in various countries in the Middle East.
“My heart is burning,” said Rahel Zegeye, who left Ethiopia when she was 20 years old to work as a maid in Lebanon. She still works and resides there. “The Ethiopian government should press charges against the madam (Aline Skaf-Hannibal). I would like to see equal treatment of the case no matter who committed the crime.”
Rahel is also the Director of a new film called Beirut, which documents Ethiopian domestic workers in Lebanon.
We recently interviewed Rahel Zegeye about her movie and the living conditions of Ethiopian women in the Arab world.
TADIAS: Thank you Rahel for your time. Please tell us a bit about yourself. Where you were born, grew up, and when did you move to Lebanon and why?
Rahel Zegeye: I was born in Addis Ababa as the middle child of nine siblings. At school I took acting and film classes. When I was 20 years old I left Addis for Lebanon in order to work as a maid to earn money and help support my family back home. My father was a soldier and retired early. Since I was very young my dad has always been unemployed which was the main reason why I left to work.
TADIAS: Please tell us a bit about the film Beirut. What is it about?
RZ:Beirut is a drama about a group of Ethiopian girls in Lebanon working as domestic workers.
TADIAS: What inspired you to make the movie?
RZ: I want to shed light on the inner lives and thoughts of a domestic worker, an aspect which is usually hidden from the Lebanese and foreign public.
TADIAS: Are the characters fictional or are they based on people you know?
RZ: The characters are fictional but they are all based on the Ethiopian girls that I have encountered during my ten years working in the country.
TADIAS: Can you give us a brief description of the plot?
RZ: The story centers on Hiwot, Z, Zufan, Misir, Saba and Hana who are friends but lead very different lives. Hiwot, left her employer’s house a long time ago and started a life earning a living as a prostitute. She parties, smokes and drinks and seems very happy and free. The story starts when she wants to find a co-worker, another girl who could satisfy her clients (mainly Sudanese workers). Saba, still a housemaid, complains about her ‘madam’ and wishes to run away. One day she takes the courage and joins Hiwot in her free life, much against the objections of her two good friends Misir and Hana. Misir and Hana, both working as maids, represent the ‘good girls’ in the story. Although Hana is being mistreated by her madam she does not want to run away and join the ‘naughty girls’ but just wishes to return home to her country. The lives of the girls get intertwined once Saba, encouraged by Hiwot, goes and lives with an Ethiopian man named Yared. Yared is in fact married to Zufan, but is not a man to be trusted.
TADIAS: Your film also highlights prostitution prevalence among Ethiopian women in Lebanon.
RZ: Yes it does. Many girls who run away from their employers house resort to prostitution as a way to earn a living, especially if they cannot find work elsewhere.
TADIAS: What are the biggest problems that Ethiopian domestic-workers face with their employers?
RZ: There are many. Most common issues include bad treatment, abuse from employers, no rest and no day off. It is also very common that the maids are not paid on time or at all, and that the employers limit their food or let them stay without food. Many employers are very racist and do not treat their workers with respect, dignity or humanity. Sexual harassment and abuse by employers also occurs. For example I know three girls who were made pregnant by their mister and were threatened not to tell their madam, and had to leave the house to go to the hospital to make an abortion.
TADIAS: How true are some of the horror stories we hear and read about in the media? And what can women do to protect themselves from such violence?
RZ: The horror stories are real and they occur, there are many more horror stories that are not reported and written about. There is very little protection for the women coming to work in Lebanon. She can try to communicate with her employer but many times there will be language problems and if the employer is abusive then there is little chance they will listen to her. She can ask them to let her go to the embassy and to return home. If she returns to the agency that brought her here they will not help her, just change employers, which may be for the better or for the worse. If she runs away from her employers she will not have her passport and papers and cannot go back to Ethiopia.
TADIAS: What are their rights as domestic laborers? Can they report abuse without fear of retaliation by wealthy and powerful employers?
RZ: Migrant domestic workers have no rights and protection within the Lebanese labor law. They can report abuse to police but police tend not to look into these cases. Today when I took the taxi, the taxi driver physically harassed me and I refused to pay him. Although there was a police nearby that witness the incident he saw that the driver was Lebanese and I’m Ethiopian so he also said I had to pay the taxi driver. Racism like this occurs all the time. Another example is when my previous madam took 4,000 USD from my bag (money belonging to the Ethiopian girls at church which I was keeping safe for them). My madam claimed this was her money and I was devastated for one week not knowing what to do. I even thought about suicide. If I go to police he will beat me, keep me there and then when my employer comes the police will believe her and not me. In the end it was my madam’s son who came and told his mother to give back the money that didn’t belong to her. It’s these injustices that we endure and are powerless to do anything about that drives many domestic workers to choose suicide as the only way out.
TADIAS: What are your feelings about the case of Shweyga Mullah, the Ethiopian Nanny in Libya?
RZ: My heart is burning. The Ethiopian government should press charges against the madam. I would like to see equal treatment of the case no matter who committed the crime. The madam should not get a lighter sentence because she is a madam and not a maid.
TADIAS: We understand that you are having problems distributing your film. Can you tell us more about that?
RZ: As I worked on the project independently I didn’t have any support with the distribution when I finished the film in 2006. On top of that there was the July 2006 war in Lebanon and I had many problems with my employer which led to me leaving her. For four years I did not have any papers and could not return to Ethiopia. Now with the support of my employer and friends in Lebanon we have managed to get more interest in my project and I hope we can show the film to a broader audience.
TADIAS: How can interested distributors get in touch with you?
RZ: Send any email to me at barchzegeye@yahoo.com.
TADIAS: What is your advise to young girls in Ethiopia who may be thinking about taking a job as maids in the Middle-East?
RZ: First of all I would advise them not to come and work at all, it’s a very difficult life. Many regret the choice of coming to work and are crying every day. The stories that tempt them to come here are mainly untrue, it’s not a fast track to become rich. You don’t learn anything good from only overseeing the house and cleaning and you will not develop as a person. Also you must cope with isolation and face discrimination. For those that quit school in order to work, it’s better to finish your education back in Ethiopia and find a job, things are improving also in Ethiopia. If they still want to come then I would advise them to get all the information they possibly can from the embassy and agency and contacting their friends and family who are working abroad.
TADIAS: Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?
RZ: I am now focusing my energy on my new ideas for a short film and welcome any advice, suggestions and support from the readers.
TADIAS: Thank you again, Rahel, and good luck!
— Tadias thanks Janie Shen for assisting with the interview.
