Alem Dechasa's choice: an impossible decision and a lonely death

In late February 2012, Alem Dechasa, an Ethiopian maid working in Lebanon, was video-taped being beaten and dragged into a car. On March 14th, she committed suicide. Her story has drawn attention once again to the plight of migrant workers in the Middle East. But Ms Alem’s fate has also highlighted a more unpleasant side of Ethiopia’s impressive growth story.

"I can't tell my daughter that her mother is dead,”Alem Dechasa, an Ethiopian migrant, was beaten in the streets of Beirut by men who allegedly worked for the company that recruited her in Lebanon. Later she was found dead in hospital, having apparently killed herself. Alem's partner, Lemesa Ejeta, explains why he cannot bring himself to tell their two children that she is dead

Click here to see a video on this story: 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/apr/09/ethiopia-migrant-suicide-video

A video surfaced online showing an Ethiopian maid in Lebanon being beaten and dragged. In the distressing footage, the woman is kicked, verbally abused and then dragged into a car, allegedly owned by the man who runs the agency that employed her.

Reportedly in a fragile mental state, she had refused deportation back to Ethiopia, but clearly did not want to return to her place of employment. The man orders her to shut up, and while several bystanders urge him to leave her alone, they do not intervene. The video sparked outrage and received widespread attention from human rights organisations within and outside Lebanon. The woman was later admitted to hospital. Two days ago, it was reported that the woman in the video had hanged herself using a bed sheet.

This is not an isolated incident. Domestic servants in Lebanon from the Asian sub-continent and east Africa are not only single women unprotected by kin or friends in an alien environment, they are also at the bottom rung of the economic ladder, and racially, they fall at the bottom of the spectrum. Across the Middle East, sponsorship rules on foreign workers and the stratification of rights based on nationality and skin colour combine to enable to victimisation of these women.

A Beirut bar had to cancel a fancy-dress event inviting guests to dress as domestic workers and “create your own maid costume, speak like them and look like a Phillipino.”

No country in the Arab world is free from racial discrimination. But there is a perception, encouraged by the eagerness with which people in other countries, particularly Gulf ones, devour Beirut’s cultural exports and standards of beauty, that the Lebanese are somehow superior to other Arabs in that they are more liberal, more occidental in inclination and above all else, much lighter-skinned and therefore more “attractive”. The last 20 years has witnessed an invasion by Lebanese music and entertainment. After many painful years of civil war that crippled the country, Beirut emerged, unencumbered by the conservatism of the majority of Middle Eastern countries, more “modern” and “civilized”. But it surprises few in the region that the worst discrimination occurs in Lebanon, and that it is inflicted on only certain races and nationalities.

Stories about the mistreatment of domestic and foreign workers have emerged with regularity. They range from the distressing to the ridiculous. Earlier this year, a Beirut bar had to cancel a fancy-dress event inviting guests to dress as domestic workers and “create your own maid costume, speak like them and look like a Phillipino” [sic]. Last year, the public beating of a group of Sudanese people holding an event in support of a cancer charity was added to the litany of embarrassments.

In 2008, Human Rights Watch reported that “domestic workers are dying in Lebanon at the rate of one a week”. The phenomenon became so widespread, particularly among Ethiopians, that a Lebanese blogger set up Ethiopian Suicides, a website dedicate to documenting the deaths and the conditions that led to them. The International Labour Office published a paper on foreign workers in Lebanon and stating that: “live in and runaway migrant workers are ‘unfree labour’ in the sense that they do not have the right to choose an employer without express permission from the state authorities. Nor do they have the right to withdraw their labour from their sponsor/employer without being rendered illegal and thus liable to arrest, imprisonment, and deportation.”

Against this backdrop of a legal vacuum and racial hierarchy, conditions are ripe for abuse. The irony is that Lebanon does have a political culture that is somewhat more advanced than many Arab countries, in that local groups are lobbying for the rights of migrant workers and putting pressure on the government to reform – something that would be unheard of in Saudi Arabia, for example. Farah Salka from the Lebanese Anti-Racism Movement says that it is time for a redefining of the word “racist” in Lebanon. Hopefully across the region we can also begin to redefine the meaning of “civilized”, making it not only about dress, physical beauty and liberal lifestyle, but empathy with other human beings whatever their race or nationality.

Malik

Ali Mahfouz, a Lebanese owner of a maid service industry beats the hell out a Ethiopian maid, Alem Dechasa by beating and dragging and one even pulls her by her hair to get shoved into a car.

Like many of her colleagues, Dechasa had gone into debt to pay the agency that had brought her to Lebanon illegally, two months before her death. An estimated 200,000 house employees, mostly from Ethiopia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Madagascar, currently work in Lebanon. Over 100,000 of them are believed to have no working papers.

So, what shall the Lebanese justice system do? On the other hand the man who committed this atrocity, on a broad day light, he most likely might get a pat on the back.

As a global citizen of the world, what is our responsibility when such inhuman atrocity is still going on throughout the Middle East?

 

Women In Ethiopia: A white woman prospective by Jenny Higgins

 

All things considered, I’ve always thought Ethiopia ranks reasonably well for the position of
women in society. I don’t have all the statistics or information, and I would never presume
to speak for Ethiopian women so this is my own personal opinion, but women can work,
they don’t have to cover themselves and at first glance, they are treated very respectfully.

But look a bit closer and the traditional roles and restrictions are still there. For instance,
men don’t cook in Ethiopia – and it’s definitely not for lack of skill! I know many Ethiopian
men in the UK who are fabulous cooks, much better than me! Admittedly, most middle class
Ethiopians here have housemaids to prepare food, but still it is all down to the women – the
men come home expecting their meals on the table.

As a white women, I escape a lot of the expectations of an Ethiopian woman (although
obviously I have my own hassles such as small children following me down the road
calling ‘you, you, you, you, you’ incessantly). However, it was only recently that an
Ethiopian explained that the reason I often wait ages for someone to serve me in a café is
not that Ethiopian service is slow (far from it, in fact!) but that as a woman on my own, I
must be waiting for a man, so I can’t possibly be ready to order yet!

When you drive around, you do notice that the cafés and restaurants are full of men, even
in the middle of the morning. When I mentioned this to Daniel, my cab driver, he said that
it was changing slowly, but that still most women stayed in the house. The house is for
women and the outside is for men!

He’s right, though, things are changing – albeit slowly. There are lots of twenty-something
Ethiopians who have studied or lived in Europe or America, and have returned with different
ideas about women and their place in the world. Previously, an Ethiopian women would
never have gone to a bar unless she was a prostitute, and although bars are still full of
prostitutes or ‘bar girls’, you now see groups of women going to clubs or having a drink
together which is apparently something you did not see as recently as 8 years ago.

I still get jealous of male travelers, though, who can easily do things that are difficult for
me, purely because they are men. For instance, when N was here, Daniel took us both
to have some lunch at a tiny café on Ethio-China Road. It was barely a café, just a set of
benches in an alley way, but the food was fantastic and very cheap. However, the place was
full of Ethiopian men who spent their lunch staring at us, and both N and I acknowledged
that we would not have felt comfortable coming in here on our own. A man, though,
probably would have had no problem.

It was a similar situation when Ute and I went to Harlem Jazz one Saturday night. Although
it’s a jazz club, on a Saturday night it has a fantastic reggae band from Shashmene playing.
I really wanted to dance, so we decided we would go for a drink, then head to the club.

The minute we arrived, we were surrounded by Ethiopian men. We weren’t the only faranji’s
in there, but we were the only women there on our own, and we were considered easy
pickings. Okay, so it’s not unlike going out in London (well, for some people … I don’t
generally have to bat away male attention!) but at least in the UK men generally take no for
an answer, and they certainly don’t attempt to grope you before even speaking to you! One
man came and sat with us, and I had to move his hand from my upper thigh THREE TIMES
before I finally had to tell him to go away.

Going on the dance floor had the same problem. There was a white guy in the middle of the
dance floor, surrounded by Ethiopians, really getting into the music and properly dancing.
That’s what I wanted to do, but the minute I moved from the edge of the room, I was pushing away groping hands and fighting to be allowed to dance on my own, without some Ethiopian man grinding behind me. It was exhausting.

The men I spoke to saw no problem with their actions – we were girls having a drink
in a club on our own (never mind we were only drinking coke!), which meant we
were ‘available’, not to mention the fact that we were white so therefore they consider us
much easier to get than Ethiopian women. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that
many faranji’s do indeed come to Ethiopia and have a fling with a local – some men even
leaving local girls with a baby as a leaving present …

I wasn’t dressed provocatively (I had jeans on!), I wasn’t drinking alcohol and I wasn’t
trying to pick anybody up. I simply wanted to dance and enjoy the music. However, my
evening was completely different to the experience of the white guy dancing in the middle
of the floor, purely because of my gender. And that makes me frustrated!

Going Up in Smoke

The Surgeon General just came out with a new report titled "Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults."  The last report the Surgeon General did on this topic was in 1994.  The report shows that while we've made gains in this country in reducing smoking rates among youth, those declines have slowed.  The report highlights the need for continued comprehensive community efforts.  Today, 25% of high school seniors are regular cigarette smokers according to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2009.  Smokeless tobacco use rates have stalled nationwide. 

Tobacco companies spent $10 on advertising in 2008.  The report states that the evidence is suggested that tobacco products are packaged in ways that are appealing to adolescents and young adults.  With many smokeless tobacco products packaged to look like breath mints, it’s not hard to see why they are so appealing to youth.  The report highlights how important it is to prevent youth from starting to smoke in the first place.  In fact, almost all cigarette smoking starts by age 18 (88%), and 99% by age 26. 

So, what can be done?  Young people are very sensitive to price, so tobacco products that are cheap are very appealing.  Raising taxes on tobacco would help immensely in reducing youth rates.  Mass media campaigns to educate people about how harmful smoking is, and policy changes that discourage smoking would also help.  An example of policy change is a high school in Newton where a high school student I know advocated to increase the "no smoking" parameter around the school, making it more difficult for students to smoke.  The construction workers working near the school, some of whom were smokers, were not happy, but it’s an effective way to discourage youth from starting to smoke in the first place! 

Here’s a link to the Report:  http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/preventing-youth-tobacco-use/index.html

Ethiopia Habtemariam: The New Boss at Motown

New York (Tadias) – A young Ethiopian American music executive has been appointed as the new head of the legendary Motown label now owned by the Universal Music Group.

The company has named Ethiopia Habtemariam, 31, senior vice president of Universal Motown Records. Ms. Habtemariam will also serve as Executive Vice President and head of Urban Music for Universal Music Publishing Group.

The promotion will make Ms. Habtemariam one of the most prominent women, as well as one of the most influential blacks in the music idustry. She follows in the footsteps of Sylvia Rhone, one of the most powerful women in the field and the first black woman to lead a major record company.

Ms. Habtemariam, who began her career as an intern at LaFace Records in the 90s, is credited for signing publishing deals for artists such as Justin Beiber, Ciara, Polow Da Don, Chris Brown and Ludacris.

According to The New York Times: “The label was careful not to name Ms. Habtemariam as the new president of Motown, but she will have the top position at the label and will report directly to Barry Weiss, Universal’s top executive in New York. It is expected that if she is successful in the new job, she will most likely be promoted.”

“Ethiopia represents the new breed of today’s best creative music executives,” Mr. Weiss said in a statement. “There is no one more relevant and credible in the creative community to help us build upon Motown’s fantastic legacy and move the company into its next groundbreaking era.”

Ms. Habtemariam said she was honored to accept the appointment: “It is an extraordinary opportunity to call Motown home,” she said in a statement. “And I am grateful to Barry for giving me the honor and challenge to put a new creative stamp on a label that has such a rich history.”

She added: “I am truly excited to work at the label that cultivated the musicians who have inspired me over the years. Motown artists created the soundtrack to my life, and I can’t wait to develop acts that not only have cross-genre and cross-generational appeal, but can reach worldwide notoriety.”

Creating Healthy Communities

Whenever possible, I ride my bike to work.  I love it, and I realize how lucky I am to be able to do this.  Today I went to an event called “Designing Healthy Communities:  Zoning Reform to Inspire Healthy Living” at the Massachusetts Statehouse.  It was part of a campaign by the Massachusetts Public Health Association to increase access to healthy, affordable food and safe public space for physical activity.  I learned today why so few people bike to work.

It was fascinating and inspiring to hear some of the work that’s being done in local communities to support healthy living and to learn about the history of our zoning laws.  Today, many communities are designed so that people live and play far from where they work, shop and do other activities.  This makes it difficult to be physically active because it’s no longer an intrinsic part of our day.  Instead, today, often the people who exercise are those who have the luxury of the time to do this.  

It wasn’t always like this. In fact, about 100 years ago, zoning laws were put in place to separate where people lived and played from where they worked.  Ironically, these zoning laws were meant to support public health because people often worked at industrial sites that made them sick.  These were not healthy places to be.  By separating people’s homes from these sites, they were less likely to get sick.  Due to advances in public health, and environmental protection laws over the past several decades, this has changed.  Our worksites are no longer the unhealthy environments they once were.  And yet we now have other health problems, such as increases in chronic disease, from drive everywhere we go and not being physically active enough.  That’s what the event at the statehouse was all about.  

How can we change the antiquated zoning laws to make it easier for our communities to have mixed use developments, so that people live close to where they play, work and shop.  How can communities connect residents to safe, beautiful places to be physically active?  There’s great work being done in Massachusetts on this issue.  For example, Revere has a beautiful beach on the east side of the city; however, most residents live on the west side of the city and the two sides are intersected by several major highways, making it difficult for people to get to the beach.  Revere residents got together in a coalition called “Revere on the Move” and they created an urban trail, with bright blue poles which serve as mile markers, so that people now have a long trail that they can use for exercise.  Their next step is to think about how they can create the opportunities for everyone to by physically active; not just the folks with the time and intention to exercise.  It will be exciting to see what they do next!  Click here for a link to a fact sheet on the campaign.

Driven Ethiopian refugee wins SF State scholarship

Betsaida Abraham’s family fled persecution in Ethiopia and settled in the U.S when she was 12. (Courtesy photo)

Amy Crawford Examiner Staff Writer Sanfrancisco

Betsaida Abraham moved to California from her native Ethiopia at age 12. She didn’t know any English and had never attended school. Back then, her dream of being a doctor seemed unattainable.  

Ten years later, the young woman who now goes by Betty is a senior at San Francisco State University, taking classes for her microbiology major and studying for the medical school admissions test.

For her triumph against the odds, Abraham learned this month that she had won the William Randolph Hearst Award, a $3,000 scholarship bestowed by the California State University trustees. She was one of 23 winners across the 400,000-student system.

“I’ve gone through so much,” Abraham said. “I feel like I’m finally hitting my stride and going where I want to go, whereas before I was just keeping my head above water.”

Abraham’s father fled political persecution in Ethiopia when Betty was a baby, leaving his wife and two daughters behind. They planned to follow him, but applying for asylum took longer than they expected.

 “It actually took 12 years and a letter from [Sen.] Barbara Boxer to get us here,” Abraham said.

As they waited, Abraham’s mother kept the girls at home, fearing that their Protestant religion would endanger them in a country dominated by the Orthodox Church.

The girls taught themselves to read by studying the Bible, and they gained a love of science examining insects in the backyard.

When they were finally permitted to join her father in Sacramento, Abraham’s first impression was of enormity — wider roads, taller buildings and more food than she was used to seeing on a plate.

“I definitely felt out of place,” Abraham said. “But I was so excited, going to school for the first time.”

Abraham took English as a second language for two years, before applying to an honors high school. She persevered through difficult courses, and then applied to SFSU. Believing medical school was out of reach, Abraham planned to study nursing. But she did so well in her classes that she reconsidered her old dream.

Abraham said she would like to return to Ethiopia one day — after becoming a doctor.