The Lebanese are the worst employers and after them come the Indians. Both these nationalities treat all their employees like slaves. I am not being racist - I am Indian and have worked for both these nations - and will never work ever - under a Lebanese or Indian boss.

Past human right records show that 67 Ethiopian women died between 1997 and 1999 alone in Beirut while working. Many were never heard from again and many others remain very difficult to trace because their employers change their Christian name to let them in to the country as Muslims.

Thanks to Woyane our sisters are so desperate to become maids to Arabs,the lowest form of humanity.the humiliation and suffering of our people will continue until we get rid of the Woyane leaches from our country by any means necessary.the sooner the better

Noor..

I agree with you on Lebanese..but Indians I don’t think they treat their housemaids so bad..They live like heaven in our families..
They come from Arab families where they are treated worse than a dog...the kids spit at them..the adults beat them.. they don’t give them food..they are asked to eat left-over from children’s plates.. such things wont happen in our households

If you are talking about office work, Lebanese are the same in the office as well they live just because of their tongue..they can talk very nicely and backstab you..I don’t have any bad experience with Indians in Office also..

You worked with some unprofessional people doesn’t mean all are the same...

It is a very sad to hear such treatment of any one. But what is even sadder, this news will not stop the next poor girl from joining the line to a dammed future.

Let us not forget Lebanon is still a 3rd world country which came out of many years of civil war. Mentally or socially they still a backward country no better than us. Economically Lebanon is no better than South Africa...but the per capital use of house maids per family is way up probably the same as any Oil rich gulf states!
Not sure why a tiny country like Lebanon will need as much as 200,000 maids! Must be a status symbol where even those who can’t afford go out of their way to get one.

I don’t understand why all evil deeds are performed by Arabs. It is not only in Lebanon but also in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Quatar, etc. that poor women from Asia and Africa are treated like slaves.

This is not a problem unique to Lebanon. All over the Arab world, foreign domestics are mistreated and abused, often severely.

It seems to be something in the culture. Last year a British room maid was attacked by a Saudi Arabian ”princess” in a London hotel for refusing to clean a dressing table strewn with the ”princess’” jewellry.

Two years ago, two maids employed by the son of Muammar Khaddafi escaped when their employer took them to Switzerland with him, and sued for asylum there, which they were granted.

The only ”amazing” thing is the fact that we hear so little about this– your oil money at work, hiding human rights abuses!

”I suppose it is benevolence in Israeli society that lead to Israelis cheering on a hilltop as over 400 children were slaughtered in Gaza.”

The same benevolence that leads Palestinians to hand out candies at traffic lights and dance in the streets whenever an Israeli is murdered. Can you blame us after your Palestinians rained down more than 4,000 missiles on OUR territory? If Israel were to behave with the ”benevolence” of the Palestinians, the Gaza Strip would be a parking lot right now. That is simply not our way, whatever you may think.

”The only ’amazing’ thing is the fact that we hear so little about this, your oil money at work, hiding human rights abuses!” Who’s ”we”? You don’t read Arabic dumbass!”

Namecalling doesn’t help you, it just points out how juvenile you are. Why should local news from Saudi Arabia, Beirut or wherever reach the western papers? However, when a Saudi princess attacks a London hotel’s chambermaid because she won’t touch a dressing table full of the princess’ jewellry, explaining that it’s against hotel regulations, it gets swept under the rug and the maid is fired. The two maids claiming asylum from Khaddafi’s son were a 2-sentence item in just a few papers. How many more incidents are there in the west that we never hear about?

Arabs demand that visitors respect their culture when in Arab lands. Why don’t these same Arabs respect other cultures when they’re the visitors?

Marco, come on.. do you think we’re that stupid... you hate Jews as much as you hate Zionists. Why don’t you be big enough to admit it.

Marco, we’ve been through this before. When you talk about ”eradicating Israel” or whatever euphemism you’ve decided to use this week, you cross the line of anti-Zionism and step far into the realm of anti-Semitism. When you make generalities about Israelis being bloodthirsty, racist, hateful or whatever else comes to your mind, you’ve gone far past anti-Zionism and way past any genuine criticism that m ight have value, right into the realm of hate-mongering and incitement.

Many of your posts drip with hatred. To find the true bigot, all you need do is look in the mirror.

P.S.: I have never been a ”Zionist” in the way you mean the term and never belonged to a Zionist movement. All I am is an Israeli who wishes to live in peace, see my grandchildren and know they will not have to grow up to be soldiers because some Palestinians (and other Arabs) refuse to give up their hatred. It saddens me that they (and you) feel that way, but I have no hatred for you– just pity that so many lives are wasted on hatred.

“You don’t get to dictate what is anti-Zionist and what is anti- Semitic”

No, and neither do you.

Here are a few criteria:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

“According to a 2002 op-ed by US congressman John Lewis, who worked extensively with MLK Jr., during an appearance at Harvard University shortly before his death, a student stood up and asked King to address himself to the issue of Zionism. The question was clearly hostile. King responded, “When people criticize Zionists they mean Jews, you are talking anti-Semitism.”

He also “consistently reiterated his stand on the Israeli-Arab conflict, stating “Israel’s right to exist as a state in security is uncontestable.” It was no accident that King emphasized “security” in his statements on the Middle East.”

“On March 25, 1968, less than two weeks before his tragic death, he spoke out with clarity and directness stating, “Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.”
(from the article, “A letter to an anti-Zionist friend”, http://www.jewish-history.com/mlk_zionism.html.)

“Jean Améry criticized the elitist anti-Zionism of the Left as being nothing more than run-of-the-mill anti-Semitism. In a speech in 1969, Améry stated, “Anti-Semitism was once the socialism of the stupid guys. Today it is about to become an integrating ingredient of socialism as such, and thereby every socialist turns himself, by his free will, into a stupid guy. Anti-Semitism has become respectable again, but there is no such thing as respectable anti-Semitism!”

“In 1975, well-known literary scholar and dedicated leftist Hans Mayer wrote, “Whoever attacks Zionism, but by no means wishes to say anything against the Jews, is fooling himself and others. The State of Israel is a Jewish state. Whoever wants to destroy it, openly or through policies that can effect nothing else but such destruction, is practicing the Jew hatred of yesterday and time immemorial.” (from the Jerusalem Post article, “When People Criticize Zionism”, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1233304788123&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull).

Now for my two cents:

For well over 2,000 years, the concluding sentence of the Passover ceremony is “Next Year in Jerusalem.” A Jewish groom states at his wedding, “If I forget thee, O, Jerusalem, may my right hand wither and lose its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.”

Does anyone really need more proof of commitment than this? The dream of “returning to Zion (Jerusalem/Israel, the term is interchangeable in the Bible) is a core value of Judaism. Any Jew uttering the words noted above is a “Zionist” whether he/she thinks so or not. The concept of the return to Zion has nothing to do with politics, but everything to do with culture, faith and belief. Criticize the Israeli government for its policies all you want to, but don’t try to dignify your opinions with the tag of “anti-Zionism, not anti-Semitism”. Denial of a Jewish right to return to Zion is equivalent to the denial of the right of a Muslim to make his pilgrimage to Mecca. How many people would agree to that, and how many Muslims would accept such a denial?

My knowledge is limited about the middle east (but I am learning) and I am neither a Jew, Muslim or Christian.

My understanding is that Israel was formed after WW2 and a lot of the land was actually purchased, but because of the attacks against them from the surrounding Arabs countries - in their defence they took more and more land each time they won those wars.

Prior to WW11 The Jews had been scattered around the four corners of the earth - I believe every people should have a right to have their own country, it was a world decision by the U.N. at the time.
Israel is here now - its their Country they have transformed the desert and they will defend it.
If Israel was to be accepted by the Arabs, they would react with such overwhelming good will and benevolence because they just want to be accepted.
All throughout their history no one has accepted them and persecuted them - thats why they have to react in a defensive beligerent way.
I believe if the Arabs accepted them they would have the best ally friend and trading partner in the world.
Look at the countries who accept Jews like the U.S. and western countries, the Jews are so appreciative and contribute so much as citizens.
The Arabs would have so much more to gain than fear from Israel.

Marco, that’s what comes of not reading the link. The alleged ”Letter to an anti-Zionist Friend” does not exist. The article in the link admits this. The statements quoted in my post are quotes he DID make on other occasions, and are a matter of public record.

”Anti-Zionism and anti-semitism may for some people be the same thing, but not for all.”

This is true, but there IS a clear line between the two. You have long since crossed that line, even if you don’t realize it or want to admit it.

”If you still think I am anti-Semite, I don’t care. I know I am not.”

In Shakespeare’s words: ”Methinks thou doth protest too much...”

You wanted proof, Marco?

http://nancyimperiale.com/?page_id=72

Here are some excerpts:
“The Saudi princess who was charged in Orlando this week with shoving her maid down a flight of stairs is more than just the talk of the town.”
“Her story of abusive behavior against a maid, and alleged stealing from a chauffeur, has been broadcast from Australia to Arkansas.”

“‘They have untold wealth, and endless privileges, but no basic freedoms,’ says author Jean Sasson, one of the world’s foremost experts on Saudi women, who lived among the Saudi royals from 1978 to 1990. Sasson has written the acclaimed Princess trilogy based on the life of a real, high-echelon Saudi princess.”
“‘Everybody mistreats their servants,’ Sasson says. ‘They underpay them, overwork them, and think nothing of striking and hurting them. I’m sure this princess in Orlando is shocked that she’s getting arrested. They think this is their right, that they own these people.’”
“At one time, many Saudi servants were poverty-stricken Filipino girls, Sasson says. When they arrived in Saudi Arabia, untold numbers had their passports taken away and were forced to work as sex slaves. When former Philipines President Corazon Aquino spoke out against this, Sasson says, the Saudis turned to Indonesia for servants.”
“That’s the homeland of Ismiyati Memet Suryono, the servant who filed suit Wednesday in Orlando against Princess Buniah al-Saud for $15,000 in damages for emotional and physical abuse, plus back wages. Princess Buniah, also known as “Bonnie,” was studying English in a program run by a language academy that holds classes on the University of Central Florida campus.”
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-12/2008-12-25-voa12.cfm?CFID=121803624&CFTOKEN=94504105&jsessionid=843017befd91d09e40fc5c67196c633b394c

Excerpts:

“Libya has banned Switzerland’s national carrier, Swiss International Air Lines, from flying to Tripoli. This is the latest twist in ongoing diplomatic row between countries over the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi’s son, Hannibal.”

“The row between Libya and Switzerland erupted after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s son, Hannibal and his wife, Aline, were arrested in Geneva during the summer. They were charged with assaulting two domestic staff. The couple was released after the servants received compensation and withdrew their charges.”

http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Mundo/0,,MUL721389-5602,00.html

This one is from Globo, a Brazilian paper from São Paulo. If you can’t read it, just use the Google translation function (it’s bad English, but understandable—you can see what happened). Not surprisingly, the British papers ignored this incident completely.

These three articles are evidence enough that other incidents are “swept under the rug” because of money. Witness the British fudging on the investigation in London and keeping it out of the British media entirely.

What say you, Marco?