I am following with huge admiration the current campaign in Lebanon against racism especially racism against domestic workers whether from Africa or Asia. It is not a new campaign but now it is getting more powerful and is heard more.
Domestic workers in Lebanon can't go with their employers' families to private beaches , this is a fact I was surprised to know because as a touristic country we all know that families from Gulf go everywhere with their maids so I wonder if that rule is implied also on families from Gulf that go everywhere with entourage of domestic workers.
The activists filmed how a private beach refuses to let in a maid without giving a proper or logic explanation for their racist rule. The activists knew in advance the answer they would get from the cashier and this is why they filmed this incident secretly. Thank god that this video is translated in to English, I wish our activists in Egypt do the same thing in our videos. You can watch the whole incident below
I just wonder if that rule is implied on domestic workers or any dark skinned persons in general , in fact I wonder if that rule is implied on a supermodel like Tyra Banks and TV legend Oprah ; imagine if one of them is visiting Beirut and decided to spend a day in Sporting private beach !!?? Also what about light skinned domestic workers like from Egypt or Eastern Europe !!??
Lebanon is regarded as the real democratic country in Arab world by many yet I am afraid this serious social disease will affect a lot Lebanon's image outside. I am really happy and proud of the Lebanese activists attempt to change these old social diseases that needed to be cured. Of course this comes after a short time of the scandal of the Lebanese army against the Sudanese refugees.
Of course back home there are pools and beaches that refuse Egyptian ladies to swim because they wear veil before we speak about the status of our domestic workers. Our domestic workers recorder in Egypt is not bright , in fact it is much grimmer than the domestic workers in Lebanon as we are not speaking about the foreign domestic workers rights but also mainly the lost rights of the Egyptian domestic workers. It is a sad record for sure and I wish that our human rights activists care more for these workers , I wish that our activists use these bold methods the Lebanese activists are using like that video report.
Here are two recent reports about domestic workers' conditions in Egypt : Irregular Workers in Egypt: Migrant and Refugee Domestic Workers "UNESCO 2009" and Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 – Egypt " The State department from UNHCR"
To know more about the anti-racism campaign in Lebanon , I would recommend you to follow this Facebook group "Anti-Racism" Movement, Ethiopian Suicides Blog and Indy Act blog which follows independence Activism movement.