For a Syrian Refugee in Palestine: A Lifelong Plight of Unanswered Rights

[Editor's Note: This blog post by IMOW contributor  Simba Russeau was originally published on Debating Human Rights for Blog Action Day 2013.]

On December 10, 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris, the first Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) -- which consists of thirty articles -- was adopted by the United Nations (UN) in response to a global need for the observance and respect of human rights regardless of religion, gender, or race.

 “The first Universal Declaration of Human Rights isn’t the first but it’s the greatest and most important. It was drafted in 1948 by the fifty-six member states of the United Nations. Our goal was to draft text that would be universally accepted as rights and freedom that applied to everyone,” Stéphane Hessel, former Ambassador to the UN and a co-drafter of the UDHR in 1948 said.

“However, people continue to contest the first human rights declaration by stating that westerners drafted it. This isn’t true. People from all areas of the world drafted it. People have said that it was drafted by the colonial powers and not by the de-colonialised people of the world. This is also false because we did take into account that some people were already independent and others not yet and that this declaration needed to apply to them also.”

At the time of it’s drafting, a mass exodus was taking place. According to the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, the 1948 Nakba forced an estimated 711,000 to 725,000 from their homelands.

Calling into question the lack of energy put into securing the homeland of Palestinians at the time of the drafting of the UDHR. “There terrible crisis in the Middle East is still not solved but the declaration on human rights lays out all the things that should be applied by Israel,” adds Hessel.

“Please don’t mix the question of implementation and the question of declaring values. The declaration declares values but it’s the responsibility of the countries, non-governmental organisations and the people to implement those values and that has not happened when it comes to the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”

Forty-six year old Omar, who requested anonymity due to security concerns, was born in Syria. In 1948, his parents fled the city of Haifa, which is the largest city in northern Israel. More than 470,000 Palestinians were residing in Syria’s before the war. Many, like Omar, hail the hospitality offered to their ancestors during their desperate search for safe haven.

“Before the war, life in Syria was good. The Syrian government and the people treated us very well. Our families, who fled in 1948, were accepted without conditions and given full rights in the country,” Omar said. “I worked for a good company as a civil engineer. Basically, we lived as if we were Syrians. I earned a good salary, we had a home and I was able to provide for my family. Our children were getting a good education.”

Omar’s life changed when fierce clashes between fighters loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the opposition engulfed the Palestinian camps of al-Yarmouk, which is nestled on the southwest outskirts of Damascus.

Interview with Political Exile from Myanmar

It's 18:30 on Thursday evening. I've just arrived to the Migrant Assistance Program's (MAP) office in Chiang Mai. The organisation's direct Jackie Pollock kindly allowed for me to accompany several volunteers as they head to a migrant worker community to do outreach.

Two volunteers, a lawyer, and myself pile into the car. The passenger seat remained empty. Ten minutes later, we stopped and a woman hopped into the passenger seat.

Her face was filled with a big smile as she entered. Several minutes later she asked my name and introduced herself. "I want to learn English," she said. "I want to learn to speak Thai," I replied. "Ok. We'll practice together and teach each other," she added. "What's your name?" My name is At.

Twenty minutes into the drive, we pulled into a gas station. There waiting was another organisation that assisted migrant workers in Chiang Rai. The two vans pulled out and we continue our journey. Some fifteen minutes later, we stopped. On the other side of the highway a man on a motorbike was waiving franticly to get our attention.

I informed the driver. It was MAP's contact into the community we were headed to meet.

As we walked into the makeshift community which was nestled in the open air, sounds of splashing water could be heard as men and women use buckets of water to bathe themselves after long hard days work.

Our presence stirred a great commotion as residents looked at our group of ten to fifteen people with confusion and apprehension. Finally, we were introduced and fears started to dissipate. MAP's volunteers handed out refreshments to everyone.

All the migrant workers living here are from the volatile Shan State in Myanmar. Many came in search of work, to escape ongoing tensions and to provide a better way of life for themselves and their families back home.

Quietly, I waited near a tree until I received permission to interview several individuals about their working and living conditions in Thailand. As I waited, At approached me and began telling me her story.

At: We have many problems in Shan State because there's a lot of fighting between the Burmese government and the Shan Army mainly due to the government's opposition to an autonomous region in Shan State. Many Shan people have lost their livelihoods due to ongoing war. On a continuous basis people are literally running across the border into Thailand.

Simba: How did you come to Thailand?

A: In 1988, I joined and become a high ranking member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party. We started making protests through Burma demanding an end to military rule and our desire to create freedom and democracy in our country. In 2005, I was arrested and sentenced to fourteen years in prison but I only served three years. After I was released, they exiled me from my country and I was forced to cross the border.

When I first arrived to the prison, all the women were depressed. Some were crying. Everyone looked at me as if I was strange because I was smiling. I don't regret making stand for what I believe. Fighting for truth is very important and everything the Burmese government says isn't true.

I have a very strong spiritual practice and it was this that really kept my spirits high. In Shan State, I was meditating for twelve years. In the prison, I continued my meditation practice and it was this that allowed me to cope with the difficult situation I found myself in.

There's no real democracy in Burma. The government only makes a show for the international community so that they are applauded for saying that they are making a transition to democracy but the reality is that nothing has changed for our people.

This is an excerpt of an interview from the next edition of Migrant Stories. You can subscribe here now to get each free edition delivered to your inbox upon publication. The next issue is scheduled to be released today.

How Relentless Are You?

Image property of: moriza

"Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation, be notorious. I have tried prudent planning long enough, from now on, I will be mad." ~ Rumi

Tomorrow's a big day. I have to appear in housing court. It's the last in a series that will hopefully end with me winning my court case. Right now it's about 1 a.m. and I'm riding my bike from downtown to Harlem. Suddenly, tragedy strikes.

Gracefully Intercepting Life's Challenges

In my relentless pursuit to empower myself by taking the management company and the landlord to court for failing to maintain the first flat I moved into after seven years of living on the street, life presented me with a test.

That night while riding my bike, I had a head-on collision with a taxi. The traffic lights changed suddenly as I was making my way through. A line of cars that were, at one moment, part of a still image had abruptly turned into a burst of energy. I flew two blocks, rolled out and quickly got up.

The adrenaline of appearing in court in my relentless pursuit of demanding my rights was more important than pain. The next day, I was full of bruises. Nevertheless, I hopped to the courthouse. Several months later, I won my case.

Human Rights Defenders Are My Heroes

As a journalist, I've had the pleasure of meeting many human rights activists and local journalists from around the world who continue to rise in the face of fear. Many languish in prisons for indefinite amounts of time, face torture, death, imprisonment or even exile but that doesn't stop them.

Some opt to engage in hunger strikes as a last appeal. What makes these people so impressive is that they know what they were sent to this earth to do. What keeps them going is their relentless desire for change and justice.

No one can put out your fire. It's controlled by your free will. Many will try but only you have the captain's seat when it comes to extinguishing the flames. Those who wish to stop you will try and control you by putting you in fear. Fear keeps you from uncovering your own truths, being that light that shines brighter than any other light or having the guts to say what everyone is afraid to.

It's truly an honour to listen, learn and share their unique stories.

Migrant Stories

Next time, I'm going to share an excerpt of an interview I recently did with a human rights activist from Myanmar. Despite being exiled, imprisoned, rumours spread and her family harassed - she remains relentless in her pursuit of uncovering truth.

Her story is part of the upcoming issue of Migrant Stories, which is a digital magazine that provides a platform for migrants, refugees, indigenous communities and homeless individuals to raise their voices, awakening the world to the journey they face.

Subscribe to get each free edition delivered to your inbox upon publication.

Your Turn

Join the conversation either on Facebook or in the comments below. Tell us how you or others you know are being relentless in the pursuit of claiming your rights as a human on this earth. If you work with a human rights organisation, introduce yourself and let us know about the work you do.

Arab Hip Hop Queen Malikah

Daily life for women in the Arab world is never an easy task in a male-dominated society. So imagine being one of very few female emcees taking on the testosterone-driven world of Arabic hip hop. But, MC Lix aka Malikah, which means Queen in Arabic, is doing just that.

Born into a Lebanese/Algerian family in Marseille, France in 1986, Malikah has spent the last nine years not only establishing herself as a well respected MC but also letting the world know that Arab women have something to say and should be respected.

Proclaimed the "Best MC in Lebanon" after making her mark on MTV Hip HopNa, Malikah has become the voice of female empowerment through her music. One of her trademark songs is Ya Imra’a, which encourages women to fight for their rights and freedom -- despite all the obstacles they face in the Middle East and North Africa.

Here's a little taste of the Queen in action.




At the onset of her career, Malikah faced her own obstacles. Besides battling her male counterparts, she was also forced to cover her face whenever making public concerts due to the opposition she faced from her family of being a rapper. On stage, Malikah is a force to be reckoned with. She is hardcore and serious when it comes to politics and social issues, but smooth when it comes to singing about love and friendship.

Currently, Malikah is hard at work creating her debut album, The Coronation. Here’s a link to her MySpace page to keep up with all her doings.

Lebanese artist Ginou Choueiri

This week I thought that I would lighten up a bit and introduce a very special Lebanese artist, Ginou Choueiri. I met Ginou five years ago at a party the first night I arrived in Lebanon. In the beginning, I never inquired about her work but it was clear that she was an artist of life by the positive creative vibes oozing out of her being.

After completing a degree in Marketing at the University of Connecticut, Ginou returned to Beirut and started a career in advertising. Seven years later after realizing that she was destined for greater creativity, Ginou traveled to Barcelona to participate in Metafora’s International Art Workshop and has been making art ever since.

Her work has been exhibited in venues such as the Contemporary Cultural Center of Barcelona, the Mario Merz Foundation in Turin, Italy, and Beirut Art Lounge. Last year, her mural "Nomad’s Land" was part of the Pop Up Lisboa 2010 Festival. Here’s a video of Ginou in action.





Ginou’s long-term project, "Potato Portraits," has created a global buzz. The series, which uses potatoes as the main canvas, saw the transformation of political figures, celebrities, friends, and family to random people Ginou would meet on the streets into potato heads.

Domestic Workers Find their Own Means of Empowerment

Chandrani speaking at a Taste Culture event

In the Middle East, where widespread abuse of female migrant domestic workers is commonplace, Jordan positioned itself as leader in protecting workers rights when it introduced laws in 2008 that called for regulated hours, a day off and criminalisation of human trafficking.

However, a recent report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch and Jordan's Tamkeen Centre for Legal Aid cites complaints of physical and sexual abuse, house confinement, non-payment of salaries and long working hours.

According to the 110-page report, failure on the part of Jordanian officials to enforce labour laws put in place to protect female migrants are in fact 'facilitating abuse'.

Currently, more than 70,000 female migrant domestic workers from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines are employed in the kingdom.

Pushed by a need to support their families, female migrant domestic workers leave their countries, children and lives to care for another household.

The issue of migrant domestic work is a personal issue for me. More than fifteen years ago while living on the streets in the United States and without any legal identification, I turned to cleaning houses as a means of supporting myself. When I lived in the home, I usually slept on the sofa and worked all the day without receiving a single pay. For these individuals, providing me with a place to sleep was sufficient enough. At times, I was subjected to verbal abuse and even sometimes molestation. Eventually, I would run away and end up on the streets once more.

Five years ago, when I arrived in the Middle East from New York it was not my intention to highlight the plight of these women. However, my treatment in Lebanon--when I was viewed as a servant whenever I walked the streets, or sleeping on the sofa in the home of three fellow foreigners, cooking and cleaning in exchange for board--triggered something in me.

Tunisia: Ending Decades of Silence

Photo: Nasser Nouri

In a bid to curb criticism of Tunisia's transitional government, officials increase crackdowns against public opinions as the country prepares for elections in October.

Last year the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) named Tunisia one of the most repressive country's in the Middle East and North Africa for journalists despite portraying a public image of being a place of liberalism and modernity.

For many Tunisians the success in bringing down the dictatorship of former president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali meant that twenty-three years of enforced rule had finally come to an end.

"A succession of many events over several years led to the 'Jasmine revolution'," said 24-year-old Asma in an interview with Her Blueprint. The sharing of information played a pivotal role in the Tunisian revolution because the strongest pillars of the Ben Ali system was censorship of information and it collapsed once he was unable to control it."

Following the country's successful uprising, Asma embarked on journey in pursuit of a career in journalism and dedicated her master's in cultural studies to focus on the Tunisian revolution and the various contribution of social media.

"Of course the international media put a lot of emphasis on social media during the revolt. Almost to the point that it was the hottest topic while other issues like social and economic woes, which were at the heart of the uprising. I mean in the end we were fighting for more freedoms, an end poverty and social injustice," she adds.

"However, one can't ignore the role of social media. It helped in sending messages and raising awareness amongst Tunisian citizens who had no idea of politics or what’s was happening in the country but thanks to social networks like Facebook and Twitter it helped to also spread Tunisia's situation to the rest of the world."

One aspect of the democratic changes is the introduction of a draft press law, which calls for reduced prison sentences for media professionals and scrapping government discretion in refusing to register newspapers.

"The only red lines we have now is our ethics to ensure that as journalists we remain biased, objective and stick to the facts without any extra interpretations," continues Asma.

"Despite these new freedoms there still remains a great level of censorship. The draft press law that is currently under debate continues to allow journalist to be imprisoned for up to five years for dozens of crimes like defamation. Actually all forms of mass communication are still under threat."

Tunisia's 23 October elections are aimed at creating a constituent assembly to reform the constitution, which was amended nine years ago after the Tunisian constitutional referendum of 2002. Many Tunisians remain in the dark over the fact that the country's first free elections are separate from parliamentary elections.

"As aspiring journalists we have a big responsibility because we control the kind of information that's being filtered to the public. In a way we're like educators," concludes Asma.

Tunisia Revolt Though the Eyes of its Youth

photo property of: Crethi Plethi

Rising unemployment has struck a nerve with many young Tunisians who hoped that their successful 'Jasmine Revolt,' which forced former dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali to Saudi Arabia on January 14, would quickly result in rapid job growth. Tunisia's post-revolutionary blues has caused many Tunisians to lose confidence in the progress of their revolt but for 21-year-old Myriam Ben Ghazi the revolution is just beginning.

"Small protests or gatherings expressing discontent against the regime of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali had never happened before in Tunisia, so when the revolution started, I freaked because for twenty-three years we were never allowed to express our opinions publicly. I wondered if this would really work or if people’s lives would be lost for nothing.

I think that the turning point for us was that we finally saw the corruption; even though we always knew that it existed, it was the norm to just look away.  When people went to the streets to demand change, it was clear we were finally facing it.

We had to face it, because remounts of Ben Ali's Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) party are still working behind the scenes in the government and in the judiciary. The best example would be the trials and sentencing of Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi in absentia. Orchestrating their trials is really a piece of theatre, because they're off enjoying their life in Saudi Arabia while we continue suffering from poverty. But for the public it’s kind of a drug that government gives us to keep us quiet.

As a young Tunisian, I started think about what young people need to do in order to keep the country on a path towards democracy. Since I don’t know how to take up arms and fight, I decided to continue the struggle as a writer through journalism so that I can bring the voices of young people to the outside world.

I think the revolution will take a long time, but the real revolution that we need right now is one of the mind, because the only way we will be able to progress forward is if people start to make changes within themselves. Even after the revolution people are still thinking with the same mentality of the past and believing that nothing has really changed. But we have gained our freedom, we're facing corruption, and in the time we'll grow economically. What's important now is that focus on the October 23 elections, where Tunisians will be able to elect a constituent assembly to reform the constitution. The last time our constitution was amended was nine years ago, after the Tunisian constitutional referendum of 2002.

For me voting is another way that we as young people will be able to continue changing Tunisia by our own hand, rather than others making the decisions for us.

As for the international media, they are always looking for the latest scoop and hot news so if there is war happening in Libya and Tunisia is calming down then they will look to Libya of course instead of really exploring the intricate details of what is going on in Tunisia. However, right now we don’t need the media to be all over us we just need to focus on our own issues, concentrate on the elections and establish democracy in Tunisia. Then once Tunisia becomes an economic success then the media will look at Tunisia as the place that started the Arab Spring two or three years ago and hail the country for all the economic, social and political changes."

Tunisia: Faced With a Life in Limbo

Photo credit: NY Times

NATO's five month bombing campaign in Libya under the guise of protecting civilians has not only caused major disruptions to the lives of thousands of Libyan civilians but it has also taken its toll on countless numbers of refugees from sub-Saharan Africa who took up refuge in Libya after fleeing violence and persecution in their own countries.

In this two part series I'll introduce two young women whose lives were turned upside down when the "Arab Spring" reached Libya, and explore how they've managed to overcome their obstacles while faced with a life in limbo.

Twenty-year-old Eiman and her family was living a fairly good life in Libya before the war hit. Her parents, originally from Darfur, fled to Libya where Eiman and her brothers and sister were born.

At the time of the conflict, Eiman was in her third year of university where she was pursuing a degree in agronomy and nutrition but those dreams had to be put on hold as the situation worsened.

"We were so scared when fighting erupted between pro and anti-Gaddafi forces on my street because we could hear the guns, people were shouting and everyone was running from one area to the next trying to find safety," explains Eiman in an interview with Her Blueprint. "The security situation became unbearable when NATO started bombing and eventually we fled to Tunisia. My father who was in Benghazi working at the time of the fighting had to flee to Egypt and we're waiting for him to join us here in Tunisia."

Located in the middle of the desert along the main Libyan coastal highway leading to Tripoli just east of the southern Tunisian border crossing of Ras Ajdir, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) run Shousha camp has become home to thousands of refugees like Eiman since the outbreak of the Libyan war.

For most inhabitants of the camp, daily life has become difficult.

African Women Fall Victim to a New Form of Slavery

Slavery is very much a part of today’s global economy. It rivals and in some regions eclipses the international drug trade. There are nearly twenty-seven million slaves worldwide, generating $1.3 billionin annual profits. Some estimates show a world slave population as high as two hundred million.

During previous eras where slavery was common, the new owner was given a deed or title to its newly acquired property similar to the receipt a cashier hands over to the customer whose recently purchased goods.

The kafeel system could be likened to that deed or title in that the labour sending countries agree to the relinquishing of their workers passports upon arrival in the destination country. The kafeel or kafala system is a sponsorship system that only allows expatriate workers to enter, work in, and leave certain countries with the permission of their sponsor or employers, who are locals to that country. It's common in countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where migrant domestic workers are common.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are an estimated six million women working as maids in the Middle East. African countries like Ethiopia, Madagascar, Sudan as well as other various East and West African countries provide the bulk of household and cleaning services.

Languishing in Injustice

The main women’s prison in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli maintains a stagnant pool of migrant women many, who have spent more than a year awaiting the possibility of having their cases being brought before a judge. Few have access to institutional support from their embassies or consulates.

Waiting outside were two female Lebanese prison guards who were not exactly thrilled to see visitors.

“They have a gang ranking system in here and the Blacks are on the lowest level and the Filipinos are on the higher level,” says one Ethiopian detainee in her native language of Amharic. “The guards tell us to call our families so that they will send us money, which would make our time in jails easier.”

With tears in their eyes, the women press their hands against the glass barrier: physical contact with visitors is forbidden for inmates but this simple gesture signals their gratitude at the simple gifts of food, clothes, shampoo and feminine products brought to them by Yurda - a self-proclaimed social worker, community leader and domestic worker who has been in Lebanon for over eleven years – who has dedicated her free time to organizing donations.

Mixed in with criminals and murderers, many of these women were caught on the streets without papers after running away from their employers because of abuse, rape, starvation, forced confinement or accused of stealing.

“Female migrant workers are losing years off their lives by sitting in detention and one way of preventing this is by allowing the worker to keep their aqama (working papers) and original passport and let the employer retain the photocopy,” says Kenyan activist Naimeh Pelot.

Modern Day Slavery

Lacking legal protections, domestic workers are among the most exploited and abused workers in the world.

Rights advocates have long argued that exclusion from labour laws and recruitment-related abuses has left domestic workers in the Middle East vulnerable to exploitation, sexual abuse, forced labour, debt bondage, trafficking and conditions akin to slavery.

However, a new ILO Convention on Domestic Workers adopted in June aims to ensure that these women are treated as human beings.

“When male migrant workers come to work in construction or other service and industry sectors in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, they are protected under the labour law. Even if they don’t have full rights their work is recognized as work under the law, which is not the case for domestic workers,” said Simel Esim, Gender Specialist in the ILO's Regional Office for the Arab States in an interview.

“Jordan and Lebanon are the only countries where Ministries of Labour are in charge of a significant number of the institutional responsibilities regarding migrant domestic workers,” adds Esim.

“In the case of the GCC countries the oversight of domestic workers is under the jurisdiction of the Ministries of Interior instead of the Ministries of Labour, which leaves domestic workers outside the purview of the labour law. The emphasis on domestic workers is, therefore about their recognition as workers, with equal rights to workers in other sectors.”

The new convention requires governments to regulate private employment agencies that impose heavy debt burdens or misinform migrant domestic workers about their jobs, prohibit the practice of deducting domestic workers’ salaries to pay recruitment fees, investigate complaints and labour inspection in private homes.

Today recruitment agencies eager to cash in on this lucrative labour market lure these vulnerable women into debt bondage. Rights groups report that agency fees ranging from $200 to $400, must be paid before departure. However, for most women their first few salaries go toward repaying the debt.

“Policies relating to trafficking need to fall more in line with the reality of forced migration globally because most migrant workers are not the stereotypical sex worker chained to a bed,” Pardis Mahdavi, author of "Gridlock: Labour, Migration and Human Trafficking" said. “In fact they are men and women that are tied to metaphorical chains like debt and poverty that forces these workers to migrate and remain in poor working conditions.”

Sudan Tensions Highlight Difficulties Faced by Women in Conflict

Photo property of: Rita Willaert

Kamila, a resident of South Kordofan, fled the state’s capital of Kadugli after heavy fighting erupted in the afternoon of Sunday, June 5, in Um Dorain--a former stronghold of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) that lies some 35 kilometres southeast of Kadugli. Kamila and other residents became concerned after a large number of soldiers from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) arrived in the capital, and rumours began to spread that members of the SPLA had requested more soldiers be dispatched to the area.

“The security situation is very bad. Residents of Kadugli town fled their homes with nowhere to run, there’s no movement of people on the streets, the market has become a battleground and basic necessities like food, water and fuel for transporting civilians has run out,” explains Kamila in an interview with Her Blueprint.

Zar: Women’s Medicine, Tradition and Rituals

Traditionally, religion has been one of the most powerful sources of both vision and values. Every religion, particularly indigenous, has evoked a new vision for society, aided in advancing the collective consciousness, and inspired both personal and institutional transformation. It has also been a source of division and social fragmentation. However, in indigenous spiritual practices, like the Zar, we find that women play a key role as leaders of ritual, keepers of the earth, and healers.

In parts of the Arab world, women diagnosed with acute cases of depression are, believed to be, possessed by the jinn. This depression or low spirit emphasizes an individuals inability to withstand psychological disorders usually brought about by deprivation, poverty, and hardship. Despite religious opposition, many women resort to the underground female healing ceremonies of the Zar, where a ritual-dance accompanied by music are conducted to appease or elevate these spirits or invoke their therapeutic capabilities.

MIDDLE EAST: Rape is Never Part of the Contract

If you visited the Middle East, you'd no doubt notice that migrant domestic workers--who represent a vulnerable group, whose rights are often ignored, in contravention to international conventions and standards--are incredibly prevalent.

Mainly from Asia and Africa, they comprise nearly 1.5 million of the workforce in Saudi Arabia, 660,000 in Kuwait and more than 200,000 in Lebanon. With hopes of escaping poverty or conflict in their home countries, many travel under false pretense and find themselves hungry, subjected to poor working conditions, unpaid salaries, abuse and conditions akin to slavery.

In response to widespread abuse and mounting reports of withheld salaries, several labour sending countries issued bans restricting female migrants from seeking employment abroad due to the alarming rise in the number of suicides. However, this has only made them more susceptible to traffickers and employment agencies working the black market.

According to the International Labour Union, there are more than 22 million migrant workers--a third of whom are women--currently in the Middle East. Currently the ILO is advocating the drafting of specific labour legislation for domestic workers that extends legal protection in a systematic and comprehensive manner.

Originally from Madagascar, Dima 19, escaped from her employer after being sexually abused several times. She tells her story to Her Blueprint:

"I come from a poor family in Madagascar and before leaving I was told that I would find good employment in Lebanon, and that my situation and that of my family would improve. I wasn’t happy to leave my country and my family but I needed to change our situation so I agreed to take the employment.

The male employer picked me up from the airport and when we arrived to the home he told me to take a bath. He insisted that I leave the door slightly open but I felt uncomfortable about it and pleaded that I close the door but he kept insisting that it was for my own safety just in case something were to happen. So finally I agreed and while I was in the bath he entered and raped me.

While it was happening he kept saying how he had never been with a Black woman and wanted to have a taste. For me, it was humiliating, and I felt empty inside. Afterwards, I was told to get dressed and take care of my household duties, as if nothing had happened. I felt trapped and had no one to help me. When I was able to speak with my family I had to tell them that everything was okay because it would kill them to know that I was suffering.

Some time passed and nothing happened but then one day the Madame said that she was going out and that I should stay but I insisted on not being left in the house with him. Always I tried to make sure I was never left alone with him but she gave me no choice and it happened again. Except this time, he spread my legs apart and tied my hands and legs to the bed and repeatedly raped me. Then he invited two male friends over and they also took turns raping me.

Afterward, I was destroyed and could only think about how I could get away because I couldn’t bear living like this anymore. Luckily I had met another Madagascan woman in the street and she told me the number of the community leader and that if I had any problems, she would help me. So almost a month later, while the family was getting into the car I started running as fast as I could so that they didn’t catch me. Eventually I managed to get far enough that I stopped and went to a pay phone and called the number and the woman told me to take a taxi to the consulate and that they would pay for it once I arrived.

I was told at the consulate that they could help me find new employment but all I wanted to do was leave because maybe I would have the same problems with a new employer and I didn’t want to take the chance. I just wanted to be with my family. I would prefer to live in poverty than to continue suffering in this way."

Cases like Dima are all too common in a labour sector where abuses remain invisible because these women suffer in places that are hidden to the public's eye such as in private homes.

Passport confiscation and the Kafala or sponsorship system, which binds migrant domestic workers to a specific employer excludes them from protection and left in the hands of individuals who have complete control over their lives.

Recently, the ILO set up a website with the aim of promoting decent work for domestic workers and supporting initiatives worldwide by sharing information related to working and living conditions of domestic workers, policy issues and challenges in domestic work, country experiences and knowledge, and practical tools on how decent work may be advanced in domestic work.

Arab Women Challenge Western Media

CAIRO May 18, 2011 (Her Blueprint) – Though demonstrating, taking risks, mobilizing, suffering and standing side by side with men in the uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, Arab women are also challenging the Western media to acknowledge their voice.

From Tunisia, to Egypt, to Yemen and Morocco, women have been at the forefront of the Arab Spring revolutions.

Yemeni women, who represent a third of the thousands of anti-government protestors demanding an end to Ali Abdullah Saleh’s thirty-year rule, are shattering traditions that go back centuries.

“I myself came from a conservative family but my grandmother used to have more freedom in the way that she dressed, talked and dealt with men than I have now,” said Samia al-Haddad, Program and Human Rights Officer for the Yemeni Organization for Development and Rehabilitation in an interview with Her Blueprint.

According to al-Haddad, women’s rights became stifled after the 80’s.

“If you see the footage and the video coming from Yemen and you will see all women veiled in black and this was not the image of women in the 80’s before the expansion of Salafists and Wahabi movements came from Saudi Arabia.”

Hibaaq Osman from Somalia is the CEO and Founder of Karama. She says that the Western media was shocked to see women out on the streets, raising their voices, protesting for democracy and walking side by side with men for a unified cause – political reform and equal rights.

“You have to understand the psychology of the Western media. They want to see a weak, meek and covered woman,” Osman told Her Blueprint.

According to Osman, it’s about time that the West take a good look at themselves before pointing the finger.

Egyptian Women Have Long Struggled to Break Societal Taboos

“In a society like Egypt, where both men and women have lived under military dictatorship for decades and have been denied their human dignity, how can we expect men to understand the importance respecting the human rights of women?” asks Doaa Abdelaal, a council member with Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML).

Egyptian women--like women in Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Bahrain--have taken a lead role in the protests sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. Mainstream western media has overlooked how women have been at the forefront of breaking society taboos. The reality is that Egyptian women have been, for the past twenty years, working towards nationwide democratic change.

Feminization of Poverty

Madagascan female migrants enjoy a rare day off. Beirut, Lebanon

Soaring food prices coupled with massive land grabs have widened the gender gap between those trapped in poverty, resulting in the feminization of poverty. Women who constitute the majority of the world's poor face greater risks during times of global crisis forcing many to migrate out.

"In terms of the number of people going hungry today, more than 60% are women and girls and the situation of global hunger always has a gender characteristic to it. That means that the most vulnerable people in society are always going to be in the front line," journalist, activist and former policy analyst with the advocacy group Food First, Raj Patel told Her Blueprint.

"When there are already burdens of caring for the elderly, kids, the sick, carrying water and locating fuel coupled with the costs of finding food at higher costs with less money to go around and increased demands to find sources of income, women are structurally in a much harder position to make ends meet."

Right now, the global population is struggling to feed itself, with more than 800 million people lacking adequate food; 1.3 billion living on less than $1 per day and world population figures expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicts the pace of food inflation has surpassed 2008 levels and will rise another four percent this year. Basically if you are poor, now is a particularly precarious time with a twenty-five percent jump in global food costs in 2010 and most countries shelling out nearly $1 trillion on imports in comparison to a twenty percent spike for poorer nations in 2009.

However, women -- who have less access to food, water, health care, land ownership, basic rights, and education to better their living conditions -- are more vulnerable before any global crisis due to their status before disaster hits.

Recent statistics indicate that women account for seventy percent of the world's poor. They work two-thirds of the world's working hours, but earn only ten percent of the income and own one percent of the world's property.

During the 1960's, women accounted for nearly forty-five percent of the total migration -- mainly for reunification purposes with their spouses who were already employed abroad. Today, the global financial crisis has forced millions in developing countries into poverty. Resulting in the share of women migrating for employment to increase from 35.3 million in 1960 to 94.5 million in 2005.

Massive land grabs in some African countries, forcing those that would be growing food to feed their families off their lands and into urban areas that are unable to sustain them economically, has resulted in large numbers of migrants getting onto rickety boats and risking their lives to try and migrate out.

“Many people in Madagascar are living in poverty,” said Aimee, who is a self-proclaimed social worker in Lebanon, in an interview with Her Blueprint. “Every day applications are being processed for female migrants seeking work abroad.”

The beauty of migration is that, at the household level, it allows for the individual transaction of remittances because earnings go back to the people who need it the most -- the family.

Stable economies like Libya were a hub for migrant from African countries, Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies based in Washington told Her Blueprint. Migrants headed out because they were unable to withstand the global recession, climate change huge increases in food prices and staple goods back home.

“Remittances are this sleeping giant in terms of development finance that has awakened. They create a financial tie between people and their communities by helping to build clinics, schools, roads and other infrastructure development projects,” says Woods.

“There are some efforts to harness more the strategic resources from remittances, which have created a space for governments to act independent of external actors like the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF) whose interest and loan conditions have failed to serve the needs of Africa.”

According to a World Economic Forum report titled, 'The Global Gender Gap Report 2009,' there is no country where women and men existed equally and concluded that systematic gender discrimination in developing countries must be halted in order for significant economic recovery and growth to occur.

Creating labour policies that protect female migrants and empowering women in their home countries by harnessing the power of remittances to provide decent work will not only fuel economies but lead the world on a path to eradicating poverty and hunger.

LEBANON: Memoirs of an Algerian Transsexual

Threatening emails, phone calls, constant surveillance by secret police and eventually prison couldn’t dissuade Randa, an Algerian transsexual and pioneer in the Arab world’s gay and transsexual movement, from going public with her life story.

“I returned home to Algeria from my last trip and that’s when the threats to imprison me started,” says Randa, who received initial threats via email and phone. “As a method of intimidating me, they started sending articles about me to my family, and they would show up at my workplace. Once, while being stopped at a checkpoint, one of the officers grabbed me in the car and told me that he could arrest and rape me and no one would know about it.”

Convinced by influential members of Algerian society, two of Randa’s friends were forced to present her with an ultimatum. Leave the country in ten days or things will get worse.

Ten days is not a long time, but as luck would have it, a feminist organization in Lebanon found out about Randa’s situation and offered to assist.

“I don’t regret speaking out because in the end I realized that the reason they were doing all of this was because they were scared. I managed to shake up their system and this is why they were lashing out at me,” she said in an interview with Her Blueprint. “Of course it was driving me crazy, and I knew that if I didn’t leave the country they would kill me. I decided to continue addressing the situation of LGBT in Algeria outside the country and accepted the offer to go to Lebanon.”

However, Randa’s troubles were far from over.

GENDER: Feminization of Migration

Women, who constitute nearly fifty percent of global migration, represent an economic resource in many poor countries, making them the main export commodity. However, key United Nations (UN) policies on human trafficking continue to overlook migrant domestic workers in the Middle East.

Domestic care has become a key feature in the socio-economic fabric of developing countries such as Sri Lanka, eager to alleviate an 18.9 percent youth unemployment rate and lessen possible social unrest, which is lately common in many Arab countries. Dependence on the remittances of nearly 130,000 Sri Lankan women migrating to the Middle East yearly as domestic workers has been welcomed by officials who see this lucrative labour market as a key contributor to economic stability. Indeed, last year, Sri Lankan migrant workers sent nearly 289.8 million in remittances with a record growth of 12.3 percent from 2009.

“The private remittances of Sri Lankan migrants have significantly augmented our foreign currency reserves and the national income. It’s estimated that private remittances this year, 2010 will amount to approximately US $4 billion,” says Sri Lanka’s UN ambassador Dr. Palitha Kohona speaking at a general assembly session last November discussing international migration and development. “Sri Lanka is on the verge of rapid economic take off following the decisive conclusion of a three decade long conflict with the terrorist LTTE. The government is making large investments in infrastructure and developing productive assets so that Sri Lanka’s strengths will be optimized in this post-conflict scenario. We have taken many measures on migration management to ensure that migration becomes a key contributor to national development.”

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), Sri Lankan female migrant domestic workers, who accounted for nearly sixty-two percent of private remittances, contributed to increasing foreign currency reserves, reducing devaluation of the Sri Lankan rupee and the repayment of foreign debts like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

“The Sri Lankan government gets a good profit from us; they must take care of us. They must do more to protect us,” Chandrani, a domestic worker and community leader in Lebanon said in an interview with Her Blueprint. “I became very involved in assisting Sri Lankan women and started speaking to many newspapers about the situation and criticized the Sri Lankan embassy for doing nothing to protect their nationals. As a result, the embassy had me detained and after I was released they made sure I could no longer visit the prisons.”

Despite calls by Sri Lankan officials to halt the large numbers of women migrating to the Middle East due to the growing number of complaints of abuse, the Sri Lankan government had been quite content to allow legal and illegal migration to continue.

Human trafficking

Governments are not the only one’s turning a blind eye. Current UN policies on human trafficking are also failing to assist the thousands of women migrating to the Middle East for domestic work.

According to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, illegal and legal recruitment agencies in countries like Sri Lanka would technically be described as traffickers. Thousands of domestic workers who are deceived by labour agents and find themselves in forced labour, debt bondage and conditions akin to slavery, which most women encounter upon arrival, would in essence be victims of human trafficking.

However, the stereotypical image of the trafficked victim and the UN’s focus on sex workers leaves many female migrants to fend for themselves. Not only does UN negate male migrants who are tricked into foreign employment but it also ignores that trafficking is in itself a form of abuse and that women are being forced to migrate globally to fulfill developing countries financial needs legally.

“Trafficking victims come to Lebanon legally. For instance, sex workers from Eastern Europe or other Arab countries enter under artists’ visas. It’s like a work permit that’s valid for one month and renewable for up to six months. A recruiter solicits them in their home country and they’re not allowed to change employers, which is a lot like the sponsorship system with domestic workers,” Ghada Jabbour, Gender and Trafficking specialist at KAFA (Enough) Violence and Exploitation told Her Blueprint.

“Domestic workers and sex workers are being used in a system that is set up to work against their rights as workers or human beings,” adds Jabbour.

Arab Women Seize the Time

While the world watches the awakening in the Arab world as millions demand democratic freedoms, Egyptian women also took the opportunity to seize the moment and rise up by calling for a civil state and a constitution that eliminates all forms of discrimination against women.

“It's time for a new way of thinking, democracy is just a gate to more gains for women,” says Abeer, a 25-year-old Egyptian woman.

United in popular revolt, calling for an end to injustice, lack of freedoms, corruption and unending poverty. Egyptians took to the streets demanding the ousting of their long time dictator. Although women played a vital role in the country’s eighteen-day uprising, full progress towards social, economic and political rights remains a challenge.

“I think yesterday was a good alarm for everyone that we need social mobilization and explain that women’s rights is not a Western agenda and that women’s rights are human rights and we need to engage the people in this discussion,” says Doaa Abdelaal, a council member with Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML). “You can’t talk about democratic rights without talking about women’s rights.”

Tuesday, the centennial of International Women's Day, marked an historical moment in the history of Egypt’s women’s movement. Under Mubarak’s thirty-year regime obtaining permits from the state security to gather groups of people in the streets voicing their public discontent was unheard of.

“This was the first time women took to the streets with banners calling for women’s rights,” adds Doaa. “In the past we always celebrated women’s day in a closed space. “

Decades of previously-silent female voices broke the sound barrier on Tuesday, but International Women's Day groups were met with dozens of anti-women’s protestors who continue to resist progress toward gender equity. “'Egypt is for all, no matter gender or religion' is what we started chanting...the anti-women’s group started chanting at us that we are products of Mubarak’s regime, [saying that] it’s not time for calling for women’s rights but instead unity and that the voice of women is shameful,” continues Doaa.

Gender blackout

In order to move forward, Egypt must not only do away with its political shackles but must free itself from the social ones as well. Like most women in Egyptian villages, Hiba was circumcised as a child. She has five children of her own, including two older girls.

“One day while I was at work my mother came and took the two older girls and had them circumcised,” Hiba says. “I wasn't entirely comfortable with the fact that it happened but I raised with the tradition and important to honour tradition.”

Lack of wars or catastrophic events surrounding gender and a women’s place in society has caused this vital issue of gender politics to never reach the spotlight.

Inequalities in the workforce, increased sexual violence of women by police officers and the country’s state council’s refusal to appoint female judges last February, allotted Egypt a ranking 125th amongst 134 countries and 13th in the Middle East North Africa (MENA). Ninety-five percent of the estimated 27 incidents of rape daily go unreported, 33% of women face domestic violence and women only represent three percent of the ministries, local and Shura council.

“Women have yet to be named to the committee which is drafting the new Egyptian constitution," says Fairuz. “In addition there needs to be a lot of work to help women break the cycle of fear.”