News

HONG KONG -

On Jan 18, IDWN joined the protest organized by International Migrants Alliance Hong Kong (IMA-HK) & Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), condenming the beheading of Rizana Nafeek, the Sri Lankan domestic migrant worker, in Saudi Arabia on Jan 9, for a "crime" which still has yet to be confirmed.

IDWN prepared a letter to the King Abdullah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). We strongly demand that the government of Saudi Arabia indemnify the case by apologizing to Rizana Nafeed’s family and making other compensations according to the family’s wishes. We further demand that the government immediately adopt and reform its policies and laws in line with international standards as stipulated in the United Nations and International Labour Conventions, protect human rights and labour rights of migrant workers.

ASIA PACIFIC -

More than 21 million people across Asia and the Pacific – 80 per cent of them women – are employed as domestic workers, according to a new report by the ILO.

But although Asia Pacific has more domestic workers than any other part of the world, the report found that the region lags other regions in guaranteeing domestic workers the basic work-related rights and protections that other workers have.

"Excluding domestic workers from basic labour protection reflects an out-dated view that domestic work is somehow not real work", said Malte Luebker, a Senior Specialist at the ILO's Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and a principal author of the report. "We must recognize that domestic workers don't just care for families, but create value for the economy by allowing more workers, often with valuable skills, to leave the house and take up paid work. Domestic workers clearly deserve a better deal".

ETHIOPIA -

In February 2012 a video captured on a mobile phone showed Ethiopian domestic worker Alem Dechasa being dragged by her hair and violently forced into a car in front of the Ethiopian embassy. It went viral. Lebanese society and the wider world were shocked by the public scene of abuse.

Documentary filmmaker Vanessa Bowles began her project "Alem & Asrat" at the exact time of Dechasa's death and wanted to tell her story. Concurrently, she wanted to delve into her own proximity to the lives of domestic workers. She introduces Asrat, the young woman who has been with the Bowles' family for the past five years.

Bowles' journey took her to Ethiopia to meet the families of Dechasa and Asrat. She is met by a group of young activists called the Good Ethiopians. One of the activists says that if he had one message for Lebanese people, it would be that "Ethiopians are humans, too."

INDIA -

"We are constantly under suspicion and mistrust. We rarely receive respect or kindness. Many domestic workers are compelled to work at five or six houses a day due to poverty and a desire to give our children good education," said a woman speaking for domestic workers at a tripartite meeting in Tiruchi, India, organised by NASS.