Some thoughts about ethnicity and domestic workers

Race, social class and ethnicity

You can see them on the street carrying heavy stuff or taking care of kids. Sometimes you notice them only because “they take the dog for a walk.” If you try to be aware, you will discover those people everywhere despite the fact that they are mostly silent. You can sit in a restaurant or a pub; suddenly they disappear, at least for the short moment when they elbow their way through the crowded mass of guests. Or you will discover their faces when you pass by a construction site, working from dawn till dusk. Just be aware and you will see them everywhere.

I am not speaking about Lebanese nor about Europeans or Americans, rather I focus on people, who are connected with each other through race and/or their social status. They came from Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa or Syria, arrived in the Middle East somewhere in the past in order to find a job and to grasp the change of earning money in order to support the family members that they left behind. Actually, they found a job since the Lebanese society is always looking for people to take care of their children or clean their houses, for people who slog on the construction site, not afraid to dirty one’s hand, for people to clean their toilettes and their streets.

It seems that this second-class society is an inconspicuous group; apart from their daily business they rarely interact with the Lebanese, perhaps also on the account that their situation could not be more different. It is kind of clash, where the educated encounter the uneducated, the rich face the poor.  It is more or less a master – slave relation. I am not denying that this exceptional circumstance is not limited to Lebanon or Beirut in particular. Indeed, we might see a situation like this in every society around the globe. Even though the situation and marginalization of the immigrants in Austria is in some aspects comparable with the situation of immigrants in Lebanon, the issue of race is keeping me preoccupied. There is something that bothers me, something that I did not realize in Europe, a special form of interaction that is unique for my current context.

I am neither authorized nor is it my aim to make an assessment – even less to judge – how people in Lebanon treat their immigrants, however in my opinion the situation in Beirut differs in several points from the situation in Austria. In the following I will blind out the situation of the Syrian workers, thousands of whom are working in the construction sector. Although many of them are facing conditions, which do not meet my view of dignity or ethics in general, the complexity and variety concerning the Syrian workers goes beyond this small paper of thoughts. On the one hand, because most of them are temporary employees, so-called commuters, who do not live in Lebanon. On the other hand, because they have much in common (their culture, religion, language and so forth) with Lebanese people, nevertheless concerning the position in the society they are obviously different. My thoughts tend to address the matter of ethnic descent in combination with second-class citizens; the manifestation of this correlation is especially evident if we evaluate the situation of the immigrants from Africa and the women from Sri Lanka, Philippines and India in particular. In total, we speak of approximately 200.000 people.

Firstly, if we are ready to look beyond the fancy nightlife activities or the luxury display of consumption goods, if we are aware that there are people who do not share this kind of lifestyle, the apparentness of the two-class society will astonish us. In a society where expensive cars and huge apartments, likewise as an aesthetic and always accurate appealing are essential status symbols, it is quiet evidently that we find antagonism. Thus it is not a big surprise that the polar opposites don’t share the same status symbols and are not able to achieve this status. On the contrary, very often these second-class citizens themselves become a status symbol. Assessments on the others´ status belongs to the same social class are often based on the fact of how many domestic workers, cleaning ladies, kitchen personal or nannies they can afford.

It is not the question of whether some Lebanese belong to this latter mentioned type, of course some do. It is rather the question of why nobody from the Southeast Asia- or African immigrants belongs to the first type of society? Even employees in shops, restaurants and public offices from those regions are quiet unusual, likewise you could hardly find a Lebanese who works in a so-called “dirty manual job” or as a blue-collar worker. It seems that immigrants have only a few sections where they can find work, sections where no Lebanese would apply for a job. Again, this phenomenon is not unique, but the question is if it is even possible for immigrants to bridge the gap, in other words, is it possible to get from rags to riches?

After further considerations and observations, it leads us also to the question of why people with a dark skin colour, or of Southeast Asian descent are so unrepresented in leading positions. According to this point of view, we have to make the conclusion that social status is related to and perhaps determined by ethnic origin, in addition race matters. This hierarchical arrangement of community and of a society in combination with the segregation of immigrants is just one trademark of the Lebanese society.

Secondly, if these considerations about the correlation of social status and race are appropriate we should seek for the reasons and ask why it is impossible to bridge the gap. Therefore we have to analyze the structures of the Lebanese society itself in order to find some references, which exclude people from advancement.

In doing so, we can identify a few drawbacks, which most of the immigrants share. They struggle primarily with a lack of social relations in their new homeland, a financial distress, linguistic problems and adaptive difficulties in one way or another. An inappropriate educational background could also be an issue, although it is most of the time the question if a certain apprenticeship is accepted as equal in the new country. Besides these global struggles, immigrants in Lebanon are tackling an educational system that is for the most part in private hands and expensive or the schools and universities are affiliated with certain faith-congregations. Hence, a further education is very often limited, caused by financial distress or failing membership to a faith congregation – either affects immigrants. As mentioned above, immigrants are restricted in terms of employment to some special sections, thus also the access to members of a different social class is limited.

In the Lebanese context the lack of social relation might outweigh all other drawbacks, since the support from family members, the congregation/denomination or magnates is so essential to have success. But for these domestic workers who are employed as helpers of a family or in a household, that means most of the women from Asia, there is not a lack of contact, rather there is, from the majority point of view, sometimes a lack of will. This absence of will could also be identified if we take the role of the state in consideration. There is no programme to promote integration, to develop better living conditions, not even actions, which might lead to a creation of social consciousness. Yet, with the political and historical situation of Lebanon in mind, the political agenda, concerning the disregard of domestic workers, is traceable even though we cannot deny that it should be the responsibility of the state. At least it is a duty to implement certain norms, laws and watchdogs in order to avoid structures and institutions which advocate the exploitation of labour. In addition, how people treat their labourers is not implicitly linked to a governmental structure; rather it is linked to social values and ways of behaving. But also according to this issue we can find many similarities to other states and regions; the absence of support from the government level is not the issue that bothers me.

However, according to the references of immigrants in Lebanon we cannot really identify special aspects, which can explain the cementation of the two-class society in Lebanon. Immigrants in other countries are facing similar circumstances but are nonetheless able – at least in some cases – to grasp opportunities for career advancement. Therefore, we should focus in the third part on the perception of immigrants and in doing so, to break down the previous considerations to a more individual level, to aspects where interactions along and between the social groups take place.

Thirdly, almost needless to say, there are many direct interactions between the members of the social groups on which we focus here. The immigrants from Africa get in touch during their work, while dusting, cleaning or while bringing the garbage out. In fact it is a silent contact, they appear, doing their job and disappear again, somewhere in a small chamber, waiting for new instruction or what ever. It is oftentimes an interaction, which is little noticed by other people, they continue to drink their cocktails and enjoy their meals. To that effect the interaction of those women who are working as nannies, kitchen staff or cleaning ladies is much more intensive and more obvious.

There is no doubt, we have to take care that we not fall into a trap of generalization or oversimplification but there are some specifics that are pretty obvious. To be aware of this generalization we should rather speak of a labour-relation, which ranges from a family- to a slave-status. However, according to statistics the suicide rate among immigrants of South East Asia is alarming and I will figure out how this phenomenon is determined by their relationship with the employer.

It is no secret that many of the new building-projects take the question of domestic workers under consideration. The rooms for the house-helpers and maids are already included in the construction plans. The size, design and location of the rooms is in some way sophisticated. They are small rooms, most of the time located close to the kitchen, appointed with a bed, some usual stuff and a small window. In some cases the room for the “Filipinos” is an appropriate combination of bedroom and washhouse, from either accomplishment we can draw some conclusions.

For our further evaluations we have to bear in mind that this space – explained above – is perhaps the only kind of retreat area, the so-called privacy sphere for the immigrant. In the course of a day, the maid, nanny or house-helpers have several duties and have to carry out certain works, depending on her/his job. In doing so, the working time ranges from a couple of hours up to 24 hours, that doesn’t mean that she/he must work 24 hours but they are obliged to be available.

Beside their workings in the house or apartment, they have to do the daily shopping, to walk the dog or to take care of the children, including to bringing them to playgrounds or other nice areas. These are the activities where they appear in the public, usually small women with fully packed bags, those people who run after the dog or those women who – more or less – follow the instructions of small kids. Frequently, the employer/family appears together with his/their employees. On the one hand we can observe such a situation in the streets of Beirut, the maid or nanny packed with toys is cradling or looking after the child. Next to her an elegant lady, with a luxurious handbag, perhaps just talking on her expensive mobile phone is the person who is called mummy by the child. On the other hand we can observe such a joint action on weekends when they make a trip. Concerning these occasions, it is necessary that the immigrant –worker joined the family in the car or at the table in the restaurant, park or where ever. The gathering of the whole family does not mean that the maid/nanny lost the responsibility to look after the children, in a few cases she even has to look after the car while the family takes a walk.

However, these “outside activities” are limited and serve a certain purpose, defined or instructed by the employer. And even if this kind of work and daily life sounds desperate it does not emphasize the entire psychological and physiological weight that lies on some other immigrants in Lebanon. For example, some maids and house-helpers do not have the opportunity to leave the house or apartment at all. They are forced to stay where they live, to be in the same building 24 hours, almost seven days a week. If we ask ourselves how a situation like this is possible, we have to realize that there are many bargaining chips, which can be used to domineer over an immigrant. Either the working agency keeps the passport, as long as she/he is not willing to act like they want or the new employer uses force to drag them down. Sometimes it might be the lack of a confidant or just shame to speak out loudly how they treat them. Now and then it is the conclusion that there is no way out, even though some make the attempt to escape, at the end, when they get caught by the police, without a passport or identity card, they realize that they put themselves in an illegal position, which is even worse. Nevertheless, many took this way and therefore we can find a lot of immigrants in Lebanon´s prisons. There the question of credibility is again linked to race and hierarchy, a situation where the second-class citizens lose ground, how can they prove the sexual abuse or the inhuman condition in which they lived. The matter of shame plays an essential role if we consider sexual abuse. In fact, many female immigrants from Southeast Asia are facing this violation, executed by their boss.

If we sum-up all these conditions and imagine these painful experiences, committing suicide as the only way out might be more traceable than before. These explanations, even though just based on superficial observations, should raise our awareness and show us clearly that there is an urgency to deal with this issue. Without further research, without interviews addressed to both the immigrants and the employers, we can’t make an appropriate assessment or an accurate explanation. What are the roots of the feeling of superiority towards people from Southeast Asia and Africa? How can we raise consciousness among the society in order to anticipate such exploitations? To what extent do the immigrants adopt their second-class citizenship? In short, there are many questions without an answer. To grasp the whole complexity of the issue a multifaceted and interdisciplinary study is necessary, including psychology, anthropology and sociology as well as the field of law.

My own preliminary thoughts on this issue are outlined here. First of all, my aim was to raise awareness but also to stimulate and encourage further considerations. Scientific research is always a process of deconstruction and an attempt to make a more appropriate reconstruction. Therefore a deconstruction process will also lead us to perceptions, desires, fears, and identity issues on an individual level. And if we reach this level we have also to consider how the question of faith fits into this frame and what role the church or congregation may have.

By Thomas S.

For further Information:

www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/migrant/…/imp/imp48e.pdf

http://www.lnf.org.lb/migrationnetwork/mig2.html