Housemaid abuse in Bahrain has been well-documented.  Many migrant workers have been beaten, sexually abused, and denied wages.  The exploited maids usually are poor women hoping to support their families back at home.  However, the hopes are usually proven false, as employers commonly take advantage of the maids by forcing them to comply with sponsors. For example, a large Bahraini hiring agency was recently investigated for allegedly beating its housemaids.  The complaint stemmed after rescuing a Sri Lankan woman from her employer.  Although she was not abused personally, she witnessed over 20 fellow maids being beaten and returned to their sponsors. 

Recognizing the problem, the Bahraini government has taken steps to help the housemaids.  The Bahraini government created amnesty for the maids desiring to return to their home nation.  One purpose of this six month amnesty is to allow abused women bypass employers to return to their country, and avoid repercussions for breaching their contract.  Also, the amnesty allows expatriates to register with the Bahraini government to prevent future deportation.  The registration of expatriates will allow the government to better regulate the migrant workers, and hopefully protect against future discrimination and abuse. 

Also, the Bahraini government promised to elevate the women to “worker” status in 2009.  It promises to set legal standards for the maid industry to define how an employer can treat housemaids.  This includes fees for hiring maids, minimum wage, and other regulations barring mistreatment of the maids.  Previously, the employers were given free reign to self-regulate their maids.  The government is hopeful that the creation of a uniform standard will make employers legally accountable for the treatment of their maids and eliminate abuse, discrimination, and maltreatment.

Gulf Daily News. Maids’ abuse to be probed. 20 July 2007.
Gulf News.  Bahrain extends amnesty to housemaids. 30 July 2007.
Zawya. Bahrain: ‘Worker’ status for housemaids soon. 28 July 2007.
Bahrain Tribune. Amnesty requests pour in. 2 August 2007.
Gulf Daily News. Victims of Desperation. 8 July 2007.

When Hamas  took over Gaza in early June, Egypt closed its border crossing and stranded six thousand Palestinians.  While governments discussed the methods of returning these people to their homes, thousands were trapped in Egypt for nearly two months.  Some of the travelers brought little money with them  and consequentially could not afford lodging or food and were forced to seek refuge in mosques or help from aid organizations. 

Yemen has become a haven for refugees.  Thousands of refugees have fled from Iraq, Ethiopia, and Somalia to Yemen.  They have sought shelter from warfare and to begin a new life.  This massive influx of people has overwhelmed the Yemen government and is creating a possibility of a future “human disaster.”  (News Yemen) 

Since the Iran-Iraq war, many Iraqis have fled to Yemen.  They have been treated better in Yemen than in Jordan or Syria, and thus, it is an attractive destination for educated and skilled Iraqis.  The 70,000 Iraqis in Yemen have thrived.  They have been treated by the principles of Arab Unity.  This means the Yemeni government has extended “rights to work, education, and social benefits on the basis of their being Arabs.”  (YEMEN: Iraqi migrants, refugees await brighter future IRIN.)   Although the Iraqis have spurred the Yemen economy, the Yemeni government recently passed legislation requiring Iraqis entering the country to obtain a visa to slow down immigration.

The Oromos from Ethiopia have poorly treated in Yemen.  They have sought refuge from Eithopia.  “We have come to Yemen in order to escape persecution, torture and killings by the Ethiopian government,” according to Jamal Abdowaday, an Oromo leader in Sana’a. (ETHIOPIA-YEMEN: Oromo migrants fear deportation.   IRIN).  Their fear of the Ethiopian government has placed them in position without bargaining power, since their greatest fear is deportation.  This has made them susceptible to abuses.  Oromos claim local Yemenis mistreat them. “We are subject to harassment, arrests, and discrimination . . .  Our children can’t go to school. They are deprived of education… They have become like animals confined in small rooms. They can’t play in the streets for fear of being beaten or harassed by local children,” Abdowaday added.  Id.  However, the Yemen government denies these allegations and claims that it has treated the Oromos fairly.

The largest influx of refugees lately has been Somalis.  In July alone, 18,000 Somalis have fled Mogadishu.  This has lead to Somalis flooding to Yemen, creating dangerous situations for both the migrants and the Yemen government.  Recently, the UN reported that at least 367 Somalis have died trying to cross into the border.  (Voice of America.)   However, 10,000 Somali refugees enter in Yemen every year, bringing the Somali refugee court to about 64,000 in Yemen.  This influx of refugees has created a strain on the government as it struggles to provide for the refugees. 

The large numbers of refugees has become a difficult problem for the Yemen government.  It strains the nation’s weak economy, and compounds Yemen’s other problems, such as stabilizing the Sa’ana region and eradicating Yemen’s ties with terrorist groups.  Yemen has more closely monitored its media, furthering the problem for the refugees as the voices raising awareness of the refugees’ plight are being quieted.  This could create a future disaster for the refugees, if the Yemeni government cuts corners for the refugees and ignores them to focus on the nation’s other problems, because the plight of the refugees would not be focused on by the official state sponsored media.

News Yemen. Yemen faces critical troubles due to refugees influx. 28 July 2007.

IRIN. ETHIOPIA-YEMEN: Oromo migrants fear deportation. 30 May 2007.

IRIN.  YEMEN: Somali refugees protest perceived injustices. 27 November 2005.

IRIN. YEMEN: Iraqi migrants, refugees await brighter future. 1 July 2007.

Somalia News.  Somalia: Yemen deports Somali refugees. 26 July 2007.

Voice of America. UN: At Least 367 Somali Refugees Killed Trying to Cross Into Yemen. 10 July 2007.

Relief Web. Somalia: Situation Report. 27 July 2007.

A summit was held in Amman, Jordan to discuss the refugee crisis.  War and sectarian violence in Iraq has caused over two million Iraqis to leave the country and over two million displaced within Iraq.  During the international conference, Muhammad Hajj Hamoud, secretary general of Iraq’s foreign ministry, warned of a humanitarian crisis.  He urged host countries to help ease the burden of the refugees and not to forcibly deport these refugees back to Iraq while Iraq remains unstable.  He also urged the international community to help the countries shouldering much of the burden by providing more aid and helping asylum-seeking refugees find permanent homes.

The two countries hosting the majority of the refugees are Jordan and Syria.  The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 750,000 Iraqis sought refuge in Jordan and 1,200,000 fled to Syria.  In May, Jordanian officials claimed that the government spent one billion dollars a year hosting these refugees.  However, despite this large sum of money, many children are not able to receive medical treatment or attend school.  In Syria, refugees have turn to prostitution and child trafficking as means to earn money.

A day prior to the conference, Amnesty International released a statement addressing the refugee crisis.  In the statement, the organization called for “urgent international action” to assist Syria and Jordan to supporting their growing numbers of refugees.  Without international help, especially in the form of aid money, Iraq’s neighbors will not be able to continue to support these large numbers of refugees.  If these countries are not able to support the refugees, many incoming Iraqis will be turned away at the border, forced to return to unsafe and unstable conditions.  In addition, it is likely that many more refugees will be forcibly deported back to Iraq.

For more information please see:
Amnesty International:  “Iraq refugees crisis nears breaking point”  26 July 2007. 

Amnesty International:  “Iraq:  International support urgently needed to address spiraling refugee crisis”  26 July 2007. 

Amnesty International:  “Iraq:  The situation of Iraqi refugees in Syria”  26 July 2007. 

BBC:  “Crisis warning on Iraq refugees”  26 July 2007. 

Canada.com:  “Iraq urges neighbors to end abuse of refugees”  26 July 2007. 

UNHCR:  “UNHCR deplores forced return of 135 Iraqis by Turkey”  26 July 2007. 

Boston Globe:  “Amnesty urges help for Iraqi refugees”  25 July 2007.

Shaymaa Muhammad al-Sayed was born a Muslim, but got married to a Coptic man and became a Coptic Christian in 2003. This angered her family greatly.  In 2003, she fled her family, fearing the repercussions of her conversion and marriage.  Her father submitted three missing person reports after she fled, even though she was not a minor.  Reportedly, on July 16, 2007, they saw her in Alexandria, and voiced their desire to harm her. She was arrested July 21, 2007.  According to the police, she was arrested as protective custody to protect the women from her family.  However, while she was arrested she was mistreated.  She claims that the police tortured her through beatings, electric shocks, and even took a photograph of her while she was naked.

Although she had been arrested under the guise of protective custody by being protected from her family, five days later she was released to her family against her will.  While in prison she tried to press charged against her family but was repeatedly denied.  However, the police returned the woman to her family against her will, because of the missing person reports.  She was not a minor, and therefore should not have been returned to her family.  Furthermore, she they had openly threatened her she should have been protected from them, especially without ensuring the woman’s safety.   

The police’s action shows the Egyptian government’s willingness to cater to the Muslim Brotherhood at the expense of the Coptic Christians.  The woman chose to flee her family. Yet, she was arrested and tortured by the police, then returned to her family.  Although she had broken the law by converting from Islam, the police should not have released her to a family that openly expressed its desire to kill her.  According to the reports, when the woman was taken away by her family she was immediately dragged and beaten in the graveyard behind the station.  Yet, the police did not interfere.  Furthermore, she was denied her right to press charges against her family for abuse and other related charges. 

This incident by the State Security Investigation force in Egypt compounds the fears of the Coptic Christian community in Egypt. Although Mubarak takes a strong stance against the Muslim Brotherhood and extremist Islam, his stance is undercut with rules making it illegal to convert from Islam to another religion or for a Islamic woman to marry a Coptic man.  These laws give radical Islamics reign to attack those who violate the law.  Also, the laws create more tension to erupt when a person converts to Islam or Coptic Christianity.  The government must eliminate such laws and take a stance to protect its citizens irregardless of the person’s religious background.

BosNewLife. Egypt Police Hands Over Christian Convert To “Fanatical Muslim” Family. 23 July 2007.
Compass Direct News. EGYPT: POLICE RELEASE CHRISTIAN TO HER VIOLENT FAMILY. 23 July 2007.
Compass Direct News. EGYPT: SECURITY POLICE TORTURE CHRISTIAN CONVERT WOMAN. 18 July 2007.