Migrants in Lebanon seek to break stereotypes with a new radio show

BEIRUT (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Since his arrival in Lebanon, Sudanese migrant worker Abdallah Afandi has been fired from beach resorts, taken for a cleaner and prevented from renting an apartment – all because of the color of his skin .

He now hopes to question the "racism and prejudice" he encountered while participating in the first Lebanese radio program organized and produced by migrants from countries like Sudan and Ethiopia. , Somalia and Philippines.

The goal is to enable the Lebanese to better understand where migrants come from to create the tolerance and respect that local migrant rights groups say to be lacking.

"Many Lebanese view Sudanese as only cleaners and workers – we want them to see us in a different way," Afandi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The 27-year-old man came to Lebanon seven years ago when he no longer felt safe in his home in Darfur, in western Sudan, where conflict had been raging since 2003.

He is now earning a living and performing maintenance work in a Beirut apartment building.

The episode of Afandi is part of a series broadcast on Voice of Lebanon, a popular independent radio station, where migrants talk about their own food and culture as well as problems they are facing in Lebanon.

In this document, he and two other Sudanese migrants discuss the pyramids of their country and question the Sudanese ambbadador in Lebanon on the rights of migrants.

"I want to use my voice so that people in Lebanon understand where I come from, my culture, my music, my food – so that they look beyond what I do to live and the color of my skin ".

KAFALA

Migrant workers in Lebanon and much of the Middle East work under the sponsorship system of kafala, which links them to an employer.

Rights groups have accused the system of abuse of migrant workers and say that it makes them vulnerable to exploitation by denying them the ability to travel or change their homes. 39; employment.

Race is also a factor: Last month, two Kenyan women migrant workers suffered an attack that the Lebanese Justice Minister described as "shocking" and "hateful racist" after being filmed on social media.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said projects such as the Lebanese radio program could be used throughout the region to change attitudes towards migrants.

"This radio show is a shining example to replicate throughout the region and to draw attention to the stories of migrants," said spokeswoman Farah Sater Ferraton.

"NOT FOREIGN"

The show – whose name "Msh gharib" means "non-foreigner" in Arabic – is in preparation since 2017 and was created by the Anti-Racism Movement , a local non-governmental organization, with the help of migrants from the community center that she runs.

"The title of the show really communicates its purpose – the migrants are not" the other. "Their voices and stories should not be" foreign "to the Lebanese," said Laure Makarem, spokesperson

"Migrant domestic workers can be treated as if they were invisible, and this radio show can change the way they are perceived by illustrating and highlighting the multiple dimensions of their identities and lives."

The 15 episodes will air in the coming months and are mainly in Arabic, with small sections in the native language of hosts – especially when they talk about their rights in Lebanon.

Tarikwa Bekele, a 33-year-old domestic worker, works on an episode with Ethiopian compatriots, who make up the largest group of migrants in Lebanon with more than 100,000 people.

They have the int An introduction to Ethiopian traditions, famous athletes and a famous model in the hope of showing the Lebanese that Ethiopians do not "only work in homes and clean bathrooms," Bekele said. .

"There are so many Ethiopians working in Lebanon," said Bekele. "Once they can see that we are like them – like any other country – I think they will treat us better. Treat us with respect."

Funding for this story was supported by a fraternity run by the International Labor Organization and the Ethical Journalism Network.