"But racism is unlikely to be erased overnight, either in Lebanon or in many other Middle Eastern countries where blacks are routinely looked down on. Racist taunts are often heard on Egypt’s streets, and in Yemen, darker-skinned people, known as al-akhdam(“the servants”), who make up perhaps 5% of the population, are confined to menial jobs and tend to dwell in slums. In Libya rebel militias often targeted darker-skinned people from nearby countries such as Chad and Mali and from countries further south, accusing them of being mercenaries of Muammar Qaddafi. Filipinos, Sri Lankans and Chinese-Americans, among others, whisper of racist slurs both at work and on Lebanon’s streets. “When black or Asian friends visit,” says a young Lebanese professional, “I’m at the airport the moment they land to make sure immigration officers don’t ask inappropriate questions. It’s a disgrace.”" And from another article:
"They told her she was ugly. They refused to play with her, saying her dark skin would dirty their hands. They broke her teeth. But Meyada kept trying to make friends at her public elementary school in Mar Elias. Her mother, Sudanese refugee Ikhlass Jomaa, took to standing outside the playground, where she would find her daughter “isolated.”
“The other children would be playing, and she would be sitting alone,” she recalls.
Meyada would come home crying and hungry. Kids stole the sandwiches Jomaa packed for lunch, as well as her books. Jomaa, who has been in Lebanon for nine years, went to see the school’s principal. The principal said she could do nothing.
Born in Lebanon to Sudanese parents, the now 8-year-old Meyada is not alone. Lala Arabian, executive director of Insan Association, an organization that works with refugees and migrants, confirms from her experience what Meyada knows. Migrant domestic workers, refugees and their children face “a lot of discrimination and racism ... in Lebanese society,” she says. “Usually they [refugees and migrants] don’t benefit from social services provided in Lebanon.”" (thanks Austin)
PS I wonder why the Economist failed to include Israel in its mix. Ahmet from Tunisia sent me this: "Asad, i am not sure that Lebanon is the country making headlines these days about its horrendous treatment of "dark-skinned" people to make the Economist file a report on it immediately: are we here talking about applying a dilution effect of the rottenness across the border???"
"They told her she was ugly. They refused to play with her, saying her dark skin would dirty their hands. They broke her teeth. But Meyada kept trying to make friends at her public elementary school in Mar Elias. Her mother, Sudanese refugee Ikhlass Jomaa, took to standing outside the playground, where she would find her daughter “isolated.”
“The other children would be playing, and she would be sitting alone,” she recalls.
Meyada would come home crying and hungry. Kids stole the sandwiches Jomaa packed for lunch, as well as her books. Jomaa, who has been in Lebanon for nine years, went to see the school’s principal. The principal said she could do nothing.
Born in Lebanon to Sudanese parents, the now 8-year-old Meyada is not alone. Lala Arabian, executive director of Insan Association, an organization that works with refugees and migrants, confirms from her experience what Meyada knows. Migrant domestic workers, refugees and their children face “a lot of discrimination and racism ... in Lebanese society,” she says. “Usually they [refugees and migrants] don’t benefit from social services provided in Lebanon.”" (thanks Austin)
PS I wonder why the Economist failed to include Israel in its mix. Ahmet from Tunisia sent me this: "Asad, i am not sure that Lebanon is the country making headlines these days about its horrendous treatment of "dark-skinned" people to make the Economist file a report on it immediately: are we here talking about applying a dilution effect of the rottenness across the border???"
