Rahma Campaign: A breath of fresh air on Arab TV
It has been a long time since I’ve praised TV ads. The last ones I praised were by the “No Terror” campaign, which are still an absolute must-watch for anyone who hasn’t seen them.
These following ads, which are part of the “Rahma” campaign, meaning “Mercy” in Arabic, send a message that is rarely sent. For years I spent a lot of time writing here about the case of migrant workers in the Middle East, particularly housemaids, who are often abused. Over a year ago we also launched a website that archives their issues for the purpose of awareness, which is the first of its kind in the Arab world. Domestic housemaids number in the millions in the region and most are in the Gulf. Many are reportedly abused, and far too little is being done about it.
These ads try to target (and hopefully change) the mentality around domestic workers and how they should be treated, since abusing or disrespecting them has become common and socially accepted. The tagline is roughly translated to “no mercy upon the merciless” and the aim of the “Rahma” campaign is to humanize these workers, after decades of them being collectively dehumanized.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUhvw65SqWQ[/youtube]
Translation: “You’re not done yet?! You’re not sleeping until the house is crystal clean, understood?”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm-l8rj05Dk[/youtube]
Translation: “Put it. Don’t you understand me? Put the rice! DAMNIT! Go, get out of my face.”
“What’s wrong with her, doesn’t she understand?”
“She’s abnormal.”
This is an important message, and I hope abusive employers will learn from it. Kudos to Full Stop Ads for a job well done, and to whoever else is behind the long awaited “Rahma” campaign.
If you think what you saw in these ads are bad, wait until you read about all sorts of violence against migrant workers in the region, many of whom live in deplorable conditions. You can read about them here. If you’re interested, we urge you to please contribute content and material to that site. Contact us to see how you can help.
This is by far one of my biggest personal concerns because securing the human rights of domestic workers is extremely challenging considering the fact that once hired, they become the complete responsibility of their employers (who can beat and abuse them) without anyone knowing about it for as long as 2 years or more (some are practically imprisoned with no pay for as long as 9 years.) Many of us hope that this system will change but there is no indication that it will.
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There was a philosopher once who tried to ascertain the criteria by which you could judge our progress in becoming civilized. One criteria was how we treat our prisoners. Another was how we treat our poor. And so forth.
If anything will allow us to survive as a species, it will be our sense of humanity toward one another. And there is no question that how we treat the most impoverished among us, is a strong indication of how we are likely to treat one another. Somehow we must find a way to awaken that sense of humanity that sometimes lies buried deep within us. By treating others well, we will actually be investing in a better version of ourselves.
By the way, this campaign is called “Rahma,” which means “mercy.” The Hebrew word for mercy is “Rahamim.” You see, the more different we think we are, the more we are the same.
Although I don’t understand the dialogue in these Rahma ads, I’m touched everytime I see it. Perhaps because I’m also a migrant worker in Saudi. Perhaps because everytime I see the sad faces of those household helps, I see a reflection of myself.
just ads lke these won’t do any thing but this can be a tiny steps towards the better condition of migrant worker in Arab countires
my own father has been stranded in saudiarab from seven years .authorites like NSHRSA have the knowledge as at first i contacted them but they are jsut doing lip service nothing else………it is the mindset of arab people which needs to be changed .they consider these workers as their slaves ………
May Allah GUIDE THEM (ameen)
You’re absolutely right Aysha but it’s also the law. Currently migrant workers are not legally protected, so their employers can get away with so much. Read this post for a good insight into this.
I’ve seen the ads, beautiful really. But I don’t think these people would be touched by the ads. Only People who have little self-respect and some good in them would, and people who abuse poor laborers are simply arrogant and just bad people. The problem is severe, racism and prejudice prevails in the arabian gulf. I live in Bahrain, most people look down on people from different nationalities. Lebanese and Palestinians, British and South Africans, Australians and British, everyone and Indians even the Bahraini shia and sunna (among eachother).. The problem is universal, if you are a citizen of a developed country, you are respected and protected by governments wherever you go in the world. No one cares about a laborer from kerla, its not just Arabs, I believe its much more than that.
There is something worth mentioning by the way. I am an Arab and one thing I admire about the Arabic culture is how we are generous and helpful and it comes naturally with us. I don’t want us to lose that too.
Hi my dear Esra’a
I saw the ad, what a Lovely message, have Rahm on the earth so that the one in the sky would treat with with Rahm, Mercy
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Public service ads here talks about things like don’t drink and drive, use protection when having sex, don’t smoke etc…
You know your country and your community is a disgrace when you needs ads to tell you how you should treat another human being. Come to think of it, public service ads here also educate people to treat animals/pets kindly so if you compare, migrant workers are what to you, animals?
ohh the joy… keep digging.
We have such public service ads here as well.
Actually I think that’s taking it a bit too far. Firstly, claiming that a country and community is a “disgrace” is pretty much resorting to typical stereotypes and racism. Judging an entire society by a few ads that simply want to improve said society, is quite bad. That’s like watching an ad for animal rights in the West and claiming that the entire Western society is a disgrace because it treats animals poorly, what does that say to you?
Secondly, there are MANY ads in the USA & Canada that are about sex trafficking that even involve children. You don’t see us claiming that Americans and Canadians are a “disgrace” for “raping children” simply because we saw these ads, do you? Such ads are simply a way to spread awareness about a particular cause and to introduce ways to help solve it. Having ads against rape, for example (which do exist) doesn’t mean that the target society is one that consists of “rapists.” It means we need to be aware of the problem and then fix it, no matter how small or big it is, and certainly it does not represent an entire community as a whole – in fact to see such an ad being created by an Arab company, and seeing more Arab NGOs take on the plight for migrant rights, just means the situation will hopefully be improving. So no, migrant workers aren’t “animals” here, but unfortunately some people do treat them as such. Just like in the West, some minorities may be treated and considered “animals” by their employers – it’s a global issue. We’re not a “disgrace” for speaking out against this and this ad certainly doesn’t make that implication, the actions of some don’t speak for an entire community or region.
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Thanks for including translations immediately after ads. That certainly will help those who don’t understand the spoken language in the ads.
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