Today in Baghdad  the Iraqi people celebrated the memory of the great iraqi sculptural  Jawad Salim, the clebration was orgnize by Al-mada   Foundation  of information  culture and the arts in collaboration with the secretariat of Baghdad on Friday night in Tahrir Square under the Monument of Liberty by the late Jawad Salim on the occasion of the passage of half a century of his death where the ceremony was attended by a large number of political figures, cultural and artistic by playing pieces of the music by Iraqi  Symphony and  reading poetic pieces in his honer ,this was a message from the people to the world that in spite of all the violence in Iraq they still believe in hope ,art and better live and future

Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Matthew Cassel, I am a photographer and journalist from Chicago currently living in Beirut.

What prompted you to begin this project of photographing migrant domestic workers in Lebanon?

I began working on this issue after Theresa Seda, a 28-year-old domestic worker and mother of three from the Philippines, fell to her death from the seventh floor balcony of her employer’s home across the street from my home in Beirut.

Soon after I was approached by KAFA (Enough) Violence and Exploitation, a Lebanese NGO that is doing research and advocacy work on the issue of violence against women in Lebanon, which includes migrant domestic workers. We wanted to put together a photo project that showed the lives and culture of these women to accompany KAFA’s important research.

The title of your work is “Unseen Lives”. Why do you think Lebanese society is generally unaware of the lives of expatriate domestic workers?

It’s not only Lebanese society that is unaware of the lives of workers, whether they be foreigners or locals. Around the world, especially in my native country the US, workers often go unnoticed and unappreciated for their importance in society. Do most shoppers go to the grocery store and think about who makes the various products or who harvests and delivers fruits and vegetables? And even when we see workers every day like those working construction or collecting garbage, how often do most stop and think about that worker’s story? I would say “unseen lives” is a universal term to describe workers around the world who are rarely given a voice by most mainstream media and popular culture.

However, the situation is a bit different in a country like Lebanon where more and more migrants are coming in search of work and are increasingly being denied even the most basic rights. The situation is more dire here than other places, especially considering the increasing number of domestic workers who have died in recent years, and I think it’s an issue that should spark outrage and force people to act immediately.

Some of the photographs from the essay were shot inside the homes the maids worked in and documented their daily routine. What are you observations about their working and living conditions? Do you think those conditions may differ in other homes?

Conditions differ from home to home. But in my opinion, hiring a woman to live and work inside your home leaving her with no separation between her personal and work life is enough to be considered exploitation and mistreatment. In every home where women both work and live, they are “at work” 24/7 (there is even a new activist group called 24/7 that organizes to support domestic workers). They can be woken up in the middle of the night to take care of a sick child or leaky faucet. Never, except for those who are actually allowed a day off, are they “off the clock” and away from their work. And usually a day off means a few hour break on Sunday or other day when most women have to spend that time constantly checking the clock so they don’t violate their curfew and upset their employers. Since workers have little to no protection, the few rights they might have are entirely at the whim of the employer and can be taken away at any second. The employer can give them additional work, not allow them a day off, and take advantage of them in other ways. Therefore, many workers who I met share a sense of not wanting to upset their employer, or, “keep madame happy” as I heard some women say.

In the few homes where I photographed, women were treated well and were happy with their jobs. As I say in the project’s statement, this body of photographs in no way accurately portrays the lives of most domestic workers in this country. Those who I could photograph had a “better” situation than most in the sense that they were able to leave their employers’ homes or their employers were comfortable asking their domestic workers if I could photograph them in the work place. Obviously, an employer who mistreats or abuses their worker wouldn’t want to allow an American photographer in to expose that situation. But I know that such situations do exist and that they are not rare. Many women who have been here for a few years or more have had more than one employer, and they described to me how either they or other workers who they know have faced or are currently facing abuse and mistreatment from their employers. It’s frightening to hear these stories knowing that there is very little that can be done in most cases.

Theresa Seda was an example of this. In the two months that she worked in Lebanon, she was never able to leave the home unless it was to take care of her employer’s kids when the family went out. She was essentially a prisoner in her employer’s home although she committed no crime. And unfortunately, many women face a similar situation.

So, while the conditions may differ slightly from home to home, in general the system of hiring foreign women as domestic workers is broken and needs to be fixed.

Were you able to communicate with some of the maids? What did they tell you about working conditions? What are their perceptions of Lebanese society?

I was able to communicate with many different women from every country that domestic workers in Lebanon come from. And I found that very few women, a definite minority, had positive views of Lebanese society. The overwhelming majority who I spoke with — and mind you these are the workers who have better situations — have become used to living and working in this society and are very critical of the way they’re treated by Lebanese civilians and authorities. Unless a woman has or had an especially good relationship with her employers, it’s rare that she would recall stories of when she felt she had a Lebanese friend or someone she felt she could trust. This helps explain the tightly knit societies that exist between migrant workers. When they can, women reach out to their other countrywomen who they can speak their native language with, and they’ll even reach out to workers from other countries who they might have trouble communicating with just to form a network and strengthen the worker community. Almost all who I’ve met seem to have the attitude that no Lebanese are going to protect them, so they have to protect themselves.

Was there one scene in particular that made an impression on you during the months of photographing migrant domestic workers?

Obviously, Theresa’s death across the street from my home affected me most. It’s difficult to put into words
the feelings I had as I watched her body lie in the street and under the rain covered only by a white tarp held down by a broken plastic chair, a flower pot, and bits of cement. On the street around her body, people walked by and cars passed, it seemed to be business as usual and was very surreal to witness. But it showed me how little rights these foreign women in Lebanon have, even in death. After that moment I had no choice other than to speak out and take action.

The other scenes that affected me most were the ones that I couldn’t photograph. One worker in particular who is a very active member in the worker community and who has also become a very close friend of mine, told me horrific stories every day about new cases of abuses that she discovered through her networks. There is one woman in particular who comes from the same country as she does and who managed to get in touch with my friend and tell her that she needed help. The woman had only one minute to explain on a pay phone as she walked her employer’s dog near their home.

My friend was able to quickly jot down some details about the home and the surrounding area before she told the other worker to write her testimony detailing her situation and the abuse she faced on a piece of paper that she could come pick up from her later. I went with my friend after her job one day, and we spent hours following the clues until we found the house where the woman worked. As we stood across the street looking at the house it was awful to realize that inside a woman was being abused and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it. We had to leave so that my friend could come back and wait around the corner for the next time the worker left with the dog so she can pick up the note from her.

For my friend, this was something she does on a regular basis. She calls it “note-dropping,” sometimes she picks up notes from trash cans, from under balconies, from the grocery store. The notes are just the first step before she takes them to one of the NGOs to see if a lawyer can get involved and help the abused worker. And even when a lawyer does get involved, it’s far from guaranteed that the abused worker can be rescued from her employer.

Seeing the commitment that my friend and so many other workers in Lebanon have to their community left the biggest impression on me. It’s really been an honor for me to get to know people who have no money, no rights, no free time, yet still somehow manage to organize themselves and struggle for justice.

What would you like our readers to know about migrant domestic workers in Lebanon?

I wish that everyone would get to know these women and listen to them talk about their lives, their families, their homes and everything else that they’ve had to leave behind in search of work. Their struggle is incredible and it’s far from over, they deserve our respect and support.

Unseen Lives: Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon – Images by Matthew Cassel

Originally posted on Migrant-Rights.org

We felt this is a really nice way to explore images from the region, instead of just limiting it to our own membership. Hopefully, we will be adding more photo-sharing services in the future.

Tell us what you think!

Screenshot of the gallery application

The exhibition featured the works of many young artists in Kuwait who decided to show their passion for art and longing for change through a camera lens, old doors, yarn, scrap metal, and various other forms. One piece that definitely stood out was It’s about time by Farah Al-Haidar, a young Kuwaiti artist who specialises in photography, mixed media art, and oil painting. It’s about time was a photography piece mounted onto a reused canvas. The actually photographs and pieces were “ironed n old shirts, and hand sown to create a meaningful collage”. Farah described the title to be “appropriate for the situations that we are facing locally in how we tend to waste such valuable materials , it’s about time to stop wasting and start acting”

The photographs themselves were taken at various junkyards around Kuwait. Farah commented that “junkyards are a waste of our land, our money, and they pollute our air. We don’t have infinite resources, so why do we act like we do? Art is life, and anything can be turned into art, why do we decide to throw it away?”

The exhibition also featured many young artists with a longing for change. MP Dr.Rola Dashti recognised their efforts and stated that “it’s inspiring to see so many young people and young minds that care”.

Farah urges everyone out there to not “waste their time on useless things; try to sign up in activities, volunteer or get a part time job, and always try and make a change. The main reason that the leaders aren’t taking action towards combating climate change is because they won’t live long enough to feel the devastating effects – stop spreading negative idea’s and start spreading love and peace and creating a better generation and a better future. Once they see a youth movement towards a better future, they’ll recognise they need action”

Foto Source

In Iran’s colorful political arena, The green color got more attention from the western Media, maybe because they liked the candidate behind it more than the others and they assumed he’ll realize wishes of their governments for the better.

OR from a more optimistic point of view, during pre and post election events, Media was so attracted to Green color of Mousavi campaign, since in Tehran the capital it was more visible into eyes than a common Iran’s flag as a sign of Ahmadinejad’s campaign.

While multicultural Iran is not just Tehran, nor those active in the streets were all the population.

Iranian society with its complicated structure, can not be shown as a black and white documentary.
As Mohammad Salemy -an artist and curator of the former DADABASE Gallery- has points it out very well, quoting Ervand Abrahamian, a scholar of Iran’s contemporary history, based on George Rud’s observation that perhaps no historical phenomenon has been so thoroughly neglected by historians as the crowd:

“Unlike the reformist crowd that has quickly emerged through the recent presidential campaign of Mir Hossein Moussavi, the pro Ahmadinejad crowd has a long thirty years history in the making. A once official crowd in service of the
state. Ahmadinejad crowd has been made mostly of those who returned to the street, and the ballot box, after a decade, to launch their own reform against corruption and to renew their support for the regional resistance against the USA and Israel. This invisible crowd, particularly those not working for the security services and government agencies, was asked by the state to stay home throughout the riots to prevent the situation from turning into a civil war.”

The matter is you look at the story from different sides, not just how other people look at it. Now after the election has taken over, Mohammad Javad Jahangir, a Tehran based Iranian artist with background in Islamic studies from the seminary who has worked with Iranian artists Abbas Kiarostami on several projects and with featured works By BBC, Reuters and other international news organizations, decided to share photos of the other side of Iranian society, the invisible part.

The Invisible Crowd photo exhibition is about those who were present during election campaigns and at the ballot boxes, participating some certain demonstrations and the famous Friday prayer, but they’ve not got enough attention from the western media. His “virtual” photo exhibition on Dadabase.ca site borrows its name from a sign that has inspired the work:

“During one of the early pro Ahmadinejad rallies before the vote, Mohammad Javad Jahangir, who was present at the scene, noticed a sign in the crowd that poked fun at the lack of the global media coverage of large pro Ahmadinejad demonstrations. The sign depicted a television containing a still-frame of an empty city street with the CNN logo at the bottom. Underneath the television set read the words ‘We are the invisible crowd for the western media.’” Salemy says.

It is only in the late hours of the night
That I learn more about my sentience
I am aware of my true existence
Those lonely hours with no friend in sight
My only companions are myself and I
I am many yet all in one

I am a soul, mind and body
I lose who I am at times with the chaos of life
It is only in the late hours of the night
Where there is no sound but the beating of my heart
And the swelling of my lungs as air is taken in and out
It is only then three thirds of me transpire

The spiritual

The spiritual lays within me; he connects me to a higher being; God
He takes third of my being; he can take over at times of grace
Through him I realize my berth in this massive universe
A sand grain amongst endless dunes of Sahara desserts
An atom amongst infinite stars and galaxies
A thread of silk in the midst of endless silk cocoons
Through him I learned humility and love
He bonds me to an infinite greater truth
A truth that cannot be seen but is felt
Years of dormant senses are awakened to believe
To a higher level of consciousness I achieve
As the other two in me lay down in sweet sleep

The mind

He is my second third
The mind is a marvelous part of me
He is a maze I go astray in many times
He keeps me on my toes with his wonderful crazy thoughts
Through him I can knit a quilt of endless sleepless dreams
In contemplation I can touch my dreams
If he is given more than third of me
He would not hesitate to conquer me
He is a pillar in mankind’s survival
He is the tool through him we learned and developed
He has taken us to the moon and beyond
To the atom and the cell
Through him we heal, fly and light up the darkness of our skies
Through him we were able to plot, kill and destroy
Yes the mind was able to conquer all
Only when he was given permission to take over all of our beings
Never forget he is only third, never to conquer all

The body

Oh the body the vehicle of all..
She is the third of all three but never the least
Through her all thoughts and feelings from mind and spirit are conveyed
She deciphers all signals to a language one can apprehend
A smile from her can brighten one’s day
A touch from her can stop the throbbing pain
She transports love from a look of an eye to an embrace
Through her she senses beauty all around
And aches with throbbing tearing pain
For she is powerful and ever so beautiful
Endless portrayals of her marvel have been seen
Throughout history, countless artists and poets have described
For the body they became intoxicated and bewildered
For her beauty many have lost their lives
For her strengths many were greedy for more
She has conquered all and will go on doing so many times
Time is always her worst enemy when she conquers all
For time will teach her what true worth is
She is my tool to express love, beauty and pain
But she is never all

All of my thirds never cease to grow
The spiritual can never be close enough
For he seeks humility and love throughout his being

The awakened mind is always hungry for more
He befriends wisdom as he matures and grows

The body, my daily tool
She starts off as weakness and grows into strength
She ends in weakness as a reminder of what she truly is

These are my thirds that lay within
These are the mains of what my life’s aims
Each one stays in his and her designated space
One might take charge in times of need
But the rest are prepared for their times indeed
The spiritual, mind and body
I find myself in three..

Check SPINearth Correspondent Veronica, Dubai, sits down with musician Ziryab about Islam, moving to UAE, and the power of his guitar. See full report…