Why do these people need to flee from their employers? Are they slaves?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAN147990.htm

Two Filipinos die fleeing employers in Lebanon

MANILA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Two Philippine workers fell from high-rise apartments in the Lebanese capital and were killed, while trying to flee from their employers in the war-torn nation, Manila's ambassador to Beirut said on Thursday.

Manila has ordered the evacuation of more than 30,000 Filipinos in Lebanon as violence escalated between Israeil forces and Hizbollah militants.

Philippine ambassador to Lebanon Al Francis Bichara said the two women, both in their early 20s, fell from a four-storey apartment building in Beirut while attempting to escape from their employers.

Bichara said there had been other cases of Filipino workers jumping out of their employers' apartment to escape and return to the Philippines after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the mass evacuation due to the worsening security situation.

[Samurai_Writer]

1. Yes they are

There have been similar stories here in the U.S. about Americans being charged with keeping illegal aliens as household and sex slaves. Notice, this was an apartment building, and the women were both in their early 20s. They were 'maids' for these people, and most likely, forced to have sex with their 'employers' as well. This happens in every nearly every country in the world, as far as I can tell.

[Ian David]

2. We need to re-direct the attention of the fundies...

away from gay marriage, and onto the problem of human sexual slavery.

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. Slavery is allowed in the Bible, even encouraged

Homosexuality is not, and therein lies the difference :sarcasm:

[spinbaby]

3. I'm wondering what happened to the Ethiopian maid

In the first days of this war, I saw a brief moment with an Ethiopian maid who was hiding from the bombing in Beirut. She was quite young and had that very delicate look that some Ethiopians have--as if an elf had lighted in Lebanon. She was so frightened and she knew that there was little chance that Ethiopia would do anything to evacuate its citizens. I hope she made it somewhere safe.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

4. Employers? Sounds like captors to me...

...which should, but probably won't, make them criminally and civilly liable for these needless deaths.

[malaise]

5. Indeed many of these

employers seize the passport of domestic workers, gardeners, etc. Many pay the poor people when they feel like and very often don't pay them at all.

The Lebanese elites have enough problems these days without having their slave labour leave them on their own to cook and clean :sarcasm: :sarcasm: