An unnecessary tragedy

by Nadim Houry April 3, 2012

written by Nadim Houry April 3, 2012

Alem Dechasa-Desisa’s death at age 33 would have probably gone unnoticed — like that of so many other migrants — if not for a widely circulated video showing her being physically assaulted by a man, later identified as labor recruiter Ali Mahfouz, at the gates of the Ethiopian consulate 20 days prior. Dechasa-Desisa had come from Ethiopia to Lebanon in December 2011 to work as a domestic worker. She committed suicide on March 14. Caught on film, the abuse of Dechasa-Desisa triggered a public outcry that pushed the prosecutor to charge Mahfouz on March 22 with contributing to and causing her suicide. The abuse of Dechasa-Desisa was outrageous and its perpetrator must be held accountable. But the issue here is not just the criminal behavior of a recruiter, but the entire system of recruiting and regulating migrant domestic workers. Dechasa-Desisa’s death was entirely foreseeable and could have been prevented had

Domestic Workers Human Rights

Nadim Houry

Nadim Houry is the executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative (ARI). Prior to ARI, Nadim was at Human Rights Watch (HRW) for 13 years where he started and ran HRW’s Beirut office for a decade before taking on the role of director of HRW’s Terrorism and Counter-terrorism Program. During his time at HRW, he worked across the MENA region, particularly on Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan on a range of human rights issues ranging from freedom of expression to abuses by security forces to labour rights. He has conducted extensive research in conflict zones and his writing often focuses on the themes of governance and accountability. A passionate advocate for change in the region, he has addressed the Security Council and the European Parliament on challenges in the Arab world. A lawyer by training, Nadim worked in the UN as Deputy Counsel for the Volcker Commission which conducted investigations into allegations of corruption into the Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq and was previously a lawyer.

An unnecessary tragedy

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