PRESS RELEASE
Israel has to pay displaced migrant workers, says NGOs
September 13, 2006
(New York City) “The biggest crime of Israel during its four-week aggression against Southern Lebanon is destroying the dreams of thousands of migrant workers for a better life. That’s terrorism and Israel must pay war damages not only to the Lebanese people but to the migrant workers as well.”
That’s the position made by migrants’ rights activists, migrant workers association and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attending the Community Dialogue on Migration, Development and Human Rights, which is the civil society parallel event to the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Migration happening on September 14-15, 2006. The group said that they want reparations for migrant workers displaced by war and other conflicts around the world. Citing the recent war in Lebanon, the group asserts that Israel must pay migrant workers who lost their jobs and were hastily repatriated by their governments without any assurance of alternative employment opportunities.
“We must realize that these migrant workers were left to fend for themselves during the war. Some were abandoned by their employers while many of them ran away without any food or money and suffered from hunger and displacement,” says Seta Margosian-Hadeshian of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). She is one of the panelists in the Workshop on the Impacts of War and Armed Conflict on Local and Migrant Populations of the Community Dialogue. MECC is a partner of Migrant Forum in Asia, the biggest network of migrant workers associations, trade unions and NGOs in Asia.
“Any attempts at rehabilitation and reconstruction of Lebanon must include the migrant workers. They should not be left behind this time. Rebuilding the lives of these migrant workers must also be in the agenda of the international community,” Ms. Hadeshian says.
According to MECC, more than 20,000 migrant workers were evacuated during the war in Southern Lebanon mostly through the intervention of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and local NGOs. The participants to the workshop agreed that an international policy that will protect migrant workers from economic dislocation during armed conflict must be enforced.
“The war in Lebanon made life very difficult for the migrant workers. Their situation were worst than the locals. They are stripped off not only of their financial means but of legal rights as well. Their wages were withheld; they were stranded in their embassies. Furthermore, their embassies are incapable of dealing with their citizens during emergency situations,” says Ms. Hadeshian.
Meanwhile, Jackie Pollock of the Migrant Assistance Program of Thailand and Asian Alliance for Migration, Development and Human Rights said that the migrant-sending governments are responsible for the wellbeing of the displaced migrant workers.
“The conflict in Lebanon showed the vulnerabilities and risks that migrants faced. In times of crisis, sending countries must act swiftly to protect their nationals. They should also be ready with providing livelihood opportunities for these displaced migrants. Destination countries, on the other hand, should also provide protection to migrants within their borders. We must not forget that migrants have human rights as well,” says Pollock.
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The Civil Society Parallel Events on Migration, Development and Human Rights are being held at the Queens College Workers Education Extension Center, 25 W 43 rd Street between 5 th and 6 th Avenues in New York City until September 15, 2006.
For interviews and more information, please contact:
Joey Dimaandal
Tel: +639175267171, +639278775810
Email: j-mod@rocketmail.com
Address: West Side YMCA, 5 West 63 rd Street between Broadway and Central Park West, New York City.
Arnoldo Garcia (For Spanish language media organizations)
Tel +1 510 928 0685
Email: agarcia@nnirr.org
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