By G. E. Gorfu
March 12, 2012
His Excellency
The Ambassador of the Lebanese Embassy
2560 28th St. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
USA
Your Excellency,
The highly respected thinker and writer from Lebanon, Khalil Gibran, is my most beloved and cherished of men, possibly on step below Jesus Christ. And his book, The Prophet, is a book I hold in the highest esteem like the Gospels. That made it very difficult for me to watch the video of the two Lebanese men beat, abuse, molest, manhandle, and mistreat a defenseless Ethiopian young woman. How is that possible in the land of Gibran?
For a long time now I had heard of the many abuses that take place in Lebanon towards domestic workers, but never thought it would be this vicious, this brutal, in broad daylight, and in full public view. How is that possible? A dog would not be treated this bad, let alone a human being.
Arabs have come to Ethiopia for thousands of years since, and from before the time of Prophet Mohammad, and were welcomed, received with open arms, and treated with respect and kindness. This is recorded in many history books from various travelers. There is no single record of an Arab being mistreated. Arabs have lived in peace, married and intermarried with Ethiopians for centuries.
So, for the Lebanese people, and other Arabs in general, to treat those who come to their land searching for employment and a livelihood with this kind of terrible brutality, is atrocious to say the least. And when we see this kind of atrocity directed specially at those who welcomed Arabs for millennia into their country, - Ethiopians, - it is a really sad. Are there no Human Rights in Lebanon?
Sir, I hope this incidence becomes the spark that creates a full awareness of the mistreatments of foreigners and stops the terrible injustice and abuse of domestic workers being now committed in Lebanon and in all Arab countries.
Sincerely,
G. E. Gorfu
C.c. Mr. Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary
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