Even though there were nine nationalities aboard the Boeing 737 jet which burst into flames and crashed into the sea minutes after taking off in a violent thunderstorm on Monday morning, the Lebanese, naturally enough, only concerned themselves with one.
54 Lebanese, almost all from the country's predominately Shiite southern region, are probably dead and the nation's outpouring of grief has been intense.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri declared Monday to be a national day of mourning for the victims; the education minister closed institutions for two days as a mark of respect.
The funeral of a southern businessman, who worked for a food import country in Angola, attracted international media attention, with veiled women throwing themselves on the coffin.
Distraught friends and relatives are still thronging a hospital in southern Beirut, waiting to identify mangled bodies being dragged from the eastern Mediterranean.
The search for the plane's black box is continuing, with families of victims waiting anxiously for clues on what befell flight ET409 in the seconds before disappearing off radar screens for good.
As with any air disaster in a post 9/11 world, terrorism has been raised as a possible cause, with several Lebanese dailies carrying uncorroborated allegations that the crash was the result of a "deliberate attack."
Whatever the cause of the disaster, it has exposed the uncomfortable and often unuttered truth that many Lebanese are still virulently racist.
23 migrant domestic workers from Ethiopia were onboard the ill-fated flight, along with at least seven airline crew members. The pilot was also Ethiopian.
In the absence of concrete facts, Lebanon's transport minister suggested that pilot error may have downed the plane, with the jet having undertaking "a very strange and fast turn" seconds before crashing.
This was all the information many media outlets needed. Naharnet, an English-language news site to be read with a shovelful of salt, carried the offensive headline: "Ethiopian pilot flew wrong way!"
The complete lack of evidence aside, it is certain that no such exclamatory tone would have been used if the pilot were Lebanese.
The inference here is simple: an Ethiopian pilot - silly him - ignored the learned Lebanese air traffic controllers (who have an exemplary record for departure punctuality) and his mad error killed 90 people.
Such scandalous journalese, however, pales in comparison to the appalling treatment of friends and relatives of Ethiopian passengers.
At Rafik Hariri International Airport, while wailing Lebanese family members were consoled by round after round of politicians, offered food and drink and drip fed information on victims as and when it was received, Ethiopian concerned were sidelined totally.
Desperate women, dressed in the scrubs which often adorn domestic workers, pleaded with authorities for information only to be shepherded into a separate room from Lebanese mourners.
DNA databases that will be used to identify mangled corpses are only being compiled from Lebanese blood samples. No Ethiopian has been asked to participate, even if relatives were on board.
A normally well-respected broadcaster conducted a live piece to camera outside a hospital with their Beirut correspondent on Monday night.
An Ethiopian, wracked with grief, unwittingly wondered into shot only to be literally hauled out of view by the Lebanese crew. Had she been Lebanese, it is unthinkable she would have been treated like this.
Much has been written on the plight of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. The relatives of one Ethiopian victim said that their daughter was on the way home to Addis Ababa for good after years of being beaten by employers.
To witness the neglect of friends and relatives left behind in Lebanon will offer Ethiopian families no comfort.
The BBC even commissioned a special report on the Lebanese diasporas in Western Africa. No such article was mooted for the reverse demographic.
It is entirely understandable for news agencies and civilians to take interest in their own nationals during times like this.
But to systematically sideline, even vilify Ethiopian victims, many of whom would have led a pitiful existence in Lebanon in domestic servitude, exudes exactly the opposite of the mercy relatives of Lebanese victims are pleading for.
In times of disaster, people let down their guard. The disaster of flight ET409 showed large parts of Lebanese society for what it is.
Follow Patrick Galey on Twitter: www.twitter.com/patrickgaley
The abuse of domestic Ethiopian workers in Lebanon has always been known for a long time, and no one seems to address the issue. My heart aches for the domestic worker that suffers a daily abuse of physical, psychological and sexual. It is my prayer that this report brings more awareness to the domestic abuse and let our sisters, mothers, and daughters free from slavery. No one is asking too much, but for the basic human rights to be respected.
1) OFcourse it is very normal and natural for us to be concerned about our own citizens first. They are our own families, friends, loved ones, our own fellow citizens. I would definitely prioritize them over the whole world. Its normal.
2) The Ethiopians were not ignored. A bunch of TV reports were made about their situation and some of them were interviewed. Our PM Saad Hariri paid a visit to the Ethiopian consulate only to pay respects and condolences. It was also heavily covered by the media.
3) Concerning the pilot error, it was not claimed with no evidence. Ofcourse there was evidence, and the minister was not hallucinating. There has been an investigation with the airport traffic controllers and this is what they said. They have no reason to lie, and they are not in a position to play around with information. The evidence used for such a claim is the investigation and the testimonies from the airtraffic controllers.
Maybe MR Galey should start by criticising first the british media's racist coverage of the plain crash event; most british newspapers stressed that the two british "passport holders" are Lebanese and... See More this is equally insulting. The Ethiopian families were treated the same way the Lebanese families were. This is one of rare times we should salute the Lebanese officials(from the PM to the smallest soldier on ground) for the way they handled this event.
I completely agree with what you have written above.
In addition, the approach of this article does not highlight what is really happening on the ground. Relying on one english news web does not sum what is the general feel and information provided on the ground. More research is needed before anything like this should have been written.
I guess nowadays, the number of followers of a blog count more than anything else. RIP good journalism! RIP TO ALL VICTIMS OF THE CRASH.
“DNA databases that will be used to identify mangled corpses are only being compiled from Lebanese blood samples. No Ethiopian has been asked to participate, even if relatives were on board.”
http://www.yalibnan.com/2010/01/28/lebanon-isf-unit-to-travel-to-ethiopia-to-collect-dna-samples/
Walk to the Ethiopian Consulate in Beirut and you'll see escaped housemaids looking for shelter, their passports and money kept by employer. Check women's prison and see how many housemaids were picked up homeless after running away from abuse. Saudi Arabia used to be the poster child for such abuse, but the Lebanese who claim to be civilized have long surpassed them.
"In times of disaster, people let down their guard. The disaster of flight ET409 showed large parts of Lebanese society for what it is. " The lack of credibility makes me think perhaps in times if disaster, journalists will write anything to sensationalize the situation. Instead of looking deeper into the situation to present accurate data that could present the discrimination against migrant workers in Lebanon, this article oozes with the very racism Galey is condemning the Lebanese with.
I was making the point that the treatment of Ethiopian relatives of victims, sidelined in the hours following the crash was apalling, indeed it still appears to be http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=111209.
I am not saying that all Lebanese are racist - that would be absurd and, as you point out, racist - just that some official actions, reportage (I referenced Naharnet because it is in English; there were far worse suggestions in Arabic dailies) and treatment of and towards Ethiopian mourners exposed the pecking order of race in the minds of some Lebanese.
Purely semantically, "large parts" does not mean the majority.
If what I saw with my own eyes at the airport and hospital on Monday - of the people begging for information and being completely ignored - is not credible for you then I shall take the assertion that, in your eyes, I am a shame to my profession as heartfelt.
Galey conveniently omitted key facts such as these:
- Ethiopian victims are receiving just as much media coverage as are other passengers. I am left to wonder if Galey actually can access reputable Lebanese newspapers.
- The Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, amongst many high ranking individuals, have paid condolence visits to the Ethiopian Consul General in Beirut.
- A woman called in to one of Lebanon's most widely seen talk shows (Talk of the Town on LBC) on Monday. She was in tears speaking in a very admiring way about her former maid who was on the flight. She mentioned how the maid was more like a sister to her and a part of her family and the community.
- The same network, LBC, cancelled an episode of Bold Red Line, which was going to focus on the very issue of the abuse of domestic maids.
The real tragedy that emerged is how both Lebanese and Ethiopians have been fleeing their homelands to find work. Thousands of these individuals have been subjected to wars, natural and other disasters in search of a living. This is amongst the many sentiments that the Lebanese are feeling and expressing. To call this racism requires making humongous
Lebanese brutality to foreign domestic workers is so well documented. Ethiopian government has for years officially forbidden women from going to Lebanon as domestic workers. Travel agents in Ethiopia facilitating any domestic employment in Lebanon are shut down and face criminal charges.
Remember slavery in America? Why, we have presidents who took advantage of their female indentured servants and impregnated them.
You are taking the crimes of a few criminal employers and slandering an entire people with it. There are plenty of stories of employer abuse in the US - we just don't pay attention to it because there is so much crime here, the lines just blur together.
I'm amazed that the HuffPost has allowed a few posts here that are openly racist toward Arabs, saying things like "You Arabs are the most barbaric human being on this planet," and "I think Arabs are the most stupid society of the world."
Who is the racist now? Duh.
http://thefastertimes.com/lebanonandsyria/2010/01/27/ethiopian-air-409-crashes-near-beirut-the-coverage-so-far/
I agree that there needs to be an overhaul of the educational system, and of the re-institution of the value of rights in the whole country. Christian, Muslim and other sect's fundamentalist behaviors are collectively at fault here.
2. the minister of transport said the following: ""To say there was pilot error is pure speculation,""No one knows what happened in the plane and the black boxes will provide the answers." See
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h11RJ8QqROodJ38Oc0Nh0a2bWllA further, when Aridi said "a very strange and fast turn" prior to disappearing from the radar, in no way does he insinuate that it was the pilot who undertook this turn, as Galey suggests and misleads his readers.
3. That being said, you can call Naharnet racist, but not Aridi, nor an entire country for that matter. Thank you very much, mr. Galey for being a sensationalist!