Sunday, May 04, 2008

Apartheid in Lebanon--call Jimmy Carter!

It is pretty well known that the Palestinians in Lebanon are among the Arab world's most badly treated Palestinians, but the facts at the end of this Daily Star excerpt are stunning:
With inflation in double digits and the cost of living rising, the Lebanese government has proposed raising the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, but Palestinians say they continue to be marginalized in the labor market. Several hundred Palestinians protested at the edge of the Shatila refugee camp in south Beirut on April 30 ahead of the May 1 Labor Day holiday, traditionally a time for workers' to air their grievances.

"We are humans, we have the right to live," shouted the protesters. "We are half-humans in Lebanon."

Palestinians in Lebanon are barred from working in 70 professional vocations. They cannot work as lawyers and doctors, and cannot own or inherit property. [...]

Half a million Lebanese are self-employed and would not benefit from the wage increase, while Palestinians do not qualify as they are refugees, not citizens, in Lebanon. They are also barred from holding jobs in dozens of occupations. [...]
Crossposted on Soccer Dad

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