Elia Ayoub

Racism on Halloween

Three three lovely ladies
Three three lovely ladies

Three very sophisticated Lebanese women clearly thought this was an appropriate costume for Halloween. After all why not? Why not dress up as black maids? It’s not like trying to dress up as Lebanon’s quasi-slaves can’t have some entertainment value. ‘Heik heik’ they’re already degraded to the level of sub-human, why not at least get a laugh?

I’m just trying to figure out what could have possibly gone through their minds, but I can’t seem to find anything remotely sensible. This is as degrading as what Life bar tried to do almost two years ago. Dehumanizing, disgraceful and just pathetic. The good news is that Filipinos didn’t seem to be the main target here. But I guess they had some black makeup around and simply had to use it, so Ethiopians and Sri Lankans were the lucky winners. I don’t know which nationality was the target here, but anyway our racists use “Sirlankyyeh” (literally: Sri Lankan woman) for all female migrant workers – No, I’m not kidding.

Now I know that it’s very likely that at least one person reading this would know who these three women are. I don’t want their names. I don’t really care. Just let them know that their faces have now gone viral.

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55 responses to “Racism on Halloween”

  1. DM Avatar
    DM

    “Three very sophisticated lebanese woman” .. AND a man (on the right).. don’t be sexist 🙂

  2. HummusForThought Avatar
    HummusForThought

    Yes discrimination is everywhere. Among Lebanese it’s not as common anymore but migrants are often discriminated against, whether we’re talking about Asians, Africans or even Arabs (Egyptians, Palestinians and Syrians) and Kurds.

  3. reutn92 Avatar
    reutn92

    there’s a lot of racism in israel, no doubt about it. between jews and arabs, and even between jews and jews (religous and non-religous, and also about jews that came from different places in the world, and offcourse against jews who came from ethiopia cos they’re black)..

    we can say “when im older i’ll have a filipinit from russia” without even thinking about what it means..

  4. HummusForThought Avatar
    HummusForThought

    I doubt that a nationality being used for a job is good news even if some don’t mean anything bad. I can’t speak for Israel, but in Lebanon it’s not out of good intentions.

  5. Reut Avatar
    Reut

    in israel when we wanna say that some old man\woman have a woman to take care of them, we say “filipinit” (female filipin in hebrew), even if this woman isnt from filipines.. i dont think its from a bad intention, my grandmoter RIP had a filipin woman (yeah, from filipines) to take care of her, and she was like an aunt for us, part of the family..

  6. A Avatar
    A

    Unbelievable!! Thanks!

  7. rosette Avatar
    rosette

    It’s basically a way of mopping that involves tossing bucketfuls of water onto the floor (usually outdoors) and sweeping or pushing out the water and all the dirt…what a hashtag, huh?

  8. A Avatar
    A

    Sorry, could someone tell me what “shattif” means exactly? I’m a foreigner and I’ve never heard it before. I can’t seem to find it anywhere else.
    Thank you

  9. sara m Avatar
    sara m

    As distasteful as these costumes are, people like to dress provocatively on Halloween! Now I have to admit, some costumes are too offensive but going after every mean/racist costume out there begs the question, what’s the point of Halloween?
    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/boston-bombing-victim-costume-sparks-outrage-threats-online-article-1.1505395

  10. anon Avatar
    anon

    When they offend someone like that in public they lose their right to privacy. The pseudo-intelligence of the people defending what these girls did is disgusting

  11. Sandypandy Avatar
    Sandypandy

    Maybe before you talk about racism you should consider the fact that you just posted someones picture without their knowledge and permission.. I think maybe you should respect their right to privacy before you call them racists and slander them online 🙂

  12. HummusForThought Avatar
    HummusForThought

    Check my other articles on the subject. There are loads.

  13. Darren Avatar
    Darren

    What is the point of your article? ‘Oh look at how bad they are’ I can pretty much guarantee that this hasn’t in the slightest made people step back and look at how they see others. It’ll make people angry and generate hate. How about articles showing different races working together? Or helping one another out? Lead by example. Instead of pointin out the negativity how about you give some positives? Meh but that doesn’t get the hits right?

  14. Zakaria Tagaizine Avatar
    Zakaria Tagaizine

    Of course you don’t get how demeaning it is to label black people as domestic workers and top it with a #shattifgood ! I don’t see how it could ever be racist ? I don’t see how could that hurt my feelins If I were to be that person represented with that costume.

  15. Ali Avatar
    Ali

    Sadder than the photo you posted are some of the comments on here. This isn’t ‘funny’, it isn’t ‘just a joke’, it’s extremely insensitive, especially when you think about everything that’s been happening in Lebanon with regards to migrant workers. If you showed this to workers here, most of them probably wouldn’t find it funny. I guess no one can stop those girls from dressing up like that, but it is insensitive and tasteless and I hope they accept all that’s being said about them, they should try to take it in humor if they’d like.
    In my opinion, they deserve all the shit they’re going to get for this and more. Tfih 3laykon ma awsakhkon ya bala tirbeyeh.

  16. Shanghai Child Avatar
    Shanghai Child

    Ugh. Lebanese civil society is frozen in the 19th century. This is the sort of boorish shit that makes me want to never go back.

  17. nadine Avatar
    nadine

    Okay now your generalizing. Not all middle/upper class Lebanese are like that. I think it natural that every society has some fucked up people and for us its these three girls…and many more of course.

  18. nadine Avatar
    nadine

    Very true my friend, but you have to respect as well before you teach others how to respect

  19. Nayla Saab Avatar
    Nayla Saab

    I just wanna slap the smiles off these idiots’ faces!!
    Really disgusting! What a disgrace to our shallow society!

  20. HY Avatar
    HY

    Dumb ass b**ches

  21. AM Avatar
    AM

    As shocked as I was by the disgusting and shameful idea of these girls, I am even more shocked by the people who say it’s okay seriously this is just too much of a shame for our country

  22. Leemee Avatar
    Leemee

    No need to be so dramatic.

    This is a costume like any other, with the difference that it is very representative of our retarded society, unfortunately.
    I tend to think that this costume is a criticism of our society and not the evidence of it because if these girls were racists they wouldn’t accept to wear it (P.S. I am just guessing I don’t know any of the girls).
    I guess we should know the real version of facts before judging.

    Have fun a little.

    #shattifgood#reallymademelaugh!#unfortunately

  23. Tamam Tawk (@TamamTawk) Avatar
    Tamam Tawk (@TamamTawk)

    You should note that the use of black makeup or black face is steeped in racism. It dates back to when white people would put on black face and act out paint on their faces and act out incredibly racist and offensive stereotypes. So this is racism compounded with racism. These people make me sick.

  24. Bassem Deaibess Avatar
    Bassem Deaibess

    It is RACISM when you consider it COMMON that maids are always Black.

  25. HummusForThought Avatar
    HummusForThought

    Agreed

  26. MH Avatar
    MH

    Racism and quasi-tribalism are quite entrenched in our Lebanese society to the extent that merely voicing one’s opinion about it can cause him or her to be ridiculed.

    Why am I not surprised? Lebanon has elements of a tribal society in different respects, quite evident nowadays in political, economic and religious spheres, all of which intersect naturally. If we discriminate among our own why should one be surprised we discriminate against other races, religions, ethnicities, etc… We will have to come to terms among ourselves first to be able to move ahead as a whole society, and by whole I don’t mean we will become “one”. We do not have to become one, but rather respect (not just tolerate, though this would be an important first step) each community and find common areas rather than only highlight differences that tear us further apart.

    By the way, for those who are not aware, increasing ethnic/religious tensions are a global trend although we are its front-runners. It is REALLY ok to be mediocre and even a weak performer in this respect.

    Sorry to have digressed, but it is a note worth mentioning that our social issues start getting resolved by addressing the ones separating us; if not first, then at least in tandem.

    To all those attempting to raise awareness on discrimination in its different forms: I salute thee. With all due respect though, these ladies should not be made scapegoats. Their behavior is the product of their social circles.

  27. Roy Avatar
    Roy

    epic, I love it (:

  28. Mari Avatar
    Mari

    There’s no need for sarcasm when you’re talking about people that are so blatantly ignorant. But regardless, nice to see people highlight the stupidity of the middle/upper class Lebanese- whom the majority think their shit doesn’t stink. It disgusts me to see how cruel they are, even in public. They don’t realize how much of a fool they make themselves out to be when they behave in such manners.

  29. HummusForThought Avatar
    HummusForThought

    Sarcasm

  30. Mari Avatar
    Mari

    Why would you even consider calling these woman very “sophisticated?” Sophisticated people are educated.

  31. P Avatar
    P

    I love how Lebanese love to ape the west and laughingly think they’re white. Well, I’ve got news for you: in the rest of the world, you’re the third-world ‘abid (sand niggers, sales arabes, dune coons, etc.). So maybe instead of putting on black face and acting like racist jerks as you exploit people who are just a rung down on the economic ladder (because they don’t have the luck of having an immigrant uncle working in the Gulf or Canada), you should show a little bit of solidarity by treating these people as human beings.

  32. teescup Avatar
    teescup

    Obnoxious brats. That goes for their like-minded modern day clan like supporters commenting above. The fuck is wrong with you people? You sound like the kind of people who would also be quite lax regarding this product: http://cdn2.holytaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/192.jpg

    And this is why its racist, although I am beyond shocked that this even needs to be clarified:
    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/30/blackface-halloween-costumes-obviously-offensive

    COMMON GUYS LIGHTEN UP ITS JUST SOME HARMLESS RACISM, HA HA.

    Fuck you.

  33. nadine Avatar
    nadine

    Jokes are meant to be funny, not racist or anything that disdains anyone.

  34. bigdeal Avatar
    bigdeal

    Hahahaha #shattifgood !!! Big deal get over it. Any of the haters bloggers blogging against this probably have maids as well. Take a joke, don’t dramatize it

  35. rosette Avatar
    rosette

    Hashtag SHATTIF GOOD?!

    Jesus Christ.

  36. Sabine Avatar
    Sabine

    P.S: If “Meet the Koumaris” isn’t racist, I don’t know what is.

  37. HummusForThought Avatar
    HummusForThought

    See my reply to Bob below. You clearly didn’t get the point.

  38. HummusForThought Avatar
    HummusForThought

    Read the post and check out the comments. You might get an idea. Cheers.

  39. HummusForThought Avatar
    HummusForThought

    Kobe Bryant is an Ethiopian or Sri Lankan maid? Did you even notice the hashtag #shattifgood? Or is you point that Kobe Bryant is black and therefore a completely perfect example to use here despite the fact that he’s an American and the other two are from Africa and Asia respectively?

    If Kobe Bryant had a “common white Lebanese” as a slave at home and lived in a society where “common white Lebanese” were denied basic human rights pertaining to working conditions, then yes it’d be quite insulting of him to dress up as a “common white Lebanese”. The only possible acceptable scenario here is if he was making a satiric political statement to protest the poor working conditions of the “common white Lebanese”. Is that what these lovely ladies were doing? Or were they laughing and openly mocking all female domestic workers in Lebanon? #Shattifgood sort of answers that.

    Who gives a fuck that they put on black make-up? Did you even read what I wrote? The point is that they were mocking a whole class of people who are already degraded to the point of slaves or quasi-slaves.

    I’m sort of assuming that you know these three girls because your ‘comment’ was quite personal. You pretty much called for me to commit suicide, ironically, because I was the one being hateful.

    You’re swimming in irony here my friend.

  40. fxck Avatar
    fxck

    Fuck Lebanese people. Most racist Arabs.

  41. nadine Avatar
    nadine

    Clearly the people who think this is okay are NOT okay. Its not about painting yourself black thats completely normal. Yet,it is taking a race and generalizing, “meet the kumaris” as if all sri lankins are called kumari and all woman called kumari are maids. Oh and ofcourse you cannot forget the hashtag #shattifgood . What people really need to do is respect the people that clean up their shit and shattif their brains to realize how absurd and disgusting this is.

  42. Sabine Avatar
    Sabine

    Thank you.

  43. Sabine Avatar
    Sabine

    It’s not about the skin color. If I wanted to dress up as Barack Obama or Samuel L.Jackson I would have painted my face in dark brown. Every person has a different skin color, and we all know that. This is not the problem at all.

    The problem is how degrading this is to maids. Being a maid is a job like any other.
    Or no, not really like any other: It’s fucking tiring full time job (24/7), where you have to live (or for most be imprisoned) in a house, with people you don’t know (that most of the time make fun of you all day long and talk to you as if you were retarded just because you don’t really understand their language, arabic. But do they speak yours?), and help them (or again, for most, be their slave) for a miserable salary.

    I would love to see you take their place and then see people dressed up in the degrading clothes you are forced to wear everyday, making fun of the fact that what you do is clean, and kind of implying that all the people who do the same job you do are black (for example, why didn’t one of these girl just “stayed white”?). All this with a big proud smile on their faces.

    You don’t need to be a genius to realize that this is not harmless. Don’t be so naive. We all know these kind of people. We all know that sadly, the majority of lebanese people are racists. True racists. For God’s sake! These maids don’t even have the right to swim in beach resorts because the spoiled retarded people of Lebanon don’t want (or are too superior) to swim in the same pools as maids! Why? Why is a maid any different to any of you?! She just has a different job then your lucky parents.
    And speaking of swimming, do you know where these spoiled girls are planning to go swim and tan this summer?
    http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/45/a4/db/beach-arugam-bay.jpg
    I’ll let them guess where this is.

    You should start looking at the problem by a different angle. The maids angle. With all the mockery and disrespect they have been through everyday since they arrived to our country. And then maybe you will understand why this is racist, and different from an Obama or nurse costume.

  44. Zeinab Avatar
    Zeinab

    indeed

  45. Lara Avatar
    Lara

    This is just too shameful. I cannot believe that some people don’t recognize the immorality of this!

  46. Zeinab Avatar
    Zeinab

    Halloween yekhedkon

  47. D Avatar
    D

    The costume is one thing but That so many people don’t see what the big deal in it is, just disgusts me.

  48. Normal Avatar
    Normal

    It is a very normal costume, i don’t see what is the big deal about it. Stupid bloggers and people want to pretend that they care about others. I am sure in normal life they are the most racist people. Get a life bit….

  49. Layal Avatar
    Layal

    You just asked a very important question “what went through their minds”? Well apparently they don’t have a mind. Because a mind is what differentiates us from animals however they just have a brain which joins them with animals. Forgive my language but I believe this is the way such women should be described.

  50. aboudi Avatar
    aboudi

    1) if a black person paints themselves with white paint it would still be wrong.
    2) being racist is not “trendy”.
    3) learn english.

    these girls obviously aren’t the brightest bulbs. if this is the generation thats going to the save Lebanon, then we’re in a lot of trouble.

  51. bob Avatar
    bob

    The writer of this article is the racist for interpreting this HALLOWEEN COSTUME in this manner. What if kobe bryant dressed like a common white lebanese and grew a mustache ? will he be interpreted as a racist for dressing like a terrorist ?? pff people like you need to jump off a cliff for spreading such unbiased hate

  52. jade Avatar
    jade

    Get a life all of you i wonder if a black person painted himself as a white guy what do you call that !!!? Just enjoy and let the others enjoy the core of it is fun not any racist point. Lebanese people got nothing except trends one day lets defend the bugs rights another day lets defend gods right you made us sick the human nature survived all these years without any rights. So please don’t show off about you’re defending this or that that won’t make you popular!!

  53. nicocohayek Avatar
    nicocohayek

    I can’t really find what’s the big deal, and i never support racism acts especially in our country, but what they did is nothing of the sort! What if someone showed up as Michael Jordan or Barack Obama? Would you have the same reaction? They’re both as real as you and me; but one is a more common sighting in lebanon.

  54. nedhamson Avatar
    nedhamson

    Reblogged this on Ned Hamson Second Line View of the News and commented:
    No sense=no shame

  55. nathalie derderian Avatar
    nathalie derderian

    This is a shame!! Its not enough that these people put up with workin nonstop for a salary that is meaningless, its not enough how much they go thru away from their families. But this is pity!! a shame !!! that 3 young girls could be soo emotionless about them! these are people too! even better than us! They would do anything to bring bread to their families abroad !! You are heartless! Color and nationality doesnt define who u are, actions do.. and by seeing ur actions i guess u need to grow alot and get waaaay wiser just to get a lil close to these people’s humbleness! Idiots

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