http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7786612.stm

Why are these issues of slavery, proto-slavery, and abuse so consistent and so predictable? What’s going on?

@ Kawthar: Thanks for the reminder that this is only the first stage of the ads. It will be interesting to see what comes from the next stages.

I’m still skeptical though about whether these ads really do “remind viewers of the humanity of migrant workers.” I think they do a good job of showing people that it’s wrong to mistreat the workers, but the campaign still portrays them as victims and doesn’t give them much voice.

@ s.c.: Thanks for sharing those stories. I think you’re right that hierarchies of citizenship and belonging also factor heavily into the treatment that these workers receive (and we can ask questions about whether the framing done by this campaign does much to disrupt those hierarchies, even while it does at least call on people to stop the abuse.)

@ Rayhana and laila: Yeah, I would have liked to see something about justice in there too. I wouldn’t say that the word “mercy” has no place at all, but I would rather see it framed as an urge to show compassion because we’re all human and equal, rather than a supposedly gracious act performed by the more powerful, which, as you pointed out, is what we’re seeing in these ads.

@ forsoothsayer: From what I’ve read, the intention of the campaign *is* to focus on domestic workers. I’ve also seen the ad that you’re talking about, but from my understanding from the descriptions that I’ve read, the woman in the beginning was someone who worked in his house (not his wife), and the guy he yells at on the street is also supposed to be understood as a migrant worker (although there is nothing that explicitly identifies him as such aside from his skin colour, which is kind of disturbing – the ad is using racialised markers to indicate that someone is a foreign worker.) And yeah, it would be nice if the ads promoted general better behaviour!

But all the other ads (print and television) from this campaign portray very specific situations involving domestic workers, and the campaign itself is talked about as focusing directly on that issue.

I’ve seen public service announcements on various kinds of TV stations in Canada (public and private) – I’m guessing that from what you said, this is unusual on the stations where it is being broadcast? Did you have your own speculations on the motivations behind it?

[This comment has been edited to fit within moderation guidelines.]

It’s good to hear about this campaign finally taking root. It’s so shameful to see Muslims behaving this way towards those socioeconomically lower than them, be they other Muslims or nonMuslims. Alot of these terrible attitudes stem from the scourge of (Arab) nationalism and racism, in which a distorted view of history makes Arabs think they are the “best” Muslims, their culture is special, their countries are rich, blah blah blah. Many of them are either ignorant of or choose to ignore the Rasuls (SAW) famous Farewell speech, in which he proclaimed that “a non-Arab is not better than an Arab nor an Arab better than a non-Arab. Likewise a black is not better than a white nor a white better than a black”. I get infuriated when such people try to use Islam to justify their jahili behavior. Shame on them and on those who condone them.

I thought the same thing! This is not about showing Mercy, it’s about Justice; the rights a human being is Entitled too. Justice would be a better determent of discouraging somebody from abusing another human being. Rayhana you nailed it Mercy is like compassion and forgiveness in particularly to somebody a person has power over. So… are the employers forgiving the labours for asking to be treated with dignity and respect. “I’m going to show you mercy because your Beneath me or poor, or incompetent etc” . Your right Krista this excludes them.

WTF???, what if we used this campaign of Mercy in North America with our minorities (African-American, Natives, Latinos etc.), how would it sound? Show mercy to the black man or the Latino.

You do not have to show me Mercy but I am entitled to justice

I understand why they use the Campaign of “Mercy”, because the labourers are at the mercy of employers, the labourers are completely unprotected against the many abuses they face (verbal, sexual, physical abuses). The INSTITUTIONS have failed to protect them.

I beg to ask Krista, what happened to emphasizing the Islamic traditions of Justice?

It’s quite telling that the campaign trying to persuade wealthy Muslims against the rape and cruel physical abuse of their employees should focus upon “mercy,” as if to an animal, rather than “justice,” as to another human equal in the eyes of God and the law.

I’m not from the middle east or the gulf, but I think that your point about language is very important, the “they” “them” references to guest workers I think, also reflects a state of citizenship, or citizenship status of these workers. Many of these guest workers have been in those countries for a very long time and will never be eligible for citizenship. They’re assumed to be “temporary” but I suppose that depends on what temporary means.

I have never been there, but as a South Asian, I know many many people who have come to Canada after living there, there’s a lot of resentment, and a lot of hurt, especially with the younger generation that went there with their families. A friend of mine, originally from India (but born in the gulf) once told me how that experience has made her feel as though she doesn’t belong anywhere, even though she’s ethnically Indian, she’s never had a chance to connect with India. I asked her how it was any different from me being of Indian origin in Canada and she explained that it is different than being Indian in Canada, where you can claim full legal citizenship and become an Indo-Canadian (but there is still debate in Canada over the idea of a multicultural hyphenated citizenship).

I don’t know if this reflects some idea that there is an authentic Muslim, but many South Asians who are Muslim also talk of being viewed as “crypto-Hindu’s” (i.e. – idol worshipers in a place where the worship of physical symbols of the divine is really looked down upon; I can’t imagine what it’s like for those that are really Hindu) because of their very “Hindu” culture (A relative of mine, not a guest worker though, wore a sari and a decorative bindi to a fancy dinner party hosted by a local family and was asked why she was dressed as a Hindu and then told that she should dress more like a Muslim, never mind that Muslim women in South Asia have been wearing sari’s for hundreds and hundreds of years now), and therefore, less authentically Muslim than the local population of the gulf states. If this is true (and again, my information is all anecdotal), references to proper religious etiquette might not really make a difference.

I find the Rahma part particularly appealing, I’m glad a campaign like this is coming out, and I hope that it does have a positive effect