[YouTube]
The other day I posted a video (check above) under the post titled “Racism in Lebanon” showing a couple trying to get their maid into Sporting Club only to be rejected. The PR manager has responded to that post with the following message:
Confusing racism with social discrimination is a CRIME.
Children posing as human right activists yelling wolf are many.
The Sporting Club swimming Center has a standing policy of not allowing in ANY maids, nanny’s, escorts, body guards, personal assitants,business men, politicians, embassadors, familes are welcome ALONE.
Moms who delegate the caring of their children to maids are not welcome.
Color of skin is God given and not for me or anyone to question.
Religion is each person’s refuge.
You and I practice daily discrimantion in our lives. for example, an office boy, a maid a porter a salesperson, etc,.. would not call by your first name, but you in turn would not address him/her as mam/sir, Khawaja, afandi, istez, beik, madam, sit so on….
when the last time anyone went to a wedding and took the maid along and sat her at the table next to him/her.
When is the last time a chauffeur was invited to have dinner or a drink in the company of his employers?
Why is it that the smallest (closet sized room) in the house is the maid’s room?
Show me Just one single person that does not practice social prejudice and I will be the first to enforce communist comaradery, Where we all wear grey (men and women). We are asexual and are all children of the state living with equal rights and performing equal duties.
McCarthy’ism eras of screaming communist at anyone you want to send to the electric chair, is over and done with.
Medieval day witch hunts are bed time stories for first grade children.Kids playing with issues such racism can only make people aware that they may want to consider being racists instead of refusing racism altogether.
In any event, The Sporting Club is target to harrassment and name calling by indiviuals we have turned away at the door.
INDYact, mentioned 1 name out the 20 they claim to have interviewd ( any guessing why 😉 )?
Maybe they should hit on the military run and operated public clubs & beaches or are they too much of cowards to put in question the social discrimination the government practices.
INDYact, should call the ministry of tourism and ask why Indian business people were refused tourist visas to Lebanon this summer.
I would love to answer any questions anyone might have.
Racial and religious discrimination are repulsive to me.
Waleed Abu Nassar
PR Manager
Sporting Club Swimming Center,
Beirut, Lebanon
Spoken like a true (albeit lacking in grammatical skills) PR man.
So basically, he’s saying that you can be either racist, or communist. Those are the two categories of people. That’s it.
Shouldn’t it be up to the employer to decided if they want to invite their chauffeur or maid to a restaurant or pool, rather than the restaurant or pool’s decision? Name a country that has a fairly decent civil/human rights record where this guy’s comments would fly. There are none.
And if racial discrimination is repulsive to him, maybe he should find a new employer and put his conscience at ease.
Sporting needs to be boycotted, as should every RACIST business in the country.
Honestly,
Whomever did this stunt is stupid. I am quite sure even without the maid, they would not let people like those in.
The guy doing the stunt is stupid , he says first she is his maid then says she is his friend . He should have said she is his friend and see what happens.
The PR manager’s response is ignorant and childish. We all know that racism is rampant in Lebanon, and this not only includes Sri Lankan maids but also syrian labourers. These people come to Lebanon because Lebanon believe it or not offers them more money than they will get back home – just like the countless lebanese all over the world who have emigrated for better opportunities and a better life.
I’d wonder how this guy would feel if his brother, uncle, or neice was discriminated against in the country they’ve emigrated to, how would he feel.
OK, it’s easy to say this is common practice in Lebanese society, and true it is, but I’ll admit, I was saddened how some of my friends in Lebanon treated their servants, maids, drivers, waiters etc… My grandparents lived in an apartment in beirut, the maids room was barely the size of a small toilet.
Rather than justify the racism practised, why not set an example.. maybe they will lose some customers initially but they can make a positive difference rather than reinforce the racism which is prevalant within this society.
Well done Waleed!
So his argument is: we do it because everybody is doing it!!! we’re racist because everybody in Lebanon is racist!!
He’s right in pointing out racism and discrimination in our society and those should be condemned too, but it doesn’t make him less RACIST, nor does it justify their so-called ‘policy’. This is completely repulsive.
Is this guy for real?!
He’s not even apologizing!
He says “Familes are welcome ALONE.”
But some of those maids are considered “family” to the kids. So fuck off with your excuses and let them in, asshole.
This is an interesting topic to discuss.
I consider maids as modern day slavery.
It disgusts me to see a family go to the pool in the heat, taking their maids with them (not to spend the day with them) but to keep an eye on their kids in the pool. The maids would be wearing their polyester (which kills a person in the heat!) uniforms, and most often don’t know how to swim, so would not be able to save the kids!
I feel sorry for those maids, sitting in the heat in their polyester uniforms, watching families enjoying their times while her “mama” is in a bikini tanning in the pool, drinking her vin rose, and complaining about the heat.
There are several places that do not allow maids to go in. It’s not for racist reasons. For example, restaurant X does not allow maids walk in. If however, the maid was to go to restaurant X with her friends in her regular clothing, they would allow her in.
In regards to Waleed Abu Nassar, he needs to work on his writing style and method of communication. PR 101. Let him contact me, I provide training.
The video just loaded from my side, the cashiers response is totally different from Waleed Abu Nassar. The guy says it’s because she is black and not because she is a maid. That my dear PR friend is called RACISM.
Your response therefore is totally irrelevant. Your reason for saying, hey everyone else is racist too, is pathetic as well since we are all trying to make a change. I am sick of people not allowing
people in because of race! I am foreign friends who go to Lebanon on tourism and are treated disgustfully just because of their race.
A chinese friend of mine, walked into a store and the lady there thought she was a philipino or something (which isn’t an excuse). The sales lady told my friend to leave because she wouldn’t be able to afford anything in the store! My friend did give her a piece of her mind, informing the sales lady that its her job to show her any item she chooses and only she can decide if she affords it or not. BTW, this Chinese friend of mine makes around $9000 a month.
To begin with, the kids at INDYact claim that the frontdesk clerk turned away the young woman because she is black, then as they are leaving shouts out that the Sporting Club practices racism against black and yellow!!!!
Get real! how did this numb skull arrive at this conclusion?
In what is a maid (regardless of skin color) better than the hundreds of Lebanese we turn away at the door every day?
Racists are those who believe that skin color affords them some kind of immunity or special treatment.
If ‘racism is rampant in Lebanon’, then go pick on those racists.
Social discrimination is subject of debates, forums and church sermons.
Why not go after hospitals, embassies, and public institutions such as government run beach clubs. Why not go after architects who design closet sized rooms for maids.
To answer LebExil: When goverments stop discriminating against foreigners, when your bank gives you the same tratement as a prime client, when there are no more first class seats on airplanes, when Aishti and Akil cater to the same clients, when the president and the doorman fraternize, shame me for my practices.
Until then, it is business as usual at the Sporting Club.
The membership application form at the Sporting Club reads: Education…….., Occupation………, Reference……..
If you fit our requirements then you are welcome to join the club or still boycott as you see fit!
Whether you like it or not, the screening process is standard practice at private clubs ( The Sporting Club is NOT a public beach club ).
Thank you for the free advertising all the same!
Waleed,
As a member at the club, am I allowed to invite my guests?
I am enrolled in one of the region’s leading clubs. They allow me to invite a limited amount of guests, and my maid or nanny if I chose to do so.
If you read my previous comment you would know what my opinion is to your Akl vs. Aishti comment. If I am black, Aishti cannot kick me out. I may afford what they have or not. Hell, as a Lebanese I may not afford what they have, but I have every right to go in and check it out. They can’t kick me out because of my race and they certainly do not ask me what my income is at the door.
Your banking comment too is totally irrelevant. I may go in an open an account, no matter what my race is, and once I do bank in a certain amount I get a certain treatment. Clubs do that too, you get regular memberships, and higher more premium memberships providing you more benefits and privileges.
First class and economy? Really? What is this Madagascar 2?
you persist in calling confusing racism (Issues of color) with social discrimination.
The Sporting Club owns an Indian restaurant that caters to the Sri lanki, Indian and Pakistani embassies among others. I work out deals with travel agencies to serve tourists coming in from India.
Arguments relatating to race and color are not acceptable arguments or screening critrias used by the Sporting Club.
You are wrong when you say that the front desk manager mentioned color in the video tape.
He specifically says that the girl could not come in because she is a maid. the idiot from INDYact yelled black and yellow.
You do not agree with our membership and admittance policies.. that is your prerogative.
I ask you again, In what is a maid (regardless of skin color) better than the hundreds of Lebanese we turn away at the door every day?
wow! typical defense behavior: to avoid taking the blame by saying others are doing it too. walid are you for real?????
i invite you to read another beach club racist incident:
http://ethiopiansuicides.blogspot.com/2010/07/one-more-lebanese-beach-story.html
Waleed… I’ve discontinued this discussion since it seems very one ended.
Enjoy the Sporting Club.
Waleed, you talk of Sporting as if it were a prime club. Your club is nothing but a filthy and dirty place. The food sucks, the bathrooms are dirty, and the water is disgusting. You are covering that with strict entrance policies to convince the “elite” people to come and feel privileged in their own little world. Beddak fatt khebez.
Walid said:
“Arguments relatating to race and color are not acceptable arguments or screening critrias used by the Sporting Club.”
So you are saying that had those IndyAct people tried to enter Sporting with their Lebanese driver, they would have been turned away at the door? Does your doorman ask the occupation of every guest that a member brings to the club?
Please get off your high horse and just admit that they were not allowed in SPECIFICALLY because of the color of the maid’s skin, and no other reason.
If Nelson Mandela (in shorts and T-shirt) were their guest instead of the maid, the doorman’s first instinct would have been to turn them away. Don’t try to tell me that isn’t racism.
you guys treat your maids like slaves, you make them work a whole month for a 100 $ and you have the guts to pull an act like this, and i bet half of you if not all who replied are a slave masters or your mommy and daddy are.. the first thing u think of when you see a black man that he’s a cleaner, a black woman a maid.. and you still call them “3abid” based on the color of their skins. I love it how suddenly everyone is a preacher.
but truth be said both sides are wrong
Yewah: Maybe you think that because that’s how you are but don’t come in here and accuse us all of being like you. If you’re racist thats you but I’m not and I don’t appreciate you calling me one.
There is only one side thats wrong here and thats the side that performed the racist act which in this case was the club.
I totally agree with Walid,
She was discriminated because shes a maid and not because shes black.
very different.
Ive seen black people at beaches, never seen them discriminated against.
Should be maids allowd to enter night-clubs? Why doesnt everybody sew White or Skybar for not letting you in?
You know, I think we might be mixing too many things under the ‘racism’ umbrella.
Here’s what beach resorts, much like the Sporting Club, are confronted with every day: parents who send their children at the beach with the “Nanny’. Oh but she is not a nanny like those the previous generation knew. She is someone who had to travel miles and miles away to go “learn” how to work in a completely different culture. Unfortunately, most Lebanese wives here, have taken up this nasty habit to have their housekeepers handle responsibilities of housekeeper, babysitter, cook, nanny, tutor for the easy stuff, middleman with the school, gardener, dog-walker et j’en passe! You know, like a ‘mail-order surrogate mother’. Some parents actually go as far as to send the housekeeper to PTA meetings…
These women send their kids to the beach with the housekeeper, but who handles the responsibility of the child if anything God forbid should happen to him/her? The housekeeper? No, the beach resort, or the sports club, etc.
The intention of INDYact is noble, and their concern (and ours) is absolutely valid, but this specific approach is very poor. Has anyone considered what an ill-founded approach to spreading different cultures and acceptance like these risk teaching others? Has anyone considered the fact that they may very well teach ppl that ‘anyone of a different culture works for you’?
Sadly, there are many racist venues in Lebanon, I can cite quite a few.
Here’s a family-owned resort, that has been hosting ppl of various cultures for decades, where none of the people my family knows or knows of, have had any issues getting in.
Stephanie, why are you blaming it on Lebanese women only? Why is it a woman’s job to take care of the kids? Because Lebanese society still thinks this way, it does not provide services for such as daycare, which is why many women that want to work rely on nannies. Yes, I hate it too, and yes, I do think that some people use the nanny as an excuse not to take care of their children on Sundays for example, but what can Lebanese women do without proper institutions that make it possible for them to work?
Thank you Stephanie for speaking out for the Sporting Club.
I do not care to defend our policies or who and why we let in or refuse entry to the Sporting Club.
When I was just 16, I was kicked out along with 27 other kids whose familes were members of the Sporting Club for looking like slobs, badly groomed, wearing cut off jeans with fuzz growing on our faces. The look and attire was not appropriate then as far as the Sporting Club’s managemet was concerned. It took us a whole month of begging before we ALL got decent haircuts tokk off our facial hair and wore appropriate beach attire.
In the early nighties anyone with tatoos, piercings and odd looking was immediately turned away at the door.
Accusation of racist policies being enforced at the Sporting Club is total crap and bull and silly publicity stunts by indy sometihng!
You as all of our members know better, so I really do not care for silly people passing prejudicial judgment on myself or the Sporting Club.
I am more than willing to discuss and argue social discrimination and listen to any arguments our policies in this regards.
correction:
I am more than willing to discuss and argue social discrimination and listen to any arguments against our policies in this regards
I didn’t know Sporting Club was that classy? Isn’t this the one near Raouche?
I am starting to feel you could get in the Playboy mansion before being allowed in the Sporting club.
Racism and social class differences is shocking in Lebanon. There should be a vast social education in schools, on billboards, in social clubs, to educate forst the parents and then the children. Our society is based on money, you as a person are judged on your bank account, or your social status. Very shallow society, nothing else counts, and it is scary to see what generation we have produced. Lebanon needs a big social awakening in all aspects and it needs it NOW.