“An unusual situation”
Some 80,000 Sri Lankan women who worked as maids and cleaners in Beirut are stranded in Lebanon.
They were the largest Asian community in Lebanon, so much so that a new slang word has appeared in Arabic. A “sirlanka” means a maid.This war must be stopped immediately, says Gideon Levy.Some were summarily sacked when their employers locked up their homes in panic and fled the country last week. Abandoned and penniless, they wander the streets in anxious little groups wondering what to do. Others queue at the embassy for papers to get out.
And Rami Khouri is one of the few people trying to get into Beirut rather than flee the city.
