Today, having a live-in maid in Lebanon is no longer a luxury nor a distinction of social class, but a common practice for upper and middle (mostly urban) classes since the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990. Domestic work is a real market in Lebanon, segmented according to the nationality and ethnicity of the workers, and in which the Lebanese employer is master and the worker the property. Zein owns a domestic worker agency in Beirut. He arranges for Asian and African women to work in Lebanese households and assists his clients in choosing “mail-order” housemaids that will best suit their needs. Advertisement, the legal system, police are on his side. He agrees to open his agency to us.
