Lebanese are known throughout the world for their intelligence, sophistication, and business acumen.  Indeed, their effortless fluency in Arabic, English, and French speaks to the heart of the cosmopolitan image the Diaspora has carried across the globe.  But that depiction belies a disturbing reality at home in which Lebanon continues to confront chronic racism, abuse, and xenophobia.   Two recent incidents shed light on how bigotry within its borders threatens to undermine Lebanon's image abroad and dampen its growth as a regional economic power.

First, reports this week by Human Rights Watch detail the brutal abuse of more than 72 migrant workers at the hands of the Lebanese Army in Geitawi, Beirut.  The male workers - from Syria, Egypt, and Sudan - were roused on the night of October 7th by soldiers who accused them of harassing women in the area and proceeded to beat them with their firsts, boots, and rifle butts.  This development comes on the heels of an earlier report of army brutality against migrant workers in Achrafieh.  No charges were filed against the workers-who produced papers supporting their valid residency-in either incident.  The army has not commented on the attack, though Nadim Houry, deputy director of MENA for Human Rights Watch, urged the government to investigate and punish the attacks, saying that "by acting in such a nasty and possibly xenophobic attack against migrants, these soldiers acted more like a gang than a national institution."

Meanwhile, the Lebanese airline MEA announced today that it had dismissed a female employee who had reportedly "[singled out] Filipino and Nepalese customers over the loudspeaker Saturday evening at the Beirut airport, instructing them to be quiet and laughing at them in a mocking way."  MEA also reprimanded her male coworker who encouraged her behavior.  While the swift action of MEA was welcomed by Lebanese citizens and other travelers alike, it should not distract from the fact that this incident is just the latest in a string of examples of business discrimination in Lebanon-earlier this summer a private beach in Lebanon was caught on video denying entry to a migrant worker, despite a new law banning precisely that practice.

These startling incidents paint a picture of multiculturalism in Lebanon which is at odds with what the world sees abroad.  More importantly, it is in stark contrast to what the world should expect from a country often thought to be at the forefront of social progress in the Middle East.  Lebanon ought to strengthen enforcement of the present anti-discrimination legislation the government has passed to avoid further cementing its growing reputation as a country hostile to migrant labor.  At a time when the strength of Lebanon's economy will play a key role in guarding its independence from the region's tumult, Lebanon can hardly afford to let 'bad blood' divert eager workers to Egypt or Turkey.  After all, as Beirut seeks to reclaim the tired title of the 'Paris of the Middle East,' it would do well to outperform the Parisians in accommodating foreign workers, lest it create its own, festering banlieues.