A survey by Human Rights Watch in Lebanon has found that 17 out of 27 beach clubs enforce some kind of restriction on migrants, the BBC reports. The ban is aimed at keeping out the domestic workers from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, etc, who are employed by many Lebanese families.

The BBC quotes the manager of The Sporting Club, one of Beirut's oldest beach establishments, as saying that if he allowed entry to domestic maids "we would get complaints, I would lose customers and it would affect my business".

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 14 August 2009.