“Employment agencies and employers treat us as if we were human goods!” said Adanesh Worko, an Ethiopian worker at a home in Beirut. “Sometimes I was beaten and denied food, but because of my contract I couldn’t choose to work somewhere else, or return home. My boss said ‘I bought you. Pay me $2,000 and then you can leave wherever you want. ‘”
About 250,000 domestic workers are believed to be living in Lebanon, and around 99% of them are migrants with work permits. The majority are women from Ethiopia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who are earning between $150 and $400 a month.
The recent economic crisis in Lebanon has left many of them without work, but those who are still working are still subject to a “kafala” or funding system that has been likened to modern slavery and causes they are at the mercy of the employer.
Under this system, which has been denounced by civil society organizations and human rights associations, migrant workers cannot terminate their employment contracts without the consent of their employers. This system gives employers almost complete control over the lives of workers, and leaves them vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and abuse. And, if they escaped, it would become illegal for them to stay in this country.
The most basic human rights of workers – such as the right to work specific hours; the right to keep personal documents such as passports or residence cards; and the right to rest, move freely, communicate with friends and family, and enjoy other personal freedoms – are not respected, according to human rights sources,
IOM / Muse Mohammed
Many migrants in Lebanon have lost their jobs as domestic workers.
UN backs end of kafala . system
“Kafa”, a Lebanese association supported by UN Women, which provides services to female migrant workers who experience sexual and physical violence by their sponsors. This organization focuses on protecting female domestic workers, especially those experiencing violence, by providing them with shelter and a range of legal, social, and health services. and psychological.
The association believes that many suicides among migrant domestic workers are linked to poor treatment and lack of even the most basic of rights. Other reasons, according to Kafa, include a lack of legal protection, as they are not considered workers under Lebanese labor law.
ONE report carried out by a number of United Nations agencies and academic partners in June declared that the Lebanese Government had primary responsibility for addressing abuses against migrant workers in the country, and called for calls for the dismantling of the kafala system and the creation of legal protections for all domestic workers in Lebanon.
This article is one of a series of multimedia features published as part of activities to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of UN Durban Declaration, is considered a historic milestone in the global fight against racism.
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