Lebanon urged to worry about the fate of domestic workers thrown into the street

"The scene is happening every day," said Diala Haidar, Amnesty International's campaign manager in Lebanon. Cars stop and dump in front of the Ethiopian embassy in Beirut the domestic workers whose Lebanese families want to get rid of because of the economic crisis that is affecting the country.

For several weeks, the sidewalk facing the embassy has not been empty, mattresses and suitcases piled up on the floor. These Ethiopian migrants have nowhere to go, and not enough money to house themselves. "The return ticket to Ethiopia is too expensive for them, and the situation is made even more difficult with the coronavirus, because the airport is closed," explains Diala Haidar, joined in Beirut by France 24.

These street maids hope that the authorities in their countries can help them. But very often, the Ethiopian Embassy does nothing. "Some of the women I spoke to were not even received by consular staff who refuse to let them in," said Diala Haidar.

Some have suffered physical or sexual violence

In early June, around 30 of them were temporarily accommodated by the Lebanese authorities in a hotel. "To my knowledge, no other operations have been carried out since," said Diala Haidar. "The only people who help these women are the NGOs, the Ethiopian community of Beirut, which brings them food, and Lebanese moved by their fate, who pay for hotel nights." Amnesty International calls on the Lebanese state to respond by providing "housing, food, health care and all necessary assistance to female migrant workers who have lost their jobs." 

Lebanon is frequently accused of laxity in the face of the exploitation of foreign servants, which has long been denounced by human rights associations. They request in particular the abolition of the "kafala" system. It allows an employer to become the legal sponsor of his employee in Lebanon and the latter cannot resign without his authorization. Nothing also prevents the employer from confiscating his passport, leaving him entirely at his mercy.

Currently, some 250,000 immigrant workers, often Ethiopians, Philippines and Sri Lankans, but also Sierra Leoneans and Ghanaians, are employed under this system, which deprives them of the provisions of the right to work. Some are paid as little as $ 150 a month.

Migrant workers face racism, hate and lack of health care across the #Gulf and neighboring countrieshttps: //t.co/AZl3iMZdAl#Lebanon #Kuwait #SaudiArabia #Qatar #UAE # Bahrain @ khalidibrahim12 pic.twitter.com/yeH3liRskg

Subject to severe criticism, the kafala opens the door to other serious abuses. According to Doctors Without Borders, six of the Ethiopian employees who have been in front of the consulate in recent weeks have had to be hospitalized for psychiatric problems, some having suffered physical or sexual violence.

Lebanese Black Lives Matter

Lebanese authorities have recently toughened the tone, threatening to punish employers who do not respect the contract signed with their employees, by confiscating their passports or paying them no wages. 

But for Diala Haidar, "it is not enough if there are no inspection mechanisms". "Lebanon must abolish the kafala and integrate immigrant workers into the labor law," she said. 

With the globalization of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, calls to end the kafala have multiplied in the country. An online petition to demand the abolition of this regime, described by its authors as "neo-slavery", has already collected more than 30,000 signatures.

Driven by general mobilization, the Lebanese Ministry of Labor was forced to react by organizing a meeting on June 19 with the International Labor Organization and NGOs, including Amnesty International.

ورشة عمل اليوم في الوزارة حول # عقد_العمل_الموحد للعاملات في الخدمة المنزلية ضمن مبادرة # إصلاح_نظام_الكفالة بمشاركة فريق من منظمة العمل الدولية, منظمة العفو الدولية, كاريتاس, منظمة كفى وهيومن رايتس ووتش. # وزارة_العمل @ hrw @iloarabstates @AmnestyAR @Caritaslb @KAFALebanon pic.twitter.com/7Cz2PO2DY6

"The Minister has expressed her intention to present a plan to modify the labor law to include foreign domestic workers," said Diala Haidar, for whom concrete measures are now needed. This project, if successful, would guarantee foreign domestic workers the right to leave, minimum wage, or freedom of movement, but also the right to leave their job in the event of abuse. 

Two suicides per week

For those who camp outside their embassy, ​​the Lebanese authorities have announced that repatriations will take place, without giving a date or communicating a figure. Ethiopia could participate. So far the country has repatriated some 650 Ethiopian women before the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A return flight to Ghana already took place last week. In a video posted on social networks, we see happy passengers dancing with joy on the plane. A release for these women whose situation is sometimes close to slavery. 

Singing # Ghana's national anthem, Ghanian migrant workers board their repatriation flight from #Lebanon - going home away from the Kafala system.

This video brought joy to my heart. Wishing the same for Ethiopian women hopefully soon.

pic.twitter.com/gms7J0Wg13

In 2008, the NGO Human Rights Watch indicated that on average more than one domestic worker died each week in Lebanon, victim of suicide or "falling from a building, often trying to escape". Since then, that number has doubled, according to human rights activists.

As recently as June 18, an Ethiopian domestic worker was found hanged at her employer's home in Temnine el-Tahta, Bekaa, according to the National News Agency and the Lebanese daily L'Orient Le Jour.

With AFP

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