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Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon

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Lebanon is home to more than 250.000 migrants (mostly women) that work in the domestic service sector.[1][2] In this sector, people do the household tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, but also supporting families with raising their family. The domestic service sector has a lot of problems that are mostly caused by the problematic framework it is built on; the Kafala system. This system gives employers a lot of power in relation to the employee. As a result, significant amounts of domestic workers are exploited and abused. The migrants are in a difficult position as they are dependent on their employer, and other people are dependable on their remittances. They send part of their income to heir home country.[3]

Social Background[change | change source]

Migrant workers are very common in Lebanon as they are the successor of an earlier habit of the Lebanese state: domestic slavery. This practice was very common in Lebanon when they were reigned by the Ottoman empire. Slaves were imported from either the Krim or from Africa to serve as a domestic worker. Slavery in the Ottoman Empire was normal. After the first World War, the Ottoman Empire fell. The French tookover Lebanon and abolished Slavery in 1932. “Slaves” however were still needed, which resulted in the introduction of the Kafala system, a framework that provides multiple Middle Eastern countries with plenty of human labour sources. At the start, mostly middle and upper-class families could afford a domestic worker. They found these people in Lebanon, Syria and Palestina. In return for their labour, the young woman would receive shelter, food and some salary. This composition however, changed after the Lebanese Civil War which reduced trust in Lebanon between the different classes. From now on, Lebanese hired their domestic workers from countries further abroad: the Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Ethiopia.[4]

The Kafala system[change | change source]

The Kafala system is the foundation of the suppression - the bad treatment and support of migrant workers - of migrant workers in Lebanon. Originally the system was used a social mechanism to let migrant workers in. Through this system, foreign people that want to become a domestic worker in this country do need a sponsor (kafeel) to come to the country. These sponsors are found in a process where an agency - a company that helps migrant workers and employers finding each other - is helping in return for a compensation. After the contract is worked out, the migrants will fly over from their main country to Lebanon. At arrival at the start of their work, migrants often (illegally) hand in their passport and other important documents to their sponsor who has now full control over the freedom of movement of the migrant. The migrant worker fulfills tasks in and around the house to support the sponsor in return for a salary between $100 and $400.[3] This payment is mostly sent back as a remittance to the home country to support other family members.[5]

Injustice in the Kafala system[change | change source]

Due to the form of the Kafala system migrants do have significant disadvantage in potential negotiations and disputes. This problem arises from a special legal characteristic of the Kafala system: the migrant is only welcome in the country as long as he or she has a sponsor contract with an employer. The status of the migrant is thus linked to a citizen of Lebanon. This construction effectively leads to a delegation of authority from the State of Lebanon to an individual person.[6] As soon as the employer or the employee ends the contract, the migrant is forced to leave the country. This disadvantage can lead to very heartbreaking cases. Migrant workers report multiple forms of offenses and violations: being beaten, being locked up in the home, not allowed to keep in touch in contact with family members, delayed salary payments, lack of sufficient food, physical & mental abuse and the denial of enough rest. Failure to fulfill the set tasks can already result in a change in the migrant status, thereby triggering a potential arrest and succeeding deportation. This can even be the case if the migrant worker is working according to the rules. The system is prone to misuse.[2][7]

In response to the injustice under the Kafala system, migrants have tried to organize themselves. First they organized in communities based on origin to strengthen the inner bonds. In a short period thereafter, the migrants wanted to organize themselves in a political form: in a trade union. The minister of labour rejected to issue a license for this union. He perceived the start of trade union as illegal and illegitimate. [1][8]

Events[change | change source]

  • In April 2020, a Lebanon man offered a Domestic Migrant worker for sale in a Facebook group. He asked $1000 for the woman.[9]
  • In January 2017, Kidist, a migrant worker, went to jail, because she was accused of theft, while her employer misused her for sex.[10]
  • In 2020, employers dumped their Ethiopian domestic migrant workers at the Ethiopian embassy. They could not pay the salary because of the Corona crisis.[11]

International Critique[change | change source]

Lebanon has received a lot of international critique on its Kafala system as it promotes inequality and abuse of the system, but also the fact that Lebanon is unwilling to make changes to the system to ensure a better protection of the migrant workers. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both have published reports that document the bad conditions that migrants have the work under. Human Rights Watch shows that in cases where migrant workers fled or went to court against their sponsor for relational problems, the court need a lot of time to deliver a verdict. Furthermore, not having access to your own passport was not seen as a problem in the Lebanese legal system. On the contrary however when the sponsor sues the migrant worker for suspicions of law violations, migrant workers were detained much quicker even if they were not found guilty eventually. MDW’s experience a similar experience if they would go to the police. The police is not supportive to the migrant workers to help them solve their issues with their sponsor.[12]

Amnesty International also mentions the bad working and living conditions. They highlighted the problems that arise with the agencies that are used to find an employee for a sponsor. These agencies sometimes fall prey to malpractices and sometimes take higher remuneration than they are allowed to take. “One recruitment agency representative interviewed by Amnesty International referred to workers as commodities - sources that are simple and not important - and explained how recruitment fees increase if there is a ban.” The perception of people as commodities also lead to a perspective that workers are replaceable: they can be replaced by other resources.[2][13]

Domestic worker home country responses[change | change source]

As a result of the bad circumstances foreign nationals have to work in Lebanon, multiple countries (Including Ethiopia[14], Nepal[15] and the Philippines) have forbidden their people to work as a migrant worker in Lebanon until the labour issues are solved. As a result, it is more difficult to get migrant workers from these countries as they have to be brought in illegally with a detour. This has led to an increase in prices and fees for the agency firms that recruit the migrants.[3]

Lebanon Government Response[change | change source]

The government is of Lebanon is not a good handler of malpractices in its domestic migrant worker sector. The requirements to start searching for a migrant worker are also to low: only a deposit of around 1000 dollars Is needed. The deposit is needed to pay for the return ticket if the migrant worker would go home. Illegal migrants are also still active in the country even though they should be deported out of the country if they do not have a sponsor anymore. The government is also severely blamed for a lack of control over the agencies that are available in the sector and the lack of clear information for the incoming migrants about their personal rights. [source] The latter was solved by publishing a guide for domestic workers to prepare them for their stay in Lebanon.[16]

Statistics[change | change source]

Characteristics of domestic migrant employers[change | change source]

As Lebanon does have a history of hiring migrant workers, characteristics are similar of the people that hire them: most people do have a university degree and are married. Religion does not matter for the tendency to hire a DMW. There is a small tendency to have larger likeliness to have a migrant worker in the household when the household is larger. Furthermore, employers do receive a copy of their contract in almost 80% of the cases. (in sharp contrast to the roughly 20% of the workers that received a copy)[3]

Characteristics of the migrant workers[change | change source]

Migrants can be divided in two groups of origin roughly spoken: they either come from Asia (more specifically the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand or Sri Linka) or from Africa (Ethiopia, Nigeria, etcetera) Furthermore migrant workers are young, according to the ILO research the largest part of the MDW workers are younger than 30 years. Migrant workers earn between $100 and $400 per month and this is mostly dependent on the background of the migrant and the richness of the employer. The freedom of the workers differ. Up to 43% does have a key to enter the house of the sponsor independently while up to 14% is locked up when the employer leaves the house.[3]

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "We want justice for migrant domestic workers in Lebanon". Amnesty International. 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Lebanon: 'Their house is my prison': Exploitation of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon" (PDF). Amnesty International. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Intertwined: a study of employers of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. ISBN 978-92-2-131145-4. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  4. ↑ Shukr, Ramy. Historicizing Migrant Domestic Workers' Community Organizing and Class Struggle in Lebanon (PDF). Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  5. ↑ Fernandez, Bina. Ethiopian Migrant Domestic Workers. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 56. ISBN 978-3-030-24054-7.
  6. ↑ Mansour-Ille, Dina; Hendow, Maegan (2018). "From Exclusion to Resistance: Migrant Domestic Workers and the Evolution of Agency in Lebanon". Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies. {{cite journal}}: line feed character in |title= at position 47 (help)
  7. ↑ "Lebanon: Migrant workers are abused and ignored under the Kafala system | MSF". www.msf.org. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  8. ↑ Kobaissy, Farah (2015). "Organising Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon". International Union Rights. 22: 22–23 – via JSTOR.
  9. ↑ Durmaz, Mucahid. "Lebanon's Kafala system enables brutality against black and brown workers". Lebanon’s Kafala system enables brutality against black and brown workers. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  10. ↑ "Abused Migrant Workers end up in prison after trying to flee". Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  11. ↑ "As Lebanon's financial crisis worsens, migrant workers are being dumped on the streets like 'trash'". The World from PRX. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  12. ↑ Houry, Nadim (2010). Without protection: how the Lebanese justice system fails migrant domestic workers. New York, NY Berlin: Human Rights Watch. ISBN 978-1-56432-684-3.
  13. ↑ "Lebanon crises increase suffering of migrant domestic workers | UN News". news.un.org. 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  14. ↑ Zelalem, Zecharias. "'She just vanished': Ethiopian domestic workers abused in Lebanon". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  15. ↑ Pattisson, Pete (2014-05-09). "Nepalese women torn between slavery in Lebanon and poverty at home". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  16. ↑ Information Guide for Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon. International Labour Organization. 2012. ISBN 9789222258437.
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