Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey
With quite a stable economy for many years, Lebanon was quite an attractive destination for low-paid contract domestic workers from Ghana, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, among many others.
But in recent months, flawed policies and sudden shocks have thrust Lebanon into its worst economic crisis in decades. The system has unravelled, fuelling an economic collapse that has been exacerbated by a government-imposed lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.
? Consequently the Lebanese currency has collapsed, businesses shutting down, prices for basic goods skyrocketing and the threat of hunger looming for its poorest people.
This situation is having disastrous impact on our Ghanaian domestic workers with a population of 11,645, according to Lebanon immigration figures.
Human right abuses and forced labour are rife. Under Covid – induced lockdown conditions, with every member of the Lebanese family permanently at home, they are made to work around the clock.
Even conditions are normal, most of them work for more than 15 – 18 hrs/day instead of the 8 hours stipulated in their contracts.?
This is complicated by an existing ‘kafala’ system which can be described as modern day slavery. The employers pay between two to three thousand US dollars to buy a worker for certain periods. Contracts are written in Arabic and imposed on girls and young women, most of whom can hardly write or read in English, let alone Arabic.
Against international convention, their passports are confiscated on arrival and they might not see it again even when they are leaving. They could be locked up in homes for days when their employers are travelling without them, and also be made to work for 15 – 18 hours a day with no day of rest throughout the week, yet they are denied medical attention.
Because of the economic crunch, the Lebanese employers have unilaterally decided to reduce salaries by 25 – 75%.
even then most DWs have not received salaries for about 3 – 9 months and can no longer send remittances home nor take care of themselves. Any attempt to ask for your own hard-earned salary could result in brutal physical assault.
Reports of brutal physical assaults on these girls, and injuries by employers’ and agents alike, are very common.
Furthermore, some of these affected young women are in critical health conditions and are not able to seek medical care.
?It is also known that some of these workers have become sex “tools” for their masters and those who resist are severely beaten or receive death threats.
Under these conditions many are on the run for their lives and end up as destitute in the streets. Sadly their exploiters report them to the police, falsely accusing them of offences they did not commit, and declare them illegal in the country, an end up in prisons for no crime committed.
About two months ago the Cairo Mission which has Lebanon under its jurisdiction entered into dialogue through its Consulate in Beirut, with the Lebanese Government to obtain the release of these suffering young women from the clutches of their masters and mistresses, so they can freely return to their country.
More than 600 DWs have been registered to leave Lebanon. The first batch of 200 workers, are scheduled to arrive by a special flight on 19th June at about 11:35am .
The mortal remains of two deceased workers are expected as cargo with this first batch of evacuees.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Cairo Mission and a humanitarian NGO, IBONWORLD as partners, are preparing to evacuate another six hundred or so in the next 3 – 4 weeks.
Source: Foreign Ministry, Ghana