“They are homeless, and they have no money, and they have nothing.”
Before The Explosion
Foreign domestic workers were already facing dire circumstances before the explosion which devastated Beirut on Aug. 4. Many of them have been struggling to survive after being laid off during the pandemic, which exasperated the country’s economic crisis.
Humans rights organization have also highlighted the unfair treatment of domestic workers in Lebanon, saying the foreigners are forced to work in a slave-like system known as kefala. According to CNN, kefala is a type of indentured servitude which requires the woman to abide by a live-in work contract in order to maintain their immigration status.
“The kefala system allowed them to treat me like a pet or a toy. They could use me, beat me, and discard me when they wanted,” Aster Kidane, an Ethiopian domestic worker, told CNN.
Despite their desire to return to their native land, the women cannot afford the plane ticket.
After The Explosion
The domestic workers who survived the Beirut explosion are even more desperate to leave the country after the blast. Many of them, left jobless on the streets, continue their urgent plea to be rescued.
One video posted to Twitter showed domestic workers from Kenya protesting in front of their country’s consulate, demanding help from the government.
“I’m going crazy.”
“The blast made me realize that you can die in this country anytime. The glass was falling on our heads. Half of the houses are gone. Thank God I survived but I’m very mad. I’m going crazy. I just want to go home.” — Kathy, a domestic worker via fullerproject.org.
“They have nothing”
“They are homeless, and they have no money, and they have nothing. And even they don’t have money to buy medicine . . . you cannot do nothing to send them back home. There is a legal issue. There is ticket issue and so many things going on . . . They don’t even receive their salary. They don’t have day off. They didn’t have proper room. And some of them didn’t have enough food, and they are overworking, and the salary that they gave — $150 is nothing. And 80% of domestic workers – they are not getting their salary every month.” — Tsigereda Birhanu, an activist in Beirut and a former domestic worker.
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How To Get Involved
Fundraiser To Help The Women Go Back Home
“With the COVID-19, economic collapse, and the recent massive explosion in Beirut that happened . . . the majority of these women are left with no place to stay in, no food to eat, no access to health care, and no other basic needs such as water, hygiene products . . . the countries of origin of these women are doing nothing to help them either with repatriation or emergency support to ensure that they can make it to the next day,” — Igiraneza Claudette and other advocates. DONATE HERE.
Funds For Food And Medicine
“We are in need of your help as the problems faced by domestic workers in Lebanon are on an unprecedented scale. We need your donations to help us reach the domestic workers trapped in their homes without money for basics. The women have all fled violence, sexual abuse or enslavement. They are unable to work because of the lockdown and we are determined to ensure they are not forgotten.” — Banchi Yimer, founder of Egna Legna Besidet, an Ethiopian domestic worker run organization. DONATE HERE
Cover Photo: GoFundMe