Invisible victims in Lebanon - Opinion - Al Jazeera English
►http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/20111128132020633932.html
Based on prevalent experiences reported by abused workers, this is the typical chronology of the vicious cycle that entraps domestic help entering Lebanon. The process of systematic discrimination starts at the port of entry, where immigration authorities hand over the worker to the sponsoring ’owner’ who is then advised to withhold the passport of the worker as a precautionary measure. If at any point during the contractual period, the worker is faced with issues such a non-payment of wages, abuse or inhumane treatment, he or she would usually take it up with the employer who is then free to terminate the contract without legal repercussions. In cases where the worker is able to file a complaint against the employer with the police, the authorities are required to conduct an investigation, the average response time from law enforcement agencies has been 21 days. In rare instances where the case reaches Lebanese courts, the worker is faced with a protracted trial, expensive fees and little to no support from the state or the local recruitment agencies that brought the worker into the country.
At any stage of this cycle the foreign worker’s permit to remain in the country can be made null and void on the employer’s sole discretion due to a Kefala or sponsorship system that bestows disproportionate amount of power to the sponsor. ’Sitting on the bench’ is not a legal option for workers who are in the process of challenging their employers.
The Kefala system adopted by some of the largest receivers of migrant workers in the Gulf states and Lebanon, has become synonymous with ’modern-day slavery’ amongst human rights groups. […]
Research by Ray Jureidini at The Centre for Migration and Refugee Studies claims that 52 per cent of MDWs are verbally abused, 14 per cent physically abused, 7 per cent sexually violated. These figures are shockingly high and underline the proliferated nature of violations.