UPDATES TO KAFALA
The definitive place to get the latest updates on Kafala.
June 27, 2020 | English
Yimer traveled from her native Ethiopia to Yemen in search of work, and took a job as a domestic servant in Lebanon. She was promised a fair wage and the right to make decisions about her life, but soon found herself trapped inside the house with no money or even her passport.
June 26, 2020 | English
Human rights advocates say the migrants have little to no recourse, and that the situation is bound to deteriorate further as more people in the country cannot afford to pay domestic workers. The coronavirus restrictions also complicate matters.
June 26, 2020 | English
Addis Ababa faced criticism for charging $1,450 for repatriation after dozens of Ethiopian women were abandoned by their employers in Lebanon
June 25, 2020 | English
For several weeks, dozens domestic workers in Lebanon, who are predominantly from Ethiopia, have been abandoned by their employers in front of the Ethiopian consulate, a result of a financial crisis and, according to activists, the controversial “kafala” employment system some liken to modern-day slavery.
June 25, 2020 | English
Nine Nigerian women are currently sleeping on the streets of Beirut, Lebanon, after they were laid off as domestic workers during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
June 24, 2020 | English
BEIRUT: After preparing dozens of rice packages for out-of-work domestic staff, 30-year-old Tirsit breaks down in tears recounting life as a foreign housekeeper in crisis-hit Lebanon.
June 24, 2020 | English
A sponsorship system known as “kafala” leaves maids, nannies and carers outside the remit of Lebanese labour law and at the mercy of their employers.
June 24, 2020 | English
For years rights groups have been appealing for better conditions for domestic workers trapped in what is known as the Kafala system - the import of unskilled migrant workers into the Gulf and surrounding countries - which leaves them vulnerable to poor, often abusive conditions, minimal pay and limited means of returning home.
June 24, 2020 | English
"We returned with 4 corpses". "They treat their animals better than us." "I wasn't even allowed to sit on the couch".
June 23, 2020 | English
The women said they were abandoned near the Nigerian embassy in the Lebanese capital after being told they would return home