I’m sitting in central Beirut with two migrant domestic workers, listening to Sara tell a story about freshly baked croissants. Her colleague Rose and I are doubled up with laughter, tears rolling down our cheeks. Both women are experienced activists campaigning for domestic workers’ rights in Lebanon, where the kafala (sponsorship) system ties workers’ visas to specific employers, creating conditions conducive to abuse.
Sara’s story takes place against this backdrop, but focuses on an act of defiance in the face of overwork and wage theft. She describes the derision she faced from her employer, who demanded receipts and counted the pennies every time she sent Sara out to buy breakfast. One day Sara saved some money from her salary and brought her own fresh croissants back from the bakery, deliberately relishing them one by one in front of her employer. “Me too, I have the right to eat croissants!” she cried in the woman’s face.