I am a Filipina Migrant Worker, who has been here in Lebanon since 2004. I am a victim of human trafficking under the Kafala System since I was deceived by a recruitment agency in the Philippines. I was contracted to be a private nurse for a Lebanese family but ended up doing domestic work instead. I have been through the worst and most degrading abuse a migrant worker in Lebanon could experience. This experience was the trigger point that made me become a community leader and organiser, dedicated to work for and with my community. I chose to organise my fellow Filipino Migrant Workers, so I can help them to know their rights, as well as when and how to fight for them. I am raising awareness and making them understand that we came here not to be slaves, but to work decently and with dignity and pride.

The year 2020 saw big challenges for the whole world but especially for Lebanon, when the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, the economic collapse escalated and the Beirut Port explosion happened, the Migrant Worker Communities in Lebanon were greatly affected. 

Racism was always around us.

The economic crisis has shown the true exploitation of domestic workers in Lebanon. No ‘habibti enti’ or ‘you are part of our family’, will make up for the fact that the employers won’t pay us fair wages, support us in critical times of need or allow us to have rights and protection.

So as a community leader I saw the need for help and to find solutions to the present problems.

I started fundraising for the Food Relief Project that me and my group started. We provided medical assistance to Migrant Workers suffering from Covid-19. 

At present, my group is giving livelihood skills training to Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon to support them towards economic sustainability, both here in Lebanon and in their own country once they return. We believe that no Migrant Worker, who has left her country to work for a better future for her family, deserves to go hungry or die in a foreign country.

A. M. – Philippina Migrant Domestic Worker

*Disclaimer: For the purpose of the author’s safety and privacy, her name was replaced by initials.

Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs) in Lebanon face numerous forms of abuse including sexual and gender-based violence at the hands of employers and recruitment agents. MDWs  receive little to no legal protection or support due to the Kafala system’s exploitative nature against women of colour. 

Our #16DaysOfActivism are dedicated to shed light and raise awareness about the invisible plight of live-in Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanese households, whose stories, struggles and demands are continuously silenced or ignored.

On International Migrants Day we want to celebrate and appreciate each and every Migrant Domestic Worker, who is working under the hardships and abuse of the Kafala system. We want to celebrate the activists, community leaders and organisers that provide support, awareness and insight into the lived experience of being Migrant Workers in Lebanon.

Volume Up! is a digital platform dedicated for Migrant Domestic Workers to share their experiences, recommendations and ideas loud enough to be heard without interruption or censorship

Your contribution could be shared it. Share your story, experience, thoughts or idea by sending an E-Mail to submissions@mwaction.org