THE STORY
Bih Charlotte Ngafor left her two young children behind in Cameroon when she went to work as a domestic worker in Lebanon in February, 2019. She commenced work with her second employers, Maroun and Vivian Daher, in November 2019.
She contacted This Is Lebanon in late April 2020 asking for help as the Dahers had not paid her any salary and Maroun was sexually harassing her. Her monthly salary was $250 and the Dahers owed her $1,250. According to Charlotte, Maroun complained to her that his wife was not having sex with him and he was pressuring Charlotte to fill that gap. She wrote:
“He said that I should take off my dress so he could see my body and he exposed his manhood and asked me to touch it and have sex with him.”
Charlotte expressed concerns for her safety.
It was a difficult time for all domestic workers because of the lockdown and the closure of flights to their home countries. This Is Lebanon received an uptick in sexual abuse cases during this time because many men, who would normally be at work during the day, were inside the house with the domestic workers.
30 April, This Is Lebanon called Maroun about the non-payment. He did not deny it and promised to pay her “2-3 months” the following day. In response, he sent $750 by OMT.
2 May, without mentioning the sexual abuse, Charlotte told Vivian she wanted to be taken to the recruitment office and she recorded Vivian’s conversation with the agent secretly.
Rather telling is Vivian had to ask Charlotte which country she was from although she had lived in the same house with her for 6 months! Vivian referred to Charlotte as a whore and said she was making trouble. In fact, it was Vivian who was causing trouble having slapped Charlotte on two separate occasions.
6 July, concerned that we had not heard from Charlotte in 2 months, we contacted Maroun. His brother answered and informed us that “Charlotte was no good and had stopped working so they had put her at their mother's house.”
He said they would put her on the first available plane home. We continued to ask the Dahers to send us a copy of the air ticket.
3 August, Charlotte flew home to Cameroon minus her bag, ID or phone. Two and a half months’ salary was still owed to her.
When asked what advice she would give to any woman considering going to Lebanon as a domestic worker, Charlotte replied:
“I would tell her to be very careful because Lebanon is not a good place to be.”
The People
“He said that I should take off my dress so he could see my body and he exposed his manhood and asked me to touch it and have sex with him.” - Charlotte Bih
Maroun Daher
Vivian Daher
Charlotte Bih
TAKE ACTION
We can't do this alone. We need your help! Join us in this fight.
Contact the Sponsors
Talk to Maroun and Vivian Daher and ask them to pay Charlotte her rightfully owed salary!
Share the Story
Tell others about this. Join us in the fight to ensure that Maroun and Vivian Daher are brought to justice.
Join Our Work
We need your help to continue our efforts in fighting for Charlotte Bih and others like her.
Get the Updates
Get the updates straight into your inbox so you don't miss any part of the story.
