Michel and Parissida Azzi Call Abigail ‘Crazy’ to Deport Her Without Her Salary
Abigail massaged feet, stayed up with the dog and cleaned the house. She alleges she was sexually harassed by her madam's father and deported without her 11 months salary.
Worker
Abigail
Employers
Mounir Boutros and Parissida and Michel Azzi
THE VIDEO
Watch Abigail explain her experience in Lebanon
THE STORY
TW: Sexual Assault
Abigail, a Ghanaian national, arrived in Lebanon on 10 July 2019 to work as a domestic worker for Michel Azzi and Parissida Boutros in Adonis.
Abigail told us she would finish her work in the house at 11:00 pm and then have to massage Parissida’s feet for a long time before going to bed. She had to wake during the night to feed the small dog and “lullaby it to sleep” before waking for work at 6:00 a.m.
Mounir is a managing partner of Al-Kaissar company, a gas station, founded in 2010, alongside Parissida and Michel. Mounir’s son, Semaan, has a history of payment defaults. Abigail claimed
that Mounir Boutros, Parissida’s father, wanted to sleep with her but she refused him.
She says that this refusal did not deter Mounir from touching Abigail's butt and breasts three times. She tried to refuse to clean Mounir and his wife's house (located in the same building) but Parissida would get angry with her. Abigail was prepared to tolerate these abusive working conditions; what she couldn’t tolerate was working for free. Whenever she asked for her salary, they yelled at her and told her there were no dollars in Lebanon. She was paid for only 3 months, but has evidence that she is owed 11 months.
Twice, Abigail ran away to the police station. Both times she was returned to her employers with a "warning" to Parissida that she needed to pay Abigail.
On 6 September 2020, at around 9 pm, Parissida told Abigail to get in the car, as she wanted to show her something. Abigail described that Parissida drove her to the airport and tried to deport her without her clothes, phone and the 11 months’ salary she was owed. When Abigail put up a protest in front of the airport officials, Parissida told them that Abigail was crazy. Abigail refused to board without her salary. She found her way to the Ghanaian consulate. On 18 September, she was repatriated to Ghana without her personal possessions or any recovered salary.
On 24 September, Abigail contacted This Is Lebanon asking us to help her get her 11 months’ unpaid salary. We contacted Mounir, Parissida’s father. He refused to give us Parissida’s number, saying she didn’t have a phone. Mounir claims that Abigail has been paid in full. He said that there are 2 OMT receipts and the rest was paid in cash. He said, that he did not care if we posted and had 10 lawyers who would sue us.
This Is Lebanon has tried to speak to Parissida and Michel but Mounir and his wife, Rita, refused to give their contact information. Sadly, Abigail will not receive the salary she worked so hard for.
The People
"We are well-known in the area and in all of Lebanon. Now there's a shit-eating Ghanaian woman! I'll file a law suit against you. I have 10 lawyers, 10, not 1." - Mounir Boutros
Parissida Boutros
Reported to yell at Abigail anytime she asked for her salary and make Abigail massage her feet for extended periods of time before going to bed.
Michel Azzi
One of the founders of Al-Kaissar, a gas station company in Lebanon.
Mounir Boutros
Parissida's Father who was reported to have sexually assaulted Abigail three different times.
Abigail
Hard-working Ghanaian domestic worker who had to go to work in the UAE to make-up for the wages she didn't receive in Lebanon.
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القصة
وصلت أبيغايل نيامي، وهي مواطنة من غانا، إلى لبنان في 10 تموز 2019 لتعمل عاملة منزل لدى ميشيل قزي وباريسيدا بطرس في أدونيس. قالت أبيغايل بأنها كانت تنتهي من أعمال المنزل عند الساعة 11:00 مساءً ثم يتعيّن عليها تدليك قدمي باريسيدا لساعات قبل الذهاب إلى الفراش. كان عليها أن تستيقظ أثناء الليل لإطعام الكلب الصغير و"تهدهد له لينام" قبل الاستيقاظ للعمل في الساعة السادسة صباحاً.
وقد أراد منير بطرس، والد باريسيدا، أن ينام معها لكنها رفضته، حسب قول أبيغايل.
منير هو الشريك الإداري لشركة القيصر التي تأسست عام 2010 (محطة وقود) إلى جانب باريسيدا وميشيل. ولدى سمعان، ابن منير، سوابق من التخلف عن التسديد.
كانت أبيغايل مستعدة لتحمّل ظروف العمل الاستغلالية، غير أنها لم تستطع تحمّل العمل مجاناً. فكلما طلبت راتبها، كانوا يصرخون في وجهها ويقولون لها بأنه لا يوجد دولارات في لبنان. لم تقبض إلا مقابل 3 أشهر فقط. ويدينون لها برواتب 11 شهراً.
هربت أبيغايل مرتين إلى مركز الشرطة. وفي المرتين أُعيدت إلى أصحاب عملها مع إنذار لباريسيدا بأنه ينبغي عليها أن تدفع لأبيغايل.
في السادس من أيلول 2020، حوالي التاسعة مساءً، طلبت باريسيدا من أبيغايل ركوب السيارة لأنها تريد أن تُريها شيئاً. فأخذت أبيغايل إلى المطار وحاولت ترحيلها بدون حتى ملابسها أوهاتفها أو رواتب 11 شهراً التي تستحقها. وعندما قدمت أبيغايل شكوى لدى موظفي المطار، أخبرتهم باريسيدا أن أبيغايل مجنونة. رفضت أبيغايل الصعود إلى الطائرة بدون راتبها ووجدت طريقها إلى قنصلية غانا. في 18 أيلول، أعيدت إلى غانا دون ممتلكاتها الشخصية أو راتبها.
في 24 أيلول، اتصلت أبيغايل بـجمعية "هذا لبنان" تطلب منّا مساعدتها في الحصول على راتبها غير المدفوع لمدة 11 شهراً. اتصلنا بوالد باريسيدا، منير، فرفض إعطاءنا رقم باريسدا قائلاً بأنه ليس لديها هاتف. ويؤكد منير أن أبيغايل قد حصلت على أجرها بالكامل. قال بأن هناك إيصالين OMT والباقي تم دفعه نقداً. وأضاف بأنه لا يكترث إن قمنا بالنشر وأن لديه 10 محامين سيرفعون دعوى قضائية ضدنا.
لقد حاول "هذا لبنان" التحدث إلى باريسيدا وميشيل غير أن منير وزوجته ريتا رفضا إعطاءنا معلومات الاتصال الخاصة بهما. ومن المؤسف، لن تحصل أبيغايل على الراتب الذي استحقته بعرق جبينها.
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