Najib & Rita Fleyhan Owe Shakira 7 Months Salary
Shakira suffered physical and sexual abuse and non-payment of her salary during her year in Lebanon. She contacted "This Is Lebanon" three months after repatriation, asking for help to retrieve her 7 months' unpaid salary.
Worker
Shakira
Employers
Najib & Rita Fleyhan
THE VIDEO
Watch this abusive family make up false claims about Shakira to escape justice
THE STORY
Shakira, a twenty five year old Nigerian woman, contacted This Is Lebanon on September 29, 2020, three months after her repatriation, asking for help to retrieve her 7 months’ unpaid salary. Shakira arrived in Lebanon in October 2019 and worked for Najib and Rita Fleyhan for eleven months. The Nigerian recruiting agent demanded a fee equal to 4 months salary. It was a lot of money for Shakira to find.
Shakira found the work conditions difficult. She cleaned two houses - Rita’s and her daughter, Melissa’s. She reported that she could barely rest and had no day off. Phone access was limited to one hour per day. Shakira said that Edward, the son of the family, inappropriately touched her breasts, and she did her best to avoid him.
Edward
Although her salary was supposed to be $200, the employers reduced it to 170$ on arrival. They paid her first four months’ salary, but later said they had no dollars. She waited patiently, hoping that the situation would change, but the debt kept growing until they owed her seven months’ salary. When she complained about it, Najib gave her two million LBP for five months' work, but this was only worth $200 at the time. Afterwards, the family changed their mind about the payment and, fearing that she might leave, took back 1.5 million LBP. She fled to the embassy the following day.
Rita
When the Embassy called Rita, she claimed that Shakira had stolen her gold chain and refused to hand over her passport to the embassy. Najib denied taking any money from her. Neither Najib nor Rita came to the embassy when requested.
This Is Lebanon contacted the employers several times. First, they hung up. Later, they denied that they owed her any money and claimed that she owed them because she broke her contract by running away. In addition to that, they accused her of stealing jewelry and said they reported the theft to the police. Despite being given multiple opportunities, the Fleyhans failed to present any proof of paying Shakira who spent almost one year in Lebanon and only managed to cover the recruitment fee she’d paid.
The People
" I could barely rest and had no day off." Shakira
Najib Fleyhan
Rita Fleyhan
Shakira
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القصة
شاكيرا, فتاة نيجيرية تبلغ خمس وعشرون عاما تواصلت مع جمعية "This Is Lebanon" بتاريخ تسع وعشرون أيلول من عام ألفين وعشرون, ثلاثة أشهر بعد عودتها إلى بلادها, طالبة المساعدة في تحصيل أجورها والتي بلغت سبعة أشهر.
وصلت شاكيرا الى لبنان في تشرين الأول ألفان و تسع عشر وعملت مع نجيب وريتا فليحان احدى عشر شهرا, طالبها الكفيل النيجيري برسم بقيمة اربعة أشهر عمل ولم يكن بحوزة شاكيرا هكذا مبلغ.
كانت ظروف عمل شاكيرا صعبة, كانت تعمل في منزلين "ريتا و ابنتها ميليسا". لم يكن لشاكيرا أي يوم فرصة وسمح لها باستخدام هاتفها ساعة يوميا فقط. حاول ادوارد وهو ابن العائلة ان يلمس العاملة بطريقة غير محتشمة, وكانت شاكيرا تحاول تجنبه.
خفض راتب العاملة من مئتي دولار إلى مئة وسبعون دولار فور وصولها. التزم أصحاب الشأن بالدفع لأربعة أشهر ثم تملصوا من الدفع بحجة عدم توفر الدولار. انتظرت العاملة بصبر تحسن الأوضاع ولكن عندما تراكم الدين إلى سبعة أشهر اعترضت.
أعطاها نجيب مليوني ليرة بدل مستحقاتها والتي كانت تساوي عندها مئتا دولار ولكن خوفا من هروب العاملة استرد نجيب مليون ونصف. هربت العاملة إلى السفارة.
عند تواصل السفارة مع ريتا ادعت أن شاكيرا سرقة عقد من ذهب ونكر نجيب استرداد أي أموال من العاملة كما رفضا الحضور الى السفارة أو حتى تسليمهم جواز سفر شاكيرا.
تواصلت جمعية "This Is Lebanon" مع آل فليحان في الأول رفضوا التحدث, لاحقا ادعوا ان شاكيرا أخذت كافة حقوقها وأنها سرقت مجوهرات وأن شاكيرا مدينة لهم لأنها هبت دون أن تكمل عقدها. رفض آل فليحان إرسال أي إثبات بأنهم دفعوا مستحقات شاكيرا.
أمضت شاكيرا عاما كاملا في لبنان وسافرت الى بلادها خالية الوفاض.
تم استبدال الأسماء نزولا عند طلب شاكيرا.