Migrants in Lebanon seek help for mental woes

Few countries would like to face the conditions Lebanon is facing at the moment. It is a nation virtually under siege, bearing the brunt of economic and, due to the pandemic, health woes. It has been battered by economic ruin, suffering from a dire paucity of dollars and drowning in debt. Then there was a gigantic explosion that completely shattered parts of the capital Beirut. It killed 200 people, injured 6,000 and left 300,000 homeless, leaving many questions unanswered. What’s making things worse is the coronavirus which is taking a heavy toll not just on the country but the whole world over.

Fifty-four required psychiatric support and about a dozen of them needed hospitalisation, highlighting extreme psychological stress among migrant maids – many of whom come to Lebanon alone when still teenagers.

Lebanon hosts about 250,000 foreign workers who are employed under the country’s kafala sponsorship system, which binds them to one employer and can lead to abuses, human rights groups say.

English | February 12, 2021

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