By legally binding a migrant worker’s immigration status to a contractual relationship with the employer, the position of the employer as tyrant is enshrined in kafala. They can withhold salaries and inflict horrific abuses with no consequence, turning the lives of domestic workers into a living hell. A former domestic worker myself, in 2017 I founded Engna Legna ("Us for Ourselves"), an Ethiopian migrants group that advocates for domestic workers’ rights in Lebanon. As protests took hold of the country, the women we work with and serve in the community wondered what lies ahead. Some feared that the peaceful protests might turn into conflict. Others harbored a faint hope that an overhaul of the political establishment might raise the status of domestic workers to humans worthy of basic rights and dignity.
The Lebanese Revolution: A New Chapter of Kafala Misery
The Lebanese revolution brought hundreds of thousands into the streets with aspirations for a new country free from the grip of a corrupt elite. Lebanese from every social group seem empowered by the sense that their country's destiny finally lies in their hands. But for foreign domestic workers, some of the more powerless members of society, taking part in shaping tomorrow’s Lebanon is still not within reach. Many cannot imagine joining protesters in the streets as they are trapped in homes, barred access to the outside world, and living at the mercy of their employers — conditions made possible by the oppressive kafala system.
English | February 18, 2020
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