"Abang Sharon arrived in Lebanon on April 24 last year, having travelled there from Cameroon. The 21-year-old had a goal in Lebanon to work and earn money so she could support her family back home. An agency organized everything for her to get to Lebanon but later on, in a video published by a migrant rights organization in early December, Sharon talks about how she was working "in a toxic family." No wages, no secure contract, no protection and always this feeling that nobody can really help her."
"The rights organization, This is Lebanon, or TIL, explains in a post on their website that Sharon "worked for her first employer for only one day, without payment. The second family had her work for two weeks, but instead of compensating her directly, they paid $60 to the recruitment office, which Sharon never received. It was in the third household that Sharon's exploitation escalated. Beginning in May 2024, Sharon was tasked not only with household duties but also with cleaning her employers' two business premises." Despite all of that work, Sharon wasn't paid her agreed-upon salary of $200 (170) per month for eight months. Her employers explained that they'd already paid the agency $2,000, as if this is an appropriate excuse for not paying Sharon herself. Sharon's physical health deteriorated and she reported chest pains and frequent nose bleeds. When she told her employers that she didn't want to work anymore, her meals were withheld. It is not until she contacted TIL that things began to change. The non-profit has been standing up for the rights of migrant workers in Lebanon since 2017 and, if all else fails, is known to publicly name and shame those involved in their exploitation. TIL often manages to recover some of the money owed to workers but says that what is really needed is structural reform and genuine accountability."
Sharon, a 21-year-old from Cameroon, arrived in Lebanon on April 24 to work and support her family. An agency arranged her travel but she faced a toxic work environment with no wages, no secure contract and no protection. She was unpaid after one day with her first employer; the second employer paid $60 to a recruitment office that she never received. From May 2024 she cleaned employers' business premises in addition to household duties and went eight months without the agreed $200 monthly salary. Her health deteriorated with chest pains and nosebleeds and her meals were withheld when she tried to stop working. The NGO This is Lebanon intervened, recovered some owed money in some cases, and called for structural reform and genuine accountability.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]