Patricia, who came to Lebanon from Sierra Leone a few years ago to work from home in a house in the south of Lebanon, did not think that she would always be caught up in the conflict in the Middle East.
“I'm scared. I want to go home. I arrived in Beirut in an ambulance from the city south of the port of Tire,” he told dpa at the residence of 200 domestic workers, who are trapped without their passports.
A number of foreign domestic workers in Lebanon are trapped in the country due to the Israeli attack.
“The house I was working in was bombed, the lady I was working in was very scared as well,” he said with tears in his eyes.
An activist group has opened a shelter for domestic workers trapped in Lebanon in a warehouse to help them cope with the conflict.
Lea Ghorayeb, one of the activists, told dpa that she was helping the migrants after they were left by their employers on the streets, amid the explosions and without passports or other legal documents.
“Most of them do not have passports, most want to leave the country, but some do not have money to travel,” he said.
“When things are ready, we will work to ensure that those who are willing to leave go to their countries and those who want to stay, we are trying to find decent places for them to work,” said Ghorayeb.
Ghorayeb said that he and other activists installed a kitchen for needy workers, so that they could cook for themselves.
Foreign domestic workers are employed in Lebanon under the controversial Kafala program that connects migrants with a local sponsor.
Human rights activists describe the system as slavery. Many employers keep employee passports. There have also been reports of domestic workers being mistreated, locked up inside their homes, or forced to work seven days a week.
According to the UN Organization for Migration (IOM), women mainly come from countries such as Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
“I don't want to die. I'm very scared, all I want is to go home,” said Fatima from Sierra Leone, holding her sister's three-year-old son.
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