Urgent Call: IOM Should Open Shelters for Displaced and Stranded Migrant Workers in Lebanon
Building a Home, Building Solidarity | Annual Report 2023
18/07/2024
Annual Reports
For our many communities, 2023 was unbelievably painful, terrifying, and deadly. In Lebanon, we experienced extreme manifestations of xenophobia, racism, homophobia, and transphobia, with relentless attacks on migrant activists, Syrian communities, and LGBTIQ people. The most vulnerable groups continue to be falsely blamed for the ongoing political and economic crisis, targeted by increasingly hostile political rhetoric and physical violence from both state and non-state actors. We also witnessed the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and experienced the escalating war on South Lebanon. These crises forced us into emergency response mode, but also re-emphasized the importance of our core work.
“In that spirit, we finally opened our new MCC space, in hopes that it will serve as a long-term home for our members and our movements.” – ARM Team
Beyond the violence of this year, we have survived thirteen years of instability, leaving six previous community center locations due to racism and harassment. We have now built a new foundation, with the space we need for our growing membership, ambitions, and connected political fights. It is thus with renewed energy and purpose that we move into 2024 and rededicate ourselves to our ever-intersecting struggles.
The Kafala system does not exist in a silo, but is interwoven with the forces and systems that deport Syrian refugees, that displace Sudanese communities fleeing war, that occupy, oppress, and commit genocide of Palestinians. There is so much effort put toward dividing us and compartmentalizing our experiences as different “issues.” In 2023, we pushed back on this false separation, re-connecting our movements, and naming the common root causes that we resist. When we abolish Kafala, we’ll be all the more able to end the other interconnected systems of extraction, exploitation, and violence.
Click here to download the 2023 annual report.
A Few Highlights From 2023
Growing MCC’s Space, Membership, and Movements:
After years of moving our MCC spaces, we have a new center and stability. With this came a rapid growth in membership: By the end of 2023, we had 840 members, a 15% increase from 2022. We hope this can be a long-term “home away from home” that migrant worker communities can rely on, build community, and anchor structural change.
Growth and Depth of Migrant-Led Political Organizing
Our new space not only increased our ability to host members, but to build up migrant-led organizing. We expanded our capacity building sessions, resulting in strong migrant-led campaigning and the growing independence of three migrant organizing collectives. This work was deepened by four-year-long research processes on migrant worker organizing and Kafala, to be published in 2024 and support structural change
Strengthened Casework Processes
The casework team invested in improving systems and our casework cycle. This strengthened our capacity for effective interventions, caseleader expectations, and relationships with partners. In our most recent analysis, migrant workers reported a clearer understanding of how casework functions and the possible interventions.
Organizational Stabilization
After transitioning from relief work in 2022, we refocused on grassroots-led systemic change. We stabilized our internal systems, ways of working, and feminist culture, growing our capacity to continue our critical work into 2024 and beyond.
Have Any Questions?
To inquire about this statement and the context, email us or fill the form.
Join Our Newsletter
At the Anti-Racism Movement (ARM), we are constantly working on a multitude of different activities and initiatives. Most of our activities are only possible with the help of dedicated and passionate volunteers who work in collaboration with our core team.
The Anti-Racism Movement (ARM) was launched in 2010 as a grassroots collective by young Lebanese feminist activists in collaboration with migrant workers and migrant domestic workers.
Quick Links
Useful Links
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Developed by CONCAT