Ethiopian Worker Killed in a Traffic Collision in Jbeil [here]

On the evening of November 15, 2022 A traffic collision led to the unfortunate death of an Ethiopian worker on the eastern side of Al Fidar Highway in Jbeil.

No information about the worker’s name or the driver, only the car’s model: a “Renault Duster”

The Red Cross center in Jbeil was immediately on the scene to transfer the worker’s body to the Bouar Public Hospital.

Migrant Worker Heavily Injured from a Balcony Fall in Sour [here] and [here]

A migrant worker (nationality unknown) is in critical condition in the hospital due to a massive head trauma cause by a fall from the second floor in Al Housh area in Sour (Tyre).

According to one source, the worker hit multiple surfaces before reaching the floor. She was transferred to the Lebanese Italian Hospital for imaging.

ISF Arrests 2 Criminals Accused of 300 Armed Robberies against Migrant Workers [here] and [here]

Internal Security Forces arrested 2 men who committed over 300 armed robberies targetting migrant workers, mainly Syrians.

The criminals were arrested after numerous robberies were reported to the ISF from different areas, the last of which was a robbery of 58m LBP from a migrant worker residing in Deir Ammar.

ISF issued a notice to the jurisdiction, but no further information about the verdict is shared.

Ethiopian Worker Demands her Unpaid Salaries before Repatriation [here] and [here]

Masarat Elmayo, an Ethiopian worker, shares her story with an abusive employer who tortured her throughout her 5 years of work, and robbed her of 3 and a half years of salary.

Her testimony was shared in a 2 parts interview on Annahar’s Youtube channel. Masarat came to Lebanon for work in order to pay for her son’s medical expenses.

Unfortunately, her son died without her being able to see him or pay the expenses needed for his surgery.

Roundtable on “Conflict Resolution” Between Migrant Domestic Workers and Employers [here]

Caritas held a roundtable under the title “Conflict Resolution: Right to Legal Representation and Fair Trial,” which was attended by migrant representatives, consular and embassy representatives, General Security, Internal Security Forces representatives and representatives of ministries.

The attendees discussed, both judiciary and non-judiciary “methods to resolve conflict” between migrant domestic workers and employers “guarnteeing both parties and the fairness of trial.”

The roundtable specifically working on “right to wage” presented a list of recommendations, mainly creating “mediating centers” to resolve all issues that “might present as a result of domestic work, whether from employers, workers or recruitment agencies.”

Additionally, the recommendations included “enabling the role of social workers from the Ministry of Labor, and informing workers that they can report violations or physical abuse to the closest center of Ministry of Social Affairs, who could advise or refer them to organizations in case they wish to file a complaint or sue.”

The recommendations are confusing to say the least. First, they do not take into account the imbalance of power that exists between employers and workers, especially given that in many instances, migrant workers are forcibly absent from trials.

Secondly, the recommendations emphasize that the “best” methods of conflict resolution “stem from peacful and friendly methods, without resorting to court.” This narrative disregards the coercion that migrants face when their rights are violated, and cannot be retrieved in a “peaceful and friendly way,” but through a court order. 

Ministry of Labor Tracks Recruitment Agencies’ Violations to “Maintain Lebanon’s Image” [here]

In an interview with Lebanon24, Minister of Labor Moustafa Bayram stated that issuing warnings to recruitment agencies aims to “maintain Lebanon’s image, as well as worker’s rights, protecting employers’ money, and avoiding their feeling of injustice.”

Bayram told Lebanon24 that the Ministry of Labor is working with the “Syndicate,” presumably in reference to the Syndicate of Recruitment Agencies in Lebanon “SORAL,” towards an “accurate mechanism” to report the violations of recruitment agencies.

The interview was made public in a very sensational piece about the involvement of recruitment agencies in sex trafficking, calling for a moral panic against workers, even though the article acknowledges that these workers are the target of the trafficking accusations.

The statements are nothing short of absurd, and the article portrays migrants as culprits by accusing them of theft, leaving the employer’s house, and sex work, referred to as “prostitution.”

Sierra Leone Consul Visits Abbas Ibrahim [here] [here] and [here]

A meeting was held between the consul of Sierra Leone in Lebanon and the general director of the General Directorate of General Security in Lebanon Abbas Ibrahim to discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries, especially the affairs related to the Sierra Leonean community in Lebanon and ways to regulate their conditions.

Following the meeting, the consul confirmed that the consulate has supported the repatriation of 300 women from Sierra Leone “ after they were abandoned by their employers, or left their jobs for other reasons”, another 150 cases are still awaiting their repatriation.

The consul also thanked the GS for the cooperation, especially in regards to the documentations required for traveling, stating that many workers have “lost their passport”. This misses the opportunity to discuss the severe violation ensuing from the residency system enforced by the GS and through which workers are systematically denied their basic rights, including owning their own documentation papers. Including their passports. 

General Security Publishes List of Arrests, Entry/Exit, Work Visas disaggregated by nationality from Mid-September to Mid-October [here]

The General Security Office (GSO) published a breakdown of arrests, entry/exit, and work visas between mid-September and mid-October in the new issue of the GS journal released on November 2nd. Highlights included the following:

• Nearly 318 migrants and refugees were arrested and interrogated;
• 281 migrants and refugees were released from detention after interrogation;
• Around 3,443 work visas were granted to migrant workers mostly to Ethiopians, Kenyans and Sierra Leoneans. There is no information on how many of these work permits were granted to newcomers.
• 281,065 foreigners and migrants entered Lebanon compared to 301,700 who left in the said time period.