Entangled in Crises: The Plight of Lebanon’s Migrant Domestic Workers

Lebanon is home to more than 250,000 migrant domestic workers from African and Asian descent working in private households and businesses. In the 1970s, Lebanon saw an influx of migrant domestic workers from Africa and Asia. Over time, a system of exploitation was established, specifically targeting individuals from economically disadvantaged regions, who were recruited to fulfill domestic care needs.

Locked in the sponsorship trap

Migrant domestic worker’s labor in Lebanon is not governed by the Lebanese Labour Law. Instead, it is regulated by the Kafala sponsorship system. Described as “modern-day slavery,” this system ties the legal status of migrant workers to their employers, meaning their residency is dependent on their employment relationship.

This gives employers significant control over the workers’ lives, allowing them to confiscate passports, restrict movement, and deny basic rights like days off, fair wages, and adequate living conditions. The sponsorship system leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and forced labor, with little to no legal recourse.

In September 2020, caretaker Minister of Labor Lamia Yammine proposed a new labor contract for migrant domestic workers, which aimed to give them more rights and better working conditions, such as the ability to quit their job without losing legal residency. However, the proposal faced significant pushback from employers, recruitment agencies, and Lebanon’s Shura Council, the country’s top administrative court.

Crisis-heightened abuse

Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon have long been trapped in a cycle of neglect and abuse, a situation that has been exacerbated by successive crises.

In the wake of the October 17, 2019, Revolution in Beirut, many migrant domestic workers were dumped on the streets or in front of their embassies by employers, left with nothing but a few belongings and little to no money. The devaluation of the Lebanese currency reduced their already meager salaries, often paid in local currency. Many of these workers were never compensated for years of unpaid care labor, plunging them into even greater financial hardship.

The COVID-19 pandemic only added to their isolation. Workers were forced to live in overcrowded spaces, unvaccinated and with minimal access to healthcare and lockdowns left them quarantined in homes where they faced increasing violence and exploitation at the hands of their employers.

The August 4, 2020, Beirut Port explosion also displaced migrant workers along with Lebanese citizens. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 24,500 migrant workers were directly impacted by the blast, losing their jobs, homes, or sources of income. Their needs were deprioritized in relief efforts, a reflection of the racist attitudes and neglect they frequently experience.

Israeli attacks leave migrant workers homeless and abandoned, again

Ten days into the escalating Israeli war on Lebanon since September 23, 2024, more than one million residents fled their homes in South Lebanon, the Beqaa region, and the capital city of Beirut and its southern suburbs, seeking refuge from the relentless Israeli carpet bombings.

Many families, described by some migrant workers as “very strict,” abandoned their homes, but left behind their migrant domestic workers without legal documents, leaving them to face the danger on their own. Hundreds of migrant workers, mostly from Kenya, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, fled their employers’ homes amid airstrikes, gathering in Martyr’s Square in downtown Beirut, with nowhere else to go. Most of these workers had their passports confiscated by their employers, preventing them from leaving the country.

To make matters worse, their respective embassies have been largely unresponsive, failing to mobilize the necessary support for their repatriation. On October 1st, 2024, many of these workers returned to Beirut after being denied shelter and housing in relatively safer areas. The municipality of Tripoli evicted migrant workers from shelters “because they are not Lebanese”. With no access to travel documents, they are left to navigate this situation alone, an all-too-familiar scenario over the past five years.

Community mobilization and relief efforts

Amid the absence of government support, community mobilization has become crucial in supporting displaced populations, particularly vulnerable groups like migrant domestic workers. Grassroots organizations such as Anti-Racism Movement in Lebanon and community leaders like Egna Legna and the Alliance for Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon have stepped in to fill the void, organizing mutual aid efforts and raising funds to support migrant workers in the face of these overlapping disasters.

These initiatives aim to provide immediate relief such as food, shelter, and medical assistance, but also to bring attention to the longer-term systemic injustices migrant workers endure. Given the Lebanese government’s repeated absence and neglect during crises, it is no surprise that once again, community and grassroots mobilization have become the only lifeline for migrant workers, as they face yet another dire situation. This pattern of neglect has left collective action as the sole means of survival.

Despite the increasing crackdown on civic space that Lebanon has been witnessing, civil society organizations, activists, and grassroots community groups continue to find ways to meet the urgent needs of displaced populations. In the face of shrinking freedoms, these actors are stepping up where the state has failed, organizing relief efforts, providing essential services, and leading advocacy efforts for displaced communities. Mobilizing under restrictive conditions only highlights their determination and the critical role they play in addressing the humanitarian crises that disproportionately impact the most marginalized.

Intersecting oppressions: Gender, labor and crises

According to UN Women, “women make up an estimated 76 per cent of all migrant workers and 99 per cent of migrant domestic workers who come to Lebanon for employment”. The reality that the overwhelming majority of migrant domestic workers are women compounds their vulnerability. These women face not only the exploitation inherent in oppressive labor systems like kafala but also the weight of gender-based discrimination, which deepens their marginalization. Their struggles are shaped by the intersection of multiple barriers: patriarchy, racism, and economic exploitation. This creates a web of oppression that heightens their exposure to abuse, injustice, and precarious living conditions.

It remains disheartening to witness vulnerable groups, especially migrant domestic workers, continue to bear the brunt of Lebanon’s ongoing crises, disproportionately affected and further marginalized in times of conflict and humanitarian aid. The recurring neglect of these communities emphasizes the urgent need for systemic change, not just in addressing the immediate fallout from these crises, but in dismantling the structures that have perpetuated their exploitation for years.

While grassroots mobilization continues to offer a crucial lifeline, it is undeniable that lasting change requires deep institutional reforms that not only recognize but actively safeguard the rights of all workers, especially those who find themselves at the intersection of gender, migration, and labor exploitation.