Migrant workers in Lebanon are trying to return home after alleged abuses and then war

Migrant workers in Lebanon are trying to return home after alleged abuses and then war
Hundreds of migrant workers in Lebanon are waiting to be repatriated after the ceasefire ending the war between the Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Israel went into effect last month. (AP)
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Updated 12 December 2024
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Migrant workers in Lebanon are trying to return home after alleged abuses and then war

Migrant workers in Lebanon are trying to return home after alleged abuses and then war
  • Hundreds of migrant workers in Lebanon are waiting to be repatriated after the ceasefire ending the war between the Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Israel went into effect last month

BEIRUT: Isatta Bah wakes up from a nap in a crowded shelter on the outskirts of Beirut, clutching her baby, Blessing.

The 24-year-old from Sierra Leone spends her days waiting for an exit visa that could put her and her 1-year-old on a plane back to the West African nation. She wants to reunite with her family after what she called exploitative work conditions and sexual violence, along with the recent horrors of war in Lebanon.

“My experience in Lebanon is not good for me. I am really tired,” Bah said. “I want to go home.”

Hundreds of migrant workers in Lebanon are waiting to be repatriated after the ceasefire ending the 14-month war between the Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Israel went into effect last month.

Lebanon has long drawn migrant workers dreaming of building better lives for their families. Enticed by promises of stable jobs and decent pay, they enter Lebanon via recruitment agencies under a sponsorship-based labor system known as Kafala — only to find themselves often trapped with confiscated passports, long hours, withheld wages and, for many, abuse.

The Kafala system has long been criticized by human rights groups, but the government rarely if ever addresses the criticism. But Bah knew little of that when she came to Lebanon in 2022. She was promised a job at a supermarket with a $200 monthly salary, she said. Instead, she was sent to care for an older woman once she arrived.

Within a month of her arrival, her 3-year-old son back home fell ill and died. She said she was not given the time to grieve and fled her employer’s house. Since her employer held her passport and other documents, Bah said she had to leave them behind.

Her experience in Lebanon then took a darker turn. One day she and five housemates were picked up by a taxi driver who said he would take them home. Instead, she said, the driver dropped them at the wrong spot. As they tried and failed to find another cab, a group of men chased them and raped them.

“Men were coming and they were cheering for us,” said Bah, who gave her consent to be named. “They beat us and they had sex with us.” She said it took her about two weeks to recover and resume work at two hotels. Without documents, migrants can hesitate to go to police.

Two months later, she and another friend found out they were pregnant.

Bah recounted the experience as she watched her baby’s wobbly footsteps.

With war, their lives became more precarious. When Israel intensified its bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs in September, Bah fled the area with her baby and friends on foot.

Not every migrant worker escaped the attacks. An estimated 37 have been killed and 150 wounded since October 2023, said Joelle Mhanna with the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

There were few places to turn. Most government-run shelters refused to take in displaced people who were not Lebanese, said activist Dea Hajj Shaheen. After supporting migrant women during previous crises in Lebanon, she stepped in again along with other volunteers.

To house over 200 women from Sierra Leone including Bah, they repurposed an abandoned space owned by her family — a former car dealership that was later a venue for pop-up events and named The Shelter.

The kitchen was alive with activity as women cooked, some dancing to Nigerian music. In another area, rows of thin mattresses lay in the dim light from broken windows. Despite the modest conditions, the women set up a Christmas tree crafted from sticks.

While some migrants have been accepted at government-run shelters, there were regular reports of others being evicted or denied access, the IOM said.

Some migrants hesitate to approach the government shelters for fear of detention or deportation, Mhanna said. “As a result, most are being hosted by embassies, NGOs and community-based organizations including churches, monasteries and other religious groups.”

The Lebanese government has not directly addressed the issue of migrant workers being rejected from government-run shelters, despite repeated calls for action from rights organizations and the United Nations.

Moving on from the shelters they found posed another challenge for migrants like Bah, as many had passports and other documents confiscated by former employers.

“We had to secure exit permits, immigration clearances and even child travel documents for the five children in this group,” said Shaheen, who coordinated the repatriation last month of 120 women and their children with the support of IOM, who chartered the flight.

IOM said it has received requests from around 10,000 migrants seeking to be repatriated, a small fraction of the over 175,000 in Lebanon.

As of Nov. 26, the IOM had supported over 400 migrants to return home. That included two charter flights for people from Bangladesh and Sierra Leone. It wasn’t clear how many more flights are planned. or to where.

Laughter and cheer filled Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Nov. 19. The women from Sierra Leone arrived in groups, dragging suitcases and sharing hugs. Some danced in celebration for their long-awaited flight.

“It wasn’t easy in Lebanon,” said Amanata Thullah after four years. “I am happy to be going back to my country.”

Mariam Sesay, who described herself as the head of Sierra Leone’s community in Lebanon, said there had been “a lot of distress and trauma” in recent months.

Bah was not among those leaving, but she said she and others at the shelter were happy to see friends return home.

She now awaits her turn, along with over 50 others.

At first she was told she needed official documents for her baby and the father’s consent to travel. But a lawyer waived the requirement due to her circumstances, Shaheen said.

“I wish to go back home to continue my education,” Bah said. “Since I was little, I always wanted to be a computer science student, because I’m good at that.”

She looked down at Blessing. “Now I have something to take care of,” she said. “When I watch her walk or laugh, that gives me joy.”


Syria expected to hold parliamentary election in September, official says

Syria expected to hold parliamentary election in September, official says
Updated 1 min 42 sec ago
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Syria expected to hold parliamentary election in September, official says

Syria expected to hold parliamentary election in September, official says

DAMASCUS: Syria is expected to hold its first parliamentary election under the new administration in September, the head of the electoral process told state news agency SANA on Sunday.

Voting for the People’s Assembly is expected to take place from September 15 to 20, added the official, Mohammed Taha.


Iraqi police clash with paramilitary fighters who stormed government building

PMF is an umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces.
PMF is an umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces.
Updated 27 July 2025
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Iraqi police clash with paramilitary fighters who stormed government building

PMF is an umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces.
  • PMF fighters burst into the building during an administrative meeting, causing panic among staff who alerted police
  • Security sources and three employees at the scene said the fighters had wanted to stop the office’s former director from being replaced

BAGHDAD: A gunbattle erupted in Iraq’s capital on Sunday between police and fighters from a state-sanctioned paramilitary force that includes Iran-backed groups, killing at least one police officer and leading to the arrest of 14 fighters, authorities said.

The clash broke out in Baghdad’s Karkh district after a group of fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) stormed an Agriculture Ministry building as a new director was being sworn in, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The PMF, known in Arabic as Hashd Al-Shaabi, is an umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces and includes several groups aligned with Iran.

According to the Interior Ministry, the PMF fighters burst into the building during an administrative meeting, causing panic among staff who alerted police.

Security sources and three employees at the scene said the fighters had wanted to stop the office’s former director from being replaced.

A statement from the Joint Operations Command, which reports directly to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, confirmed that the detainees were PMF members and had been referred to the judiciary. At least one police officer was killed and nine others were wounded, police and hospital sources said.

Sudani ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the incident, the command said.

The arrested fighters belong to “PMF brigades 45 and 46,” the statement added. Both brigades are affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, according to Iraqi security officials and sources within the PMF.


Jordan and UAE carry out humanitarian airdrops over Gaza as aid efforts intensify

Jordan and UAE carry out humanitarian airdrops over Gaza as aid efforts intensify
Updated 27 July 2025
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Jordan and UAE carry out humanitarian airdrops over Gaza as aid efforts intensify

Jordan and UAE carry out humanitarian airdrops over Gaza as aid efforts intensify
  • Royal Jordanian Air Force and UAE Air Force C-130 aircraft joint operation airlifted 25 tons of food and basic necessities into Strip

GAZA: The Jordan Armed Forces and the UAE carried out three humanitarian airdrops on Sunday to deliver vital food and supplies to several areas across the Gaza Strip, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Using Royal Jordanian Air Force and UAE Air Force C-130 aircraft, the joint operation airlifted 25 tons of food and basic necessities amid worsening humanitarian conditions in the war-torn enclave.

The operation forms part of Jordan’s ongoing relief efforts, conducted in coordination with the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation and international partners, to support the Palestinian population and ease the impact of the conflict, JNA added.

The UAE also said on Saturday that it would resume aid drops over Gaza at once, citing the “critical” humanitarian situation in the blockaded territory, where aid groups have warned of mass starvation.

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical and unprecedented level,” UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said in a post on X.

“We will ensure essential aid reaches those most in need, whether through land, air or sea. Air drops are resuming once more, immediately.”

Since the outbreak of war, the Jordanian military has completed 127 airdrops, in addition to 267 conducted in cooperation with other nations.

While airdrops offer a rapid way to deliver emergency aid to areas that are otherwise inaccessible, officials stress that ground convoys remain the most effective and prioritized method of delivering humanitarian assistance.

To date, Jordan has sent 181 land convoys into Gaza in coordination with the JHCO, the World Food Programme, and World Central Kitchen. These convoys have delivered a total of 7,932 trucks loaded with aid.


UN aid chief welcomes ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza

UN aid chief welcomes ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza
Updated 27 July 2025
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UN aid chief welcomes ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza

UN aid chief welcomes ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza
  • OCHA says UN teams in place to ramp up deliveries into the Palestinian territory ‘as soon as they are allowed to do so’
  • OCHA notes constraints imposed by the Israeli authorities had hampered humanitarians’ ability to respond

GENEVA: The United Nations’ aid chief welcomed Israel’s announcement Sunday of secure land routes into Gaza for humanitarian convoys, and said the UN would try to reach as many starving people as possible.

“Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through,” UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said on X.

“In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window.”

Fletcher’s UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned Friday that conditions on the ground in Gaza were “already catastrophic and deteriorating fast.”

“The starvation crisis is deepening,” it said, warning that hunger and malnutrition increase the risk of illnesses, and adding that the consequences can quickly “turn deadly.”

It said that “the trickle of supplies that are making it into the Strip are nowhere near adequate to address the immense needs.”

OCHA said UN teams were in place to ramp up deliveries into the Palestinian territory “as soon as they are allowed to do so.”

“If Israel opens the crossings, lets fuel and equipment in, and allows humanitarian staff to operate safely, the UN will accelerate the delivery of food aid, health services, clean water and waste management, nutrition supplies, and shelter materials,” it said.

OCHA said constraints imposed by the Israeli authorities had hampered humanitarians’ ability to respond.

It said that on Thursday, for example, out of 15 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza, four were “outright denied,” with another three impeded.

One was postponed, and two others had to be canceled, meaning only five missions went ahead.

On Friday OCHA issued an aid delivery plan in the event of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.


Israeli army says two soldiers killed in south Gaza

Israeli army says two soldiers killed in south Gaza
Updated 27 July 2025
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Israeli army says two soldiers killed in south Gaza

Israeli army says two soldiers killed in south Gaza
  • Israeli military sources said they were killed when their armored vehicle exploded in the city of Khan Yunis

JERUSALEM: Two Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday, the military said, a day after confirming another soldier had died of wounds sustained last week.

“We have lost three young heroes — some of our finest — who gave their lives for the security of our state and the return of all our hostages,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X.

The two soldiers, aged 20 and 22, served in the Golani Infantry Brigade’s 51st Battalion.

Israeli military sources said they were killed when their armored vehicle exploded in the city of Khan Yunis.

Military correspondents from several Israeli media outlets said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device detonated by a militant who emerged from a tunnel.

An investigation was underway.

The Israeli military says 462 soldiers have been killed since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27, 2023.

Israel launched its Gaza military campaign after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.