An Ethiopian migrant worker in Lebanon has approached the country’s courts, accusing her erstwhile employer of imposing conditions of ‘slavery’ on her.
According to reports, she is the first domestic worker in the country to have done so.
On her version of events, she began working for her employer – a dentist – in 2011 ‘to earn money and help my mother.’
In the intervening period, she alleges that she was subjected to forced illegal confinement, torture and abuse. She said that she was only paid for twelve months of her eight-year service. She claims to have been treated as a ‘slave’ and to have been called one by her former employer.
Antonia Mulvey of rights group Legal Action Worldwide, which provided assistance to the woman commented: ‘We are pleased we are moving forward with the fight for justice.’ She added that the ‘case is critically important for challenging the human rights violations committed against [migrant domestic workers] because of an exploitative and abusive migration-sponsorship system that excludes them from Lebanese labour law, leaving them without any rights or legal protection.’
The employer has denied the accusations.
[Photo: REUTERS/ Mohamed Azakir]