African Migrants Stranded in Lebanon as Israel’s Bombing Leaves Them with ‘No Place to Go’

As Israel intensifies its bombing of Lebanon, African migrants in the region find themselves trapped with nowhere to go. Learn about the challenges they face in the midst of conflict.

Soreti*, an Ethiopian migrant domestic worker residing in Lebanon, considers herself fortunate to be alive. On September 23, she was not at home when Israeli air strikes hit buildings in her neighborhood in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre.

“It was a massacre,” the 34-year-old recounted from a private residence where she and many other African migrants, including children, are currently taking refuge. “They targeted apartment buildings inhabited by elderly people and kids. I’m alright, though I might have lost some hearing. The children here are terrified to sleep due to nightmares,” she shared with Al Jazeera.

Soreti is one of approximately 175,000 to 200,000 foreign domestic workers residing in Lebanon, most of whom are women. A report from Amnesty International in 2019 referenced the Ministry of Labour’s data indicating that at least 75% of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon were Ethiopian at that time. These individuals started coming to Lebanon during the 1980s and continued arriving en masse after the civil war ended throughout the ’90s and early ’00s. Many work as low-paid live-in caregivers and remit money to their families overseas.

Since October last year, Israel has been engaged in a conflict with Gaza and intensified its attacks on Lebanon the previous month. According to Israeli military statements, the offensive is aimed at facilities utilized by Hezbollah, a Lebanese group.

According to the Ministry of Health in Lebanon, Israeli attacks over the past year have resulted in at least 1,900 fatalities.

Over one million individuals have been forced to leave their homes, and Soreti mentioned that many fellow migrant domestic workers are among them.

“Everyone escaped the city, heading to Beirut or other locations where they had family. However, migrants have no such refuge,” she said. “Many are left sleeping outside with nowhere else to turn.”

In Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest city, schools have been transformed into temporary shelters for displaced Lebanese residents. Wubayehu Negash, an Ethiopian domestic worker who has lived there for almost 20 years and is contemplating leaving the area, shared this information.

“We haven’t been severely impacted yet. Neighboring regions, such as Nabatieh and Ghazieh, have faced destruction. We’re alright, but I feel uneasy about staying here,” she shared with Al Jazeera. “I was here during the 2006 Israeli attacks, and this situation feels much worse.”

The assaults on Lebanon occur several years into a severe financial crisis that started in 2019, during which the Lebanese pound depreciated by up to 90%. By 2021, according to the United Nations, three-quarters of the population were living below the poverty line.

As the COVID-19 pandemic intensified the crisis, thousands of domestic workers found themselves unemployed. Many Lebanese employers, faced with financial constraints, decided to leave their foreign employees outside embassies in Beirut, as reported by Amnesty. Nonetheless, numerous migrants opted to remain in Lebanon due to limited opportunities back home.

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However, as near-daily exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah have been occurring across Lebanon’s southern border over the past year, embassies in Beirut faced a growing number of repatriation requests.

The government of the Philippines—one of the primary countries from which many domestic workers originate—has actively mobilized and been repatriating its citizens at no cost throughout much of the year.

According to domestic workers from four African countries interviewed by Al Jazeera, the response of African diplomats in Lebanon has been nearly non-existent.

“It’s like we don’t have embassies here,” said Sophie Ndongo, a migrant domestic worker and leader of the Cameroonian community in Beirut. “Since Israel started bombing Lebanon, I’ve been receiving requests from Cameroonian women asking me to assist with their repatriation—as if I’m the ambassador!”

Cameroon is represented in Lebanon solely by an honorary consul.

“In recent weeks, we’ve seen women escaping from southern Lebanon to Beirut in search of refuge. Others have contacted me after their employers locked them inside homes and abandoned the region, leaving them at risk,” Ndongo stated.

In Lebanon, migrant workers are not covered by the protections provided to other workers under the national labour law. Their legal status is instead governed by the “kafala” or sponsorship system, which human rights researchers have compared to a modern form of slavery.

Under the kafala system, migrants are unable to pursue legal recourse for any abuse they suffer, regardless of its severity. According to Human Rights Watch, this has resulted in widespread mistreatment of domestic workers over the years. By 2017, Lebanese authorities reported that two migrant domestic workers were dying each week—primarily during unsuccessful escape attempts or by suicide.

“Regrettably, domestic workers are not regarded as human beings in this context,” Ndongo commented. “The racism and mistreatment we endure at work seem limitless. This situation has persisted for decades without any indication of improvement.”