THERE ARE OVER 3.16 MILLION MIGRANT WORKERS LIVING IN THE ARAB STATES OF THE MIDDLE EAST. 520,000 ARE REPORTED TO BE IN SLAVERY.
VULNERABLE TARGETS FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Many individuals are targeted in their home countries by local agencies. The agencies promise them a better life by living and working in the Middle East. They are promised a good salary that they can send back to their families. The agencies are known to target people living in rural areas, many of whom do not have an education and are living in extreme poverty.
EXPLOITATION AND SLAVERY
Once the migrant worker arrives in their ‘hosting country’, more times than not, their passport will be taken from them as soon as they arrive at the airport. The individual is then handed over to their ‘employer’. It is the employer that sets the rules for the migrant worker and will decide what they can and cannot do. This leads to serious cases of abuse. In many cases the domestic worker is not given the agreed salary and many times they are not paid at all. This is a clear breach and violation of the migrant worker’s human rights.
The working environment of the domestic worker often leads to physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET BETWEEN ABUSE AND JAIL
Migrant workers who escape their abusive employers but are unable to find shelter with their embassy, face imprisonment for being classed as ‘illegal workers’. Without the appropriate care and rights given to abused migrant workers, they often find themselves trapped in prison at no fault of their own, unable to pay the cost of a return ticket to their country, all the while continuing to accumulate steep fines in ‘overstay’ visa fees.
HOW CAN THIS BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN? - THE KAFALA SYSTEM
What is the ‘Kafala system’?
Every Arab country manages migrant residency and employment through the Kafala (sponsorship) system. Under this system, a local citizen or local company (the kafeel) must sponsor foreign workers in order for their work visas and residency to be valid. This means that an individual’s right to work and legal presence is dependent on his or her employer. With tight restrictions on changing employers, this dependency renders workers vulnerable to exploitation.
“The kafala system makes it difficult for workers to leave in situations where they are underpaid or abused.”
—www.migrant-rights.org
“I WANTED TO DIE”
Many African and Asian countries have banned the recruitment of domestic workers for countries in the Middle East who subscribe to the “kafala” system.
Under the system, foreign maids are legally bound to their employer and have limited rights. Employers can take advantage of their position and many women are overworked, underpaid and physically abused.
Testimonies from women who escaped and private recordings show a world of powerlessness and abuse, hidden behind closed doors. This week’s Africa Eye, “Maid in Hell” is part of the “Why Slavery?” series from THE WHY.