Hundreds of African migrants in Lebanon await repatriation after Ceasefire
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Sierra Leonean migrant workers stranded in Lebanon dance while awaiting repatriation back to their home country, in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024.
Isatta Bah, a 24-year-old from Sierra Leone, wakes up from a nap in a crowded shelter on the outskirts of Beirut, holding her baby, Blessing. Bah’s days are spent in limbo, waiting for an exit visa that could take her and her 1-year-old back to Sierra Leone. She longs to reunite with her family after enduring exploitative working conditions, sexual violence, and the recent horrors of the war in Lebanon. “My experience in Lebanon is not good for me. I am really tired,” Bah shared. “I want to go home.”
Bah is one of hundreds of migrant workers in Lebanon awaiting repatriation after a ceasefire ended the 14-month conflict between Hezbollah and Israel last month. Lebanon has long attracted migrant workers hoping to build better lives, drawn by promises of stable jobs and fair wages. However, many of these workers enter Lebanon through recruitment agencies under a labor system called Kafala, which often traps them in abusive situations, including confiscated passports, long working hours, withheld wages, and various forms of exploitation.
The Kafala system has been widely criticized by human rights groups for its abuse of workers, but Bah was unaware of these issues when she arrived in Lebanon in 2022. She had been promised a supermarket job with a $200 monthly salary, but instead, she was sent to care for an elderly woman. A month after her arrival, her 3-year-old son back home fell ill and died. She said she wasn’t allowed time to grieve and eventually fled her employer’s home, leaving behind her passport and other documents since her employer had confiscated them.
Her situation took a darker turn when, one day, she and five other housemates were picked up by a taxi driver who promised to take them home but instead dropped them off in a dangerous area. As they tried to find another taxi, they were chased by a group of men and sexually assaulted. “We saw four men. They tried to chase us. We ran. They caught three of us,” Bah recalled. After two weeks of physical and emotional recovery, Bah resumed work at two hotels, though without her documents, she was hesitant to go to the police.
Months later, Bah and her friends learned they were pregnant. As war broke out in Lebanon, life became even more precarious for migrant workers. In September 2023, when Israel intensified its bombardment of southern Beirut, Bah fled the area with her baby and friends on foot, hoping to find safety. Sadly, not all migrant workers were able to escape the violence. At least 37 migrant workers were killed, and 150 were wounded, according to Joelle Mhanna of the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Most government-run shelters in Lebanon refused to take in displaced non-Lebanese individuals. Activist Dea Hajj Shaheen stepped in to help, along with other volunteers, by repurposing an abandoned space owned by her family to shelter over 200 women, including Bah. The space, a former car dealership, was transformed into “The Shelter.” Women cooked in the kitchen, some even dancing to Nigerian music, while others slept on thin mattresses in dimly lit rooms. Despite the modest conditions, the women managed to craft a Christmas tree out of sticks.
While some migrants have been accepted at government-run shelters, others have been evicted or denied shelter, the IOM reported. For many, leaving the shelters posed another challenge, as their passports and documents had been confiscated by previous employers. The IOM has received requests from approximately 10,000 migrants seeking repatriation. As of late November 2023, over 400 migrants had been supported in returning home, with two charter flights for people from Sierra Leone and Bangladesh.
On November 19, laughter and celebration filled Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport as women from Sierra Leone, some after years of waiting, prepared to return home. They dragged suitcases, shared hugs, and danced in celebration. “It wasn’t easy in Lebanon,” said Amanata Thullah, who had spent four years in Lebanon. “I am happy to be going back to my country.”
Although Bah was not among those leaving, she was happy to see her friends finally return home. She now waits for her turn, alongside over 50 other women. Initially, she was told she needed official documents for her baby and the father’s consent to travel. However, a lawyer waived the requirement due to her circumstances. Bah dreams of returning home to continue her education in computer science and to reconnect with her friends in the shelter. “I really want to see them,” she said. “I really want to go home. I am tired.”
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