African migrants have 'no way out' in Lebanon

In Lebanon, while people are scrambling to stay safe, some migrants, especially those from Africa, have been left behind. African migrant workers say they are having trouble accessing emergency shelter amid worsening conflict.

The Lebanese government estimates that the current violence has displaced more than 1.2 million Lebanese citizens. However, there are no reliable figures on the number of foreigners affected by the ongoing crisis.

“We are trapped. There is no way out,” said Regina Blessing Kyalo, a Kenyan domestic worker who arrived in Lebanon in 2023.

Mariatu Tholley, a Sierra Leonean migrant living in Beirut, said she had been having sleepless nights. “They are bombing everywhere at night. This country is not safe for us now,” she said, adding that she had nowhere to go.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) artillery and missile attack. Photo: AP

Overcrowded shelters

Most of Lebanon’s shelters for displaced people are now full, UN officials say, with people instead sleeping on the streets or in public parks to escape shelling and rocket fire.

"Most of the nearly 900 collective shelters set up by the government in Lebanon are no longer able to accommodate them," Rula Amin, from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said at a press conference in Geneva.

Mathieu Luciano, head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Lebanon, also expressed concern for the thousands of domestic workers, often migrant women. “They face very few options for shelter,” he said.

The situation is particularly difficult for migrant women, many of whom are freelance maids paid by the hour, according to Dara Foi'Elle of Migrant Workers' Action, a Lebanese NGO. Many have worked as maids in middle-class areas of south Lebanon, an area that Israel has shelled in its war against Hezbollah in recent weeks.

Stranded migrants sleep on the streets of Beirut to avoid shelling. Photo: Anadolu

Unable to evacuate due to lack of documents

According to IOM estimates, there are more than 175,000 migrants from 98 countries residing in Lebanon. However, those numbers only reflect the situation before the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Worse still, many migrant workers cannot evacuate without identification documents, which are often managed by their employers.

"Our bosses are holding our passports and travel documents. They are also running amok with our documents," Kyalo said, describing any attempt to return home as "mission impossible".

Lebanon’s Kafala system allows employers and recruitment agencies to confiscate travel documents to ensure workers do not abscond. However, this has significantly complicated not only the evacuation of migrant workers but also their access to most public services.

Some foreign countries have now begun organizing evacuation plans for their citizens, but progress has been slow so far. Bangladesh, Kenya and the Philippines have all asked their citizens in Lebanon to register for evacuation.

Meanwhile, many migrant workers from various African and Asian countries are struggling to obtain emergency travel documents to leave Lebanon.

Ngoc Anh (according to DW)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nhung-nguoi-nhap-cu-chau-phi-khong-co-loi-thoat-trong-chien-su-o-lebanon-post316182.html