hroughout the course of history, slavery has long been ingrained in numerous civilizations. Despite international efforts to tackle this phenomenon and abolish all forms of servitude in modern society, the centuries-old practice persists—developing into more sophisticated and often dangerous ways in part by taking advantage of ethnic and regional divides.
The Kafala System and Human Rights Abuses
Over the years, the international focus and discourse on slavery have concentrated on the Middle East, which today is a volatile breeding ground for contemporary captivity. While slavery persists around the world under a variety of circumstances, it stands out in Middle Eastern countries where it is practiced legitimately. This legal practice of slavery is a “sponsorship” system better known as kafala. While kafala is practiced in many Arab countries, governance gaps and poor socioeconomic conditions in Lebanon make the situation more intractable.
This oppressive system permits inhumane conditions amounting at worst to modern-day slavery. Kafala gives employers an unprecedented level of control over the lives of their servants, resulting in a variety of human rights violations—including non-payment of wages, forced confinement, excessive working hours with no rest days or breaks as well as verbal, physical, and sexual violence.
In kafala, race is often connected to servitude, particularly among migrants—often women from poor areas of Africa or South Asia—who are “sponsored” by wealthy Arabs as domestic servants. These servants have little choice but to keep their heads down and obey. They are treated as objects and expected to complete tasks with disregard for their personal conditions and have no safety barriers—as a result, they are subject to multiple unreported human rights violations in a never-ending cycle of abuse and bias.
In the most serious cases, human trafficking may also arise. Most workers enter the kafala system through an unmonitored recruitment industry and are often deceived by recruiters—particularly non-licensed brokers—about the terms and conditions of the job. The vast majority persuade women through a number of approaches—supplying the possible migrant and her family with an entire range of false promises. Many workers have revealed that, upon arrival at their “sponsor’s” home, they are unable to leave again because their employers withheld their passports.
The Practice of Kafala in Lebanon
Lebanon has received less media attention for this practice than other Arab countries. Despite this, Lebanon has been the target of international backlash over the kafala system. In the early 2000s, the United States listed Lebanon Tier 2 in terms of human trafficking—a position they remain in today due to not meeting the minimum standards of addressing human trafficking. The ongoing challenges facing Lebanon have exacerbated the vulnerabilities of kafala workers. Due to governmental clashes and manifold exploitation reports, Lebanon was the only country in the region to face numerous prohibitions that restricted employment opportunities. For example, the Philippines suspended the deployment of domestic workers to Lebanon in March 2020 due to the deteriorating economic crisis.
Under Lebanon’s kafala system, migrant laborers are trapped amid inescapable cruelty with many resorting to suicide to escape. Many of kafala workers have shared accounts of being deprived of adequate food and were forced to sleep in kitchens, storage rooms, or balconies. This lack of privacy often makes them feel even more exposed and unprotected.
Consequently, kafala laborers have become one of the most marginalized groups in the Lebanese society. Every aspect of their lives highlights this marginalization, which in many cases is functionally indistinguishable from slavery. Most workers are prohibited from washing their clothes with the garments of their employers and some are even forbidden from sitting on the house furniture. Those working under the kafala system are primarily Black and Asian women who are often othered and relegated to the bottom of the social hierarchy. Most workers have reported being subject at least once to humiliating and dehumanizing treatment by employers. One example is how they are described by agencies as though they are commodities with information focused on their nationality, age, weight, and height. Women suffer even more, facing multi-layered struggles in a highly patriarchal society that polices women’s bodies. For these women, the house is a crime scene while for their masters, it is a locked space where the laws of propriety and humanity are suspended.
“Seven days a week. Zero time to rest. No day off,” says Mariema, a migrant domestic worker. “The Madam would frequently pull my hair and hit me on the head with a stick over and over again. This also encourages the man of the house to abuse. In the dining room, he grabbed me from behind and raped me with a knife at my throat; he was confident in his impunity.”
Abusers do not stop at sexual assault, often threatening workers with death if they report their abuse. These “sponsors” are untouchable. Despite being maltreated, raped, or starved, the workers have nowhere to go. Such a reality stems from the acute imbalance resulting from the paternalistic nature of kafala.
The outdated kafala social system has long been entrenched in Lebanese society, yet has been talked about less frequently in recent years. The government must now choose between a more equitable future or the continuation of the current system. In the absence of a regime that respects international human rights obligations, it is difficult to imaging such change will occur.
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The Kafala System and Modern-Day Slavery in Lebanon
Photo via Pixabay.
July 17, 2022
Although it does not frequently make headlines, Lebanon maintains the practice of modern-day slavery through the kafala system, writes Lea-Ann Moussallem.
T
hroughout the course of history, slavery has long been ingrained in numerous civilizations. Despite international efforts to tackle this phenomenon and abolish all forms of servitude in modern society, the centuries-old practice persists—developing into more sophisticated and often dangerous ways in part by taking advantage of ethnic and regional divides.
The Kafala System and Human Rights Abuses
Over the years, the international focus and discourse on slavery have concentrated on the Middle East, which today is a volatile breeding ground for contemporary captivity. While slavery persists around the world under a variety of circumstances, it stands out in Middle Eastern countries where it is practiced legitimately. This legal practice of slavery is a “sponsorship” system better known as kafala. While kafala is practiced in many Arab countries, governance gaps and poor socioeconomic conditions in Lebanon make the situation more intractable.
This oppressive system permits inhumane conditions amounting at worst to modern-day slavery. Kafala gives employers an unprecedented level of control over the lives of their servants, resulting in a variety of human rights violations—including non-payment of wages, forced confinement, excessive working hours with no rest days or breaks as well as verbal, physical, and sexual violence.
In kafala, race is often connected to servitude, particularly among migrants—often women from poor areas of Africa or South Asia—who are “sponsored” by wealthy Arabs as domestic servants. These servants have little choice but to keep their heads down and obey. They are treated as objects and expected to complete tasks with disregard for their personal conditions and have no safety barriers—as a result, they are subject to multiple unreported human rights violations in a never-ending cycle of abuse and bias.
In the most serious cases, human trafficking may also arise. Most workers enter the kafala system through an unmonitored recruitment industry and are often deceived by recruiters—particularly non-licensed brokers—about the terms and conditions of the job. The vast majority persuade women through a number of approaches—supplying the possible migrant and her family with an entire range of false promises. Many workers have revealed that, upon arrival at their “sponsor’s” home, they are unable to leave again because their employers withheld their passports.
The Practice of Kafala in Lebanon
Lebanon has received less media attention for this practice than other Arab countries. Despite this, Lebanon has been the target of international backlash over the kafala system. In the early 2000s, the United States listed Lebanon Tier 2 in terms of human trafficking—a position they remain in today due to not meeting the minimum standards of addressing human trafficking. The ongoing challenges facing Lebanon have exacerbated the vulnerabilities of kafala workers. Due to governmental clashes and manifold exploitation reports, Lebanon was the only country in the region to face numerous prohibitions that restricted employment opportunities. For example, the Philippines suspended the deployment of domestic workers to Lebanon in March 2020 due to the deteriorating economic crisis.
Under Lebanon’s kafala system, migrant laborers are trapped amid inescapable cruelty with many resorting to suicide to escape. Many of kafala workers have shared accounts of being deprived of adequate food and were forced to sleep in kitchens, storage rooms, or balconies. This lack of privacy often makes them feel even more exposed and unprotected.
Consequently, kafala laborers have become one of the most marginalized groups in the Lebanese society. Every aspect of their lives highlights this marginalization, which in many cases is functionally indistinguishable from slavery. Most workers are prohibited from washing their clothes with the garments of their employers and some are even forbidden from sitting on the house furniture. Those working under the kafala system are primarily Black and Asian women who are often othered and relegated to the bottom of the social hierarchy. Most workers have reported being subject at least once to humiliating and dehumanizing treatment by employers. One example is how they are described by agencies as though they are commodities with information focused on their nationality, age, weight, and height. Women suffer even more, facing multi-layered struggles in a highly patriarchal society that polices women’s bodies. For these women, the house is a crime scene while for their masters, it is a locked space where the laws of propriety and humanity are suspended.
“Seven days a week. Zero time to rest. No day off,” says Mariema, a migrant domestic worker. “The Madam would frequently pull my hair and hit me on the head with a stick over and over again. This also encourages the man of the house to abuse. In the dining room, he grabbed me from behind and raped me with a knife at my throat; he was confident in his impunity.”
Abusers do not stop at sexual assault, often threatening workers with death if they report their abuse. These “sponsors” are untouchable. Despite being maltreated, raped, or starved, the workers have nowhere to go. Such a reality stems from the acute imbalance resulting from the paternalistic nature of kafala.
The outdated kafala social system has long been entrenched in Lebanese society, yet has been talked about less frequently in recent years. The government must now choose between a more equitable future or the continuation of the current system. In the absence of a regime that respects international human rights obligations, it is difficult to imaging such change will occur.
