Lebanon domestic workers: Nigerian women wey go find 'green pastures' but dem ‘sell’ molest and starve for di Middle East nation
"Na my presence dem sell two girls, wen wan man come inside di office, dem say make im check those girls which one e want.
Regina say dem lock her inside one room with oda girls for three days without food and water and with for sale sign round her neck Na so e check, e pick two out of all of us, we be 16 inside dat room." Regina tok as she remember her experience as domestic worker for Lebanon. On 16, December 2020, na im Regina comot Nigeria in search of 'Cedars of Lebanon' alias greener pastures. Her agent for Nigeria bin don ginger am say she go work as house girl for Lebanon but with good and constant salary. Regina say she leave her shoe business wey she bin dey do for Badagry wey get K-leg because of money palava and sake of say she be di bread winner of her house she bin need to hustle. But wetin her eye see for Lebanon no be wetin she for fit imagine. One week afta she begin work with di family wey dem place her with, tins change. 'Dem treat me like slave' Regina say her oga dem begin share her with two oda families, she begin do house girl work for all of dem, both nanny work for all di children for di three storey building. She say wen di work tire her she begin say she wan go back, na dia di tori turn anoda tin. She say she suffer different level of abuse for her employers dia hand. "Even wen I dey sick dem no dey carry me go hospital, dem go just dey give me paracetamol, my leg swell, dem no carry me go hospital, me nose dey bleed dem no carry me go." "Na only once dem dey give me food, sometimes I dey steal dia food just to get strength to do di work." She tok. Regina say wen she complain say she no work again, dem carry her go one office, agent office for Lebanon. "She lock me for di office for three days, without food and water. Before dem lock me, dem beat me well-well. Na dia wey dem dey keep girls wey dem wan sell, inside toilet, na dia dem keep me too." Regina say dem 'sell' two girls for her presence from di room wey her Lebanon agent lock her up "Dem tell me say I no wan cooperate with my madam, say okay, today dem go sell me, na so she write for sale put am for my body.". Regina say afta di third day wen dem keep her for room and nobody come buy her, her madam come back for her. Dis time, she dey able to link up with one activist for Lebanon wey encourage her on how to cope and manage before she go get opportunity to leave. Regina say she bear everything till one day wey her oga tell am say dem go free her to go back with no money, no salary no plane ticket. She call her pipo for Nigeria for help her to raise money to go back home. Regina spend four months for Lebanon as domestic worker before she return to Nigeria 'Sexual and physical assault' Grace na anoda woman wey bin go Lebanon in search of work, unlike Regina na run she run comot her madam house wen she no fit bear di suffer again. She say she travel go Lebanon for August 2019 on assurance from her agent say she go work for company. But dat no be di case. But she start to fear wen di woman wey pick her up from airport tell her say she be 'slave'. Grace say na for balcony wey dem give her to sleep naim di husband of her madam and son dey still dey come sexually harass her. "She tell me say I be slave, say make I put my tins for toilet since no space for slave dey di house, she say I go sleep for di balcony." "My madam husband and first son, two of dem, if I sleep for di balcony, dem go sneak come dey disturb me say dem like me and want get something with me". Grace say wen she deny dem, dem make life difficult for her. Grace tok say she no collect salary one day, she manage till one day wen she run comot di house go Nigerian embassy. "Dem sell me three times for Libya" Motunrayo tori Motunrayo unlike Regina and Grace still hook for Lebanon, all she want na to come back home. She say na her brother friend wey be agent for Nigeria deceive her go Lebanon. "She tell me say dem dey bring pipo to Lebanon, Dubai to work as supermarket salesgirl and odas. Dem tell me say di work na dat of housekeeper." "We be more dan 100 Nigerian ladies for di airport for Lebanon, dem put us all inside di room, collect our passports. Our employers come dey pick us up. I cry wen dem tell me di kain job I go dey do." Many of di domestic workers say dem dey work from morning till night without rest and mostly ontop one food per day or empty stomach Motunrayo don change madams three times as di jobs dey become harder and she no fit bear am. "I say I go commit suicide, I don tire, my back dey pain me, I threaten to take my life." "My agent for Lebanon carry me to anoda house, I be di gateman, car washer, babysitter I dey only chop once a day, wen I complain afta some weeks my agent came to di house, carry me to di office and beat me up seriously". Motunrayo don spend close to ten months for Lebanon now and her experience don become worse. All she want na to go back home. Di fight to bring di girls home Secret Whatsapp groups na one way wey organisations wey dey try help dis girls dey use take communicate with dem. Na safe place for di girls to discuss issues and sk questions. Rescue African In slavery na one of di organisations wey dey fight to bring these girls home. Dia own Whatsapp group get over 120 girls inside. "Na terrible tin, domestic workers for di middle east dey over worked and under compensated. Dem dey work for over 19 hours a day, dem no dey feed dem, dem dey flog and sexually abuse and sometimes kill dem" Motilola Adekunle, Cofounder of RAIS tok. Human Trafficking: Dem cari her go Lagos, infect her wit HIV Di organisation start afta some friends respond to one young woman from Oman wey cry for 'help' , since den, dem don help a total of 120 girls to return safely since December 2019. "We dey assign case manager wey go dey responsible for di entire process, understanding how she get dia, who di agents for Nigeria and Lebanon be, wetin be di working conditions and depending on di kontri, wetin be di emigration requirements for her to safely return. " Omotola Fawunmi, Co-Founder of RAIS tok. Goment response According to di head of Nigeria National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, Juli Okah-Donli, na like 1,500 girls dey trapped for different kontries for di middle east and dem dey cry out for help. Agents sweet tok dem but dem end up with slavery, dem dey face sexual exploitation and no or low salaries. "Because of di kafala system, di women dey trapped in slavery and dem no get freedom". Okah-Donli tok. Under di kafala "sponsorship system", citizen wey usually be di employer, dey responsible for bringing in di prospective worker, he/she go take responsibility for di visa and legal status of di prospective worker. In turn, di workers go work for a certain amount of years before dem go dey free to go. According to Okah-Donli, Although di agency don succeed in arresting and prosecuting some of di agents for Nigeria, one major challenge wey dey na di lack of ogbonge national response to di problem and inability of Nigerians to hear di warnings wey dey ground against human trafficking. Illustrations: Jadesola Eniola