Sina traveled to Lebanon from Nepal to become a housemaid a few years ago. When her employment agent reached out to her in her impoverished rural community, the agent told Sina that a housemaid job in Lebanon would not only enable her to support her siblings but also help her pay for her mom's hospital bill. Sina thought that the opportunity seemed to be too good to pass by. Therefore, she immediately packed her belongings and flew to Lebanon.
Upon her arrival in Lebanon, Sina quickly discovered that her work situation was quite different from what she had imagined. After confiscating Sina’s passport and identification, the employers wanted her to work fourteen hours a day, seven days a week. They gave Sina only bread and tea to eat each day. For months, the employers also demanded that she work at their relatives’ houses.
Employers never mentioned anything about her salary, which she had not received. When Sina finally confronted her employers about the unpaid salary, the employers became physically and verbally abusive towards Sina. They also locked her in a room every night so that Sina could not escape from the employers’ house.
Today in Beirut City, Sina’s story is all too common to ignore among foreign housemaids. Some housemaids also face sexual abuse by their employers and have no legal recourse or other ability to protect their rights.
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