Gambian migrant workers repatriated after months stranded in Lebanon

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A None Government Organization (NGO) Action for Humanity have confirmed paying for 38 Gambian women’s travel after stranded in Lebanon for months and were able to return home earlier this week despite a lack of support from The Gambia government. 

In a statement released on Friday, Action for Humanity confirmed that it had "facilitated the repatriation of 38 Gambian women including two children from Beirut". 

With no direct flights between Lebanon and Gambia, the NGO paid for flights to the Senegalese capital Dakar and organized buses to the women's hometowns. 

"The reaction of the women once they arrived at the end of the long journey was relief," the NGO's executive director, Lovette Jallow, told Middle East Eye on Sunday. 

The repatriated Gambian women were among thousands of domestic workers from African or Asian countries who were abandoned or forced to flee employers unable to pay them in Lebanon while the country suffers from a crippling economic crisis, further compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

Migrant workers are employed under the exploitative terms of the kafala system, widespread across Lebanon and parts of the Middle East, which grants employers the power to control migrant workers' movements and leaves them vulnerable to abuse. 

The women began to lobby for repatriation more than nine months ago, urging Gambian authorities to help them leave Lebanon, despite many having had their passports confiscated by former employers.

The situation became more urgent following the devastating explosion in Beirut port on 4 August that killed around 190 people, injured 6,000 more and severely damaged whole neighborhoods. 

Action for Humanity said the women had faced difficulties getting help from their consulate in Lebanon. 

"The women expressed frustration at the lack of support from The Gambian consul in Beirut, thus leaving them helpless and fending for themselves in quite difficult circumstances in Lebanon," the NGO stated. 

When Action for Humanity contacted the Gambian government in the Banjul, it said the Foreign Ministry "was not forthcoming" in helping its citizens, prompting Jallow to take the matter into her own hands.

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