Human Trafficking in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Republic of Lebanon                                                                  [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Lebanon [map] is located in SW Asia and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea (W), by Syria (N & E), and by Israel (S).  Its capital is Beirut.  The country requires major reconstruction and rehabilitation, revitalizing key social sectors and stimulating economic growth.  This includes plans to rehabilitate water networks and school buildings, improve school programs and rehabilitate the healthcare infrastructure.  Lebanese youth below the age of 25 years, who constitute more than half of the population, suffer from weak integration in the social environment

Lebanon is a destination country for the trafficking of Asians and Africans for the purpose of domestic servitude and for Eastern European and Syrian women trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Lebanese children are trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women from Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Ethiopia migrate to Lebanon legally, but often find themselves subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude as domestic servants. Many suffer physical and sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, threats, and withholding of passports. Eastern European and Syrian women come to Lebanon on "artiste" visas, but some become victims of forced prostitution.   - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2007   [full country report]

 

 

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Lebanon.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

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Seeking Hemalatha - Letter from Lebanon - Sri Lankan domestic missing in Lebanon

'Her name is Hemalatha Mendis,' explained one official. 'We received these photographs this morning. We don't know for sure where she is but we believe she is being held at the agency which brought her to the country.  Hundreds of such agencies have sprung up in Lebanon over the past few years. They bring in women from Sri Lanka, the Philippines or Ethiopia to work as maids and are notorious for abusing the women.

Later that day I met with Hemalatha. Her employer had described her as 'a problem' and had wanted to return her to the agency. This prompted the agency owner to 'take out a big stick and start beating my back, my arms and my legs,' she said. 'I tried to cover my body but I couldn't. I was crying and my head began to throb with pain.  Once finished, the owner turned to the employer and said: 'If you have any more problems with her just bring her to me.'

 

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Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country (Lebanon), and Years Missing

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - There have been reported cases of child prostitution and other situations that amount to forced labor.  Although Lebanon is a destination country for women trafficked from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union for the purposes of involuntary domestic servitude and prostitution, there are no official government reports of child trafficking in the country.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The country was a destination for East European and Russian women, contracted as dancers in adult clubs. Most of these women engaged in voluntary illegal prostitution and were at risk as targets of abuse.

The country was also a destination for women from Africa and Asia, usually contracted as household workers. Women are required by law to have good faith work contracts and sponsors, but often found themselves in coercive work situations with little practical legal recourse

Restrictions of movement and withholding of passports were common practice. A small number of exploited foreign workers won cases against their employers. Non-judicial action resolved the majority of these cases. As a result of that process, workers frequently were repatriated without further judicial action. A few cases were referred to the judiciary for further action, although the government took minimal steps to prosecute traffickers.

Expert on Trafficking in Persons Ends Visit to Lebanon - September 15, 2005

In the course of my mission, I have found that a significant number of human beings, women in the majority, are trafficked into and within Lebanon. Unfortunately, their plight seems to remain unknown to significant parts of Lebanese society, perhaps because the victims tend to be foreign nationals or are considered to be of low social status. Lebanon's victims of trafficking are often invisible victims because they suffer in places that remain hidden to the public eye such as private homes or hotel rooms.

In Contempt of Fate - The slave narrative of Beatrice Fernando

When Beatrice Fernando was 23 years old, she contracted with an agency to work in Lebanon as a housemaid, promised decent wages to provide for her son and family in Sri Lanka. Upon arriving in Lebanon, Beatrice was sold to a wealthy Beirut woman who beat, starved, and verbally abused her. After months of back-breaking labor and endless torture, Beatrice escaped by the only means available - she jumped off the fourth story balcony of her ritzy apartment.

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 5   Civil Liberties: 4   Status: Partly Free

Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide

U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study

FI Organises Grassroots Human Trafficking and Forced Labour Workshop

Sr. Herminia Cruz, FMM, a Philippine sister, has lived and worked in the Middle East for 24 years. In Lebanon, like other countries who “host” trafficked persons, human rights violations are common occurrences. Victims frequently experience sexual and physical abuse, confiscation of their identity documents and confinement.  “Migrant workers are crying for help; I hope that I can give them justice through their rights being respected. We need to coordinate more with NGOs, especially FI,” the Franciscan sister reflected.

Seeking Hemalatha - Letter from Lebanon - Sri Lankan domestic missing in Lebanon

'Her name is Hemalatha Mendis,' explained one official. 'We received these photographs this morning. We don't know for sure where she is but we believe she is being held at the agency which brought her to the country.  Hundreds of such agencies have sprung up in Lebanon over the past few years. They bring in women from Sri Lanka, the Philippines or Ethiopia to work as maids and are notorious for abusing the women.

Later that day I met with Hemalatha. Her employer had described her as 'a problem' and had wanted to return her to the agency. This prompted the agency owner to 'take out a big stick and start beating my back, my arms and my legs,' she said. 'I tried to cover my body but I couldn't. I was crying and my head began to throb with pain.  Once finished, the owner turned to the employer and said: 'If you have any more problems with her just bring her to me.'

Free Democracy

UAE : HORRENDOUS RECORD OF CHILD SLAVERY - WORK WORRIES - Sri Lankan women are trafficked to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, mainly as sex workers or for forced labor.

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Human Trafficking in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]