Featured Blog:
Global Black Lives Matter -protests have campaigned against racial discrimination in many North American and European countries. Statues, street names and memorial monuments that reminisce over colonial past and slavery have been examined recently. It is important that these issues are discussed widely around the World and hopefully people will start to recognize the problems related to human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery.
In the Middle East, human trafficking is alarmingly common. It is a highly profitable business despite being illegal. However, many countries turn a blind eye to it. In Sub-Saharan countries human trafficking is especially common. Illegal migrant workers are sold secretly to MENA-countries such as Jordan, Saudi-Arabia, Qatar and other oil-rich countries. Victims of human trafficking often leave their home country in the hope of a better work, but they usually face serious inhumane exploitation, sexual violence and slavery conditions.
Middle Eastern countries started to welcome migrant workers in the beginning of the 1950’s when oil was discovered in the Persian Gulf. Countries like Saudi-Arabia needed foreign workforce and many Asian and African workers were ready to migrate to these newly oil-rich countries. Middle Eastern countries created a new system between employer and employee, that became known as kafala-system.
Kafala-system is based on mutual agreement between worker and employee and offers jobs for workers whenever needed, especially during rapid economic growth. The worker had to be devoted to one’s employer or “sponsor” and was not allowed to leave the country before the contract was finished. The Kafala-system is still in use in many Middle Eastern countries and millions of migrant workers suffer from its negative consequences. Kafala-system can be considered as a modern form of slavery.
In 2019, there were around 35 million migrants in the Middle East. Most of them came from South Asian or Sub-Saharan Africa, namely: India, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Kenya. Many news agencies have reported about the mistreatment of male migrant workers in Qatar, that have been building stadiums for the 2022 football World-cup championships. However, male migrant workers are not the only ones that are facing serious human rights abuse in MENA-region. In 2019, 31 percent of migrants in the Middle East were women.
Many African-born women work as domestic servants and live in inhumane conditions. Most of these domestic workers are young women, who come from poor living conditions. Domestic work abroad is often the only job that they are offered, and it is hard for them to refuse upon arrival in the host country of employment.
Women meet the work agent in their home country, who arranges the travel logistics and place of work for them in a MENA-region country. They are promised good salary, holidays and good working conditions but, the reality is much different and far from what was promised.
According to kafala-system, workers are under the employers’ control. When women arrive in the country of destination, where they are to work, their passports, IDs and phones are taken from them. They cannot leave the country or call anyone. They are not allowed to have holidays or meet their families. Many women suffer from physical and sexual violence and abuse, not to mention illegal restraint. Depression, beatings and rapes are not uncommon. Suicide rates are high among domestic servants, and many have died while attempting escapes from high buildings.
Numerous African countries acknowledge the problem and have started to fight for the rights of migrant workers. Unfortunately, it is difficult to regulate the rights of the migrant workers because of human trafficking and workers with no ID-cards. Also, money is a big issue. For example, in 2012 Kenya prohibited women to work in Middle Eastern countries but the prohibition was abolished in 2017 with Saudi-Arabia. The economic issues mattered more than human rights.
Furthermore, domestic servants are not part of the labour code at MENA-region and since some workers do not have ID-papers it is impossible to know how many domestic servants are working at MENA-region. Many women die daily because of violence and suicides but no-one seems to be interested. Member of Kenyan senate, Emma Mbura says that domestic servants are part of a big cartel. Everyone knows what is happening, but no-one is willing to do anything.
International labour organization ILO has heavily criticized the kafala-system and called for its abolition. However, it is difficult to change such a system that is based on mutual agreements between employers and employees. Local residents are not very neither willing to change it because migrant workers are highly needed in MENA-region countries. It is also largely a cultural question.
Humanitarian NGOs work in important positions while helping migrant workers in their difficulties. International help organization Caritas helps migrants that have escaped from their workplace and don’t have nowhere to go. Caritas international offers help also in legislative and healthcare issues. Bruno Attieh from Caritas Lebanon reminds that not all domestic servants suffer from human rights abuse, but majority do.
COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the lives of billions but has affected most of those who are already living in poor conditions i.e. migrant workers. Researcher Rothna Begum has interviewed Middle Eastern domestic servants over the past ten years and documented their living conditions.
Begum believes that COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the living conditions of domestic servants even more. Now when the children are not at school, domestic servants work around the clock. Lock-down curfew may have been used as an excuse to prohibit domestic workers on leaving the house. Also, since the standards of hygiene have risen more cleaning work is required.
Because of the difficult economic situation in many countries, domestic servants are unlikely to be paid any wage and they are unable to leave the country due border control. Millions of domestic workers have been literally locked down.
Olli Ruohomäki, senior adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, expresses his worry towards migrant workers in his analysis. Although Middle Eastern countries have relatively high healthcare systems it does not cover migrant workers. Millions of migrant workers have probably been left without proper health care during COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Rothna Begum governments should organize information campaigns on television and on social media so that both employees and workers could know more about the rights of migrant workers. The governments are obligated to take care of their citizens’ human rights, and not to turn a blind eye on human rights violations.
Protection of human rights should not be left in the shadow of global economic crisis. The governments should seek action in abolishing modern slavery and human trafficking. Although the legislative reforms are to be made trans-nationally, grassroots activism is as important. Enhancing women’s social status, education and human rights are important factors in the fight against global human trafficking.
Written by:
Salaado Qasim, Co-founder and Chair of the Peace and Well-being organization, an NGO working to empower people by improving the living conditions of women and young people.
———
References:
- https://www.ilo.org/beirut/areasofwork/labour-migration/lang–en/index.htm
- https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11391993
- https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2019/01/18/orjuus-nyt-lahi-idan-kotiorjat-kafala-jarjestelma-alistaa-tyontekijat
- https://www.amnesty.fi/qatar-petti-lupaukset-siirtotyolaiset-tekevat-toita-ilman-palkkaa/
- https://www.ilo.org/dyn/migpractice/docs/132/PB2.pdf
- https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-8028144
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/06/domestic-workers-middle-east-risk-abuse-amid-covid-19-crisis
- https://www.hs.fi/politiikka/art-2000006421600.html
- Mensah-Ankrah, Chris & Sarpong, Rex. (2018). Human Trafficking in the MENA Region: Exploring Human Trafficking Laws in the MENA Region for the Protection of Ghanaian Victims.
- https://www.caritas.fi/
