Modern Slavery
A Human Rights Violation 

You might be wondering; how could slavery still exist today? The issue of slavery is historically situated, with most focusing on slavery during the 1800s. Then, what is modern slavery?

Let's take the case of Betty, a new domestic worker of a Lebanese family. Due to her language deficits in the Arabic and English language, understanding what the other family members had to say was a difficult task for her. In due time, Betty’s hosting family became increasingly frustrated with Betty’s inability to learn the language, despite her showing improvements, the family was not patient enough to follow her progress. Eventually, their ‘kindness’ to teach Betty the language turned into aggressive acts of verbal & emotional abuse as a result of their growing frustration. Betty’s experience with her hosting family was in fact a form of modern slavery. 

The question still remains, what is modern slavery? Modern slavery is the severe exploitation of other people for personal or commercial gain. Modern slavery is happening every second, even now, it's all around us. From an outsider’s point of view, it may seem like an ordinary job but on the inside, the workers are facing violence, their passports being taken away, threats, and many more. So has slavery really ended? 

There are around 250,000 domestic workers in Lebanon alone. And unfortunately in my country (Lebanon), maids are available to work for families for long periods of time (2 to 5 years). I conducted an interview asking different maids about how they are treated and whether or not they faced punishment or abuse. Out of 50 maids, 45 reported having faced punishment or sometimes hitting for not fulfilling what their respective family’s asked them to do, and only 5 reported not facing any consequences.

Factors of Modern Slavery

There are several contextual factors that contribute to modern slavery:

1. Poverty & Inequality: Most domestic workers employed come from impoverished nations
2. Discrimination: Several domestic workers, especially women, face discrimination such as harassment.
3. Lack of Education: A person who lacks literacy skills will not have the ability to gain the knowledge to influence their own freedom and decisions
4. Migration: Modern slavers who transport the individual create an agreement that they work for the cost of transporting them and are promised better lives

The Kafala System 

Lebanon's sponsorship system, the Kafala system, is regarded as abusive. The system monitors the migrant workers, working primarily in the domestic and construction sectors. The system exploits and traps tens of thousands of migrant workers. It ties migrant workers’ legal residency to their employer since They are excluded from Lebanon’s Labor Law protections (minimum wage, limited working hours, overtime pay, etc.,). 

To overcome the issue of modern slavery in Lebanon, Lebanon’s Labor Ministry should work towards abolishing the kafala system by adopting a new standard contract that respects and protects the rights of migrant domestic workers.

By Khaled Itani