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How are domestic workers surviving Lebanon鈥檚 conflict?

"We tried so many shelters, and we were rejected. It鈥檚 like, it鈥檚 not for migrants! It鈥檚 not for migrants! And so, we ended up on the streets.鈥

"We tried so many shelters, and we were like rejected. It鈥檚 like, it鈥檚 not for migrants, it鈥檚 not for migrants!鈥

Lebanon is caught in a devastating conflict between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, a powerful Shia Muslim political party and armed group.

Critical infrastructure, including hospitals, residential buildings, and shelters, has been destroyed, displacing over a million people across the country.

Among those most affected are Lebanon鈥檚 roughly 250,000 migrant domestic workers, primarily from African and Asian countries including Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Sierra Leone. Many of these workers, who were already living in precarious conditions under the Kafala system which leaves them heavily reliant on their employers, have now been made homeless and are desperately seeking shelter, food, and safety.

For Africa Daily, Muthoni Muchiri speaks with Mariam Bai Sesay, a former domestic worker and Enu, the deputy director of Egna Legna Besidet, an organisation that provides legal aid, housing assistance, and food relief to the workers.

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