Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, â€Žpdf 4.1 MB

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classes,” said one woman from Cameroon in Lebanon, who ended up employed as a domestic worker. Box 3.2. Deception about the nature of the work “I arrived at 3 a.m. Upon arrival, the border guard took my passport. I was shocked but couldn’t do anything. I received no explanations, and once I took my luggage, I had to follow the man in uniform, and I was thrown into a room full of girls. There were about 30 sleeping on the floor. I didn’t have my passport and was very angry. I knew it was not right. I asked many times: ‘Can I speak to somebody?’ I talked about my rights. They told me, ‘Wait for your Madam to take you.’ At 10 a.m., I was still in this room, very angry. I said I wanted to talk to someone and make a call. From that moment, they monitored me very closely. I was not allowed to go to the bathroom. Some of the girls had been in this room for three days. At 3 p.m., my name was finally called. A man came and my passport was given directly to him. On the way out of the airport, he explained that I was going to work as a domestic for his family, his wife and three children. I was shocked. I realized he was saying the truth and his family was very nice. There was no room for me in their house; I was supposed to sleep on the floor of the reception hall.” Interview with Kenyan domestic worker, Lebanon, 24 September 2011. In addition, some of the domestic workers interviewed explained that they had been deceived about the type of work they were expected to carry out in their employers’ homes. An Ethiopian domestic worker in Lebanon said she had come to do housekeeping work, “but then I also had to care for the baby and another child”. Many complained of being tasked with the cleaning of multiple homes and of caring for children and the elderly. A domestic worker from Cameroon had been told that she would clean her employer’s house, but “in addition to the work at home, I am also obliged to clean rooms at the hotel. I would never have come here if I known I had to live and work in such horrible conditions.” The Qatar National Human Rights Committee recorded similarly deceptive practices. In its annual report of 2007, it referred to a case of an Indian domestic worker who had been taken by her sponsor to Saudi Arabia and left to work there with his relatives for more than six months. 43 Deception also occurs with respect to the worker’s destination. A representative from Heartland Alliance reported that domestic workers and other migrants are sometimes reluctant to voluntarily accept positions within Iraq, including in the relatively secure Kurdistan Region. Several domestic 43 Qatar National Human Rights Committee: Fifth annual report on human rights in Qatar (Doha, 2007), p. 67. 53
workers supported by the NGO reported that they had been told by their recruiter that they were going to Kuwait, Jordan or Lebanon but had ended up in the Kurdistan Region, at which point they were informed that they had signed a work contract and were no longer free to refuse the employment or leave the country. 44 The case of animal herders Several migrants interviewed by the research team had originally been recruited as domestic workers but later were moved on to work as animal herders, taking care of sheep, camels and other livestock out in the desert. An official from the Sri Lankan Embassy explained: “Some boys are brought to Kuwait to work as domestic workers and then sold as shepherds to work in Saudi Arabia or along the Kuwaiti border.” 45 A “runaway” Sri Lankan shepherd interviewed in Kuwait narrated his experience in the desert: “I came to Kuwait to work as a driver and my employer took me across the border in Saudi Arabia for six months. I lived in a small steel hut with no air conditioning, no electricity and no shower or toilet. I was not allowed to kill the animals to feed myself. I was scared of my employer who tried to hit me but I said, ‘If you hit me, I will hit you back.’” This pattern of deception was also noted by an official of Winrock International in Bangladesh, who recalled: “We dealt with several cases of migrant workers who had been promised work as domestic workers but ended up working as shepherds.” 46 The deception in these cases may be perpetrated by the employer, who forces his domestic worker to work out in the desert, or by the recruitment agent, who deceives the worker about the nature of the job he is going to do. The animal herders are recruited from many Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. An official from the Nepalese Embassy in Kuwait, which has in the past rescued more than 50 of these workers, believed that they were deceived back home, “where they are told they will work at a company even though the sponsor tells the agent that he wants an employee to work on a camel farm. They pay 500 Kuwaiti dinar [KWD: US$1,800] to the agent to find the person.” 47 Not all of the workers deceived in this way believe that they are heading for domestic work. 44 Email correspondence with an official of Heartland Alliance, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 18 Sep. 2012. 45 Interview with an official from the Embassy of Sri Lanka, Kuwait, 27 Mar. 2012. 46 Email correspondence with an official from Winrock International, Bangladesh, 30 Sep. 2012. 47 Interview with an official from the Embassy of Nepal, Kuwait, 27 Mar. 2012. 54
Page 1 and 2:
In collaboration with TRICKED AND T
Page 3 and 4: Copyright © International Labour O
Page 5 and 6: officials, worker and employer repr
Page 7 and 8: 3.3.2. Recruitment 101 3.3.3. Work
Page 9 and 10: MoJ MoL MWPS MoSAL NCCHT NCT NGO NH
Page 11 and 12: LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1. Dimension
Page 13 and 14: The realization of this research pr
Page 15 and 16: In an effort to fill gaps in unders
Page 17 and 18: There have also been cases of anima
Page 20 and 21: CHAPTER 1: FRAMING THE ISSUE 1.1. D
Page 22 and 23: People trafficked for any of the ex
Page 24 and 25: 1.2. GLOBAL DEBATES ON HUMAN TRAFFI
Page 26 and 27: processes by which migrant workers
Page 28 and 29: Concerted efforts have been made to
Page 30 and 31: documented abuses against domestic
Page 32 and 33: CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1. RESEARC
Page 34 and 35: Table 2.1. Dimensions of forced lab
Page 36 and 37: Table 2.4. Indicators of impossibil
Page 38 and 39: 2.2. OVERVIEW OF DATA COLLECTED In
Page 40: Having said that, the Middle East i
Page 43 and 44: individuals who voluntarily agree t
Page 45 and 46: 3.1.2. Recruitment of domestic work
Page 47 and 48: domestic worker explained, “many
Page 49 and 50: An official from the NGO KAFA went
Page 51 and 52: Another Filipina explained the supp
Page 53: In Jordan, an official from Tamkeen
Page 57 and 58: on the balcony. When it got cold, I
Page 59 and 60: 3.1.4. Impossibility of leaving Wor
Page 61 and 62: Legally, the domestic worker has li
Page 63 and 64: embassy three times to make an emer
Page 65 and 66: given that it is not easy for a mig
Page 67 and 68: Analysis of the information provide
Page 69 and 70: country, or whose relatives are dec
Page 71 and 72: 3.2.2. Recruitment Recruitment of d
Page 73 and 74: to provide sexual services. Most of
Page 75 and 76: The research team was unable to int
Page 77 and 78: Box 3.9. A press report of traffick
Page 79 and 80: explained that in 2010 there were b
Page 81 and 82: There are conflicting views over th
Page 83 and 84: one nightclub owner in Amman. 144 T
Page 85 and 86: 2011, three minors and three adult
Page 87 and 88: Many reports confirm the interlinka
Page 89 and 90: Some claim that the situation of ar
Page 91 and 92: finish working, especially Tunisian
Page 93 and 94: Investigations carried out by the I
Page 95 and 96: Detention of women accused of prost
Page 97 and 98: Lack of any economic and social alt
Page 99 and 100: 3.3. OTHER ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES 3.3.
Page 101 and 102: Table 3.3. Overview of four process
Page 103 and 104: Indeed, many of those interviewed w
Page 105 and 106:
workers, often requiring them to ta
Page 107 and 108:
not suitable for the position so th
Page 109 and 110:
The case of seafarers Stories emerg
Page 111 and 112:
personnel from the ports to offshor
Page 113 and 114:
of destination often happen through
Page 115 and 116:
and we will find him a new job”.
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Degrading living and working condit
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Ministerial Decree 1186 (2010) was
Page 121 and 122:
Retention of personal documents Lac
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CHAPTER 4: REGIONAL RESPONSES TO HU
Page 126 and 127:
In Lebanon, the Government ratified
Page 128 and 129:
trafficking efforts in the seven em
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stipulating that employers must giv
Page 132 and 133:
In Kuwait, in the absence of a spec
Page 134 and 135:
4.1.5. Prosecution of human traffic
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Box 4.1. Ending the use of child ca
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4.2. STRENGTHENING THE INSTITUTIONA
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order management officers at the ai
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government action has, however, bee
Page 144 and 145:
Box 4.3. Ending forced labour in th
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among migrant workers and no protoc
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to the needs of their citizens. The
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Dialogue in 2008 to promote a colla
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CHAPTER 5: A WAY FORWARD Comprehens
Page 154 and 155:
to legally terminate a contract aft
Page 156 and 157:
5.3.2. Taking measures to reduce vu
Page 158 and 159:
attention also needs to be given to
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with new skills, which will make it
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ANNEX: LIST OF STATES PARTIES TO KE
Page 164 and 165:
BIBLIOGRAPHY National legislation B
Page 166 and 167:
Lebanon Labour Code, 1946. Law on E
Page 168 and 169:
International Convention on the Pro
Page 170 and 171:
The Economist. 2010. “Little bett
Page 172 and 173:
—. 2006. Multilateral Framework o
Page 174 and 175:
—. 2011b. Qatar’s ambitions for
Page 176 and 177:
—. 2010. The international legal
Page 178 and 179:
Transient Workers Count Two. 2012.
Page 180:
This regional study sheds light on
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