Kicked out of Lebanese homes and denied entry into the Ethiopian consulate, Beirut’s Ethiopian house helpers are being abandoned on the streets
converged on the scene outside the consulate the same day. Images of the young women, forlorn figures in face masks, caused enough of a public outcry for the Lebanese labour ministry to intervene. “A hotel has been secured for the Ethiopian women,” Labour Minister Lamia Yammine later. Footage of the girls being bussed off and arriving at their new accommodation made the rounds on social media afterwards.
“The employers are to blame,” senior consular diplomat and communications head Befirde Dengela told theAsked why the consulate decided to close its doors on June 3, Befirde Dengela stated that it was for the safety of the diplomats. “Some of the women this week got rowdy and attacked us. They are frustrated, but still we shouldn’t be kicked or spat at.”
“The girls haven’t been tested yet,” he explained. “We would be endangering them and our staff in the consulate by allowing them inside. We have repeatedly asked Lebanese authorities to intervene and hold these employers who abandon these women accountable. But they are slow to do so.” The only available route home for Ethiopian domestic workers is aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Addis Ababa, with one-way tickets costing an astronomical. This is an impossible sum for domestic workers, who previously earned as little as $150 monthly.
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