Lucie arrived in Lebanon 16 months ago believing she was going to take up a new job as a teacher and earn enough to make life comfortable for the newborn daughter and young son she had left behind in Sierra Leone. Instead, she endured months of ill-treatment as a domestic worker before finally fleeing her employer's home.
"I came here to work as a teacher, I was promised I was coming to work as a teacher, but when I came I found myself stuck as a domestic worker," Lucie, 28, told The National.
“For seven months it was like I was living in hell. I had no freedom. I wasn’t allowed to eat at my own time, they wouldn’t let me speak to my family on the phone. One day they beat me up because I was singing while I worked. I love singing,” she said.
“They wouldn’t even pay my salary, so I ran away. They threatened to kill me. Why should I work without money? I’d be better off at home looking after my little kids. I only came here to make money for them.”
But under the kafala system under which migrant workers in Lebanon are employed, Lucie's legal residence in the country was tied to her employer. So when she ran away from the family that the employment agency had placed her with, she was left with no legal status, no rights, and nowhere to go.
Lucie found herself living on the streets of Beirut until she met several other women from Sierra Leone who had had similar experiences. They lived together in a small flat, paying for rent and food with money sent by relatives back home. Some families even had to sell their land to raise the money.
The women said they had been begging the Sierra Leone consulate in Beirut to help them return home, but like thousands of other women in the same position from other African and Asian countries, they were not receiving any help.
Lebanon’s General Security Directorate estimates there are more than 200,000 people in the country who are in the same position. Raising the money for a flight home is almost impossible for most.
But it was Lucie’s love of singing that turned out to be her salvation, paving the way for not only her own return to Sierra Leone, but also for dozens of other women from her country.
“I was sat on the railings one night while I was on the streets and I started to write a song,” she recalled. “I was singing to myself about how there was no hope and how I would never see my children again.”
That song, Bye and Bye, was later turned into a music video with the help of a French photojournalist who was writing about the plight of domestic workers in Lebanon. Recorded with 29 other women from Sierra Leone who were desperately trying to get home, the video accompanied a fundraising appeal that brought in donations of more $62,000.
Half of the money was set aside to pay for the group's living expenses in Beirut, although the women tried to save as much as possible for a reintegration programme to help them find jobs once they returned home. The other half was given to the Lebanese NGO Anti-Racism Movement to continue the work of supporting and repatriating women from Sierra Leone.
After the video’s release, Lucie found herself at the forefront of efforts to get her compatriots home. She led protests outside the consulate to demand a meeting with the officials, then sat on a committee liaising with the consulate and the UN on repatriation. She also ended up taking more people into her shared home.
“I don’t know where any of these people got my number, but once they saw the music video, they would all call me and say that they are in trouble in Beirut. So they came to live here. Now, we’re not stopping until all of us are able to go home,” she said.
A bout of illness put her in hospital but the calls for assistance did not stop. “I was in the hospital when the consulate called and told me they would start repatriating women. I was supposed to be resting and not working but they needed my help.”
Like many foreign workers who have run away or been abandoned, the women didn’t have any official documents to get them home.
“We needed everyone’s date of birth. The doctors kept telling me to rest, but I needed to work. I was immediately in contact with all of the girls,” Lucie said.
According to the manager of the Consulate for Sierra Leone, Dalal Chouman, 130 women are going to be repatriated by the end of October at the government’s cost.
"We will keep working on the rest who want to go back home," said Ms Chouman. "We hope to put an end to the misery of our people in Lebanon."
When The National visited Lucie at the small one-bedroom flat that more than two dozen women called home, the place was filled with euphoria. No longer feeling hopeless and stranded, the women danced and sang, tossing clothes around as they helped each other to pack.
“They made a promise that we will all be repatriated,” Lucie said. “I am so happy I’ll be able to see my two-year-old daughter and four-year-old son, but I’m also a bit sad to be leaving some of the girls behind who are due to leave after me - I am pushing for them all to be given definite dates before I leave.”
De De Pyaar De
Produced: Luv Films, YRF Films
Directed: Akiv Ali
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jaaved Jaffrey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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The view from The National
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TICKETS
For tickets for the two-day Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) event, entitled Dubai Invasion 2019, on September 27 and 28 go to www.meraticket.com.
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
More from Aya Iskandarani
The biog
Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."
Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell
Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 race, 12:30pm
Formula 1 final practice, 2pm
Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm
Formula 2 race, 6:40pm
Performance: Sam Smith
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
