The situation facing Kenyan Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East has been made more complex by COVID-19. The pandemic has left many MDWs unemployed & homeless. In Lebanon, this has been heightened by economic challenges and the devastating explosion on August 4th. THREAD.

1. Following the explosion, Kenyan Migrant Workers organised a demonstration outside the Consulate in Beirut demanding to be repatriated. Other demands included a dismissal of the 2 Consulate officials, Lebanese nationals-Sayed Chalouhi & Kassem Jaber.
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2. The consulate has been accused of charging extortionate fees for services & abusing the workers; in one instance telling the women ‘to prostitute themselves’ so they can afford the fees. This was highlighted in a CNN expose published in July 2020: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/28/middleeast/beirut-kenya-as-equals-intl/index.html

3. The current situation of Kenyan MDWs in Beirut varies: some are pregnant, some have children, some have valid passports but cannot afford to pay for flights, some possess neither valid passports nor financial means. But they all have one thing in common: they want to go home!

4. @ForeignOfficeKE, through the Kuwait Embassy, responded on 12th August by stating that it would process emergency travel certificates for Kenyan migrants in Beirut without valid passports, and ensure that immigration penalties are waived for those who are undocumented.

5. However, the Embassy stated that it would not cover the costs of flights and other travel-related expenses.
https://www.facebook.com/KenyaEmbassyKuwait/posts/169031284742119

6. This was followed by much delay leaving many women sleeping outside. On August 14th, the Embassy published an official notice on its Facebook page, informing homeless Kenyans in Beirut that it had secured for them temporary accommodation in a shelter run by CARITAS Lebanon.

7. The women resisted moving into the shelter, alleging that the shelter had a history of restricting Migrant Workers' movements & treating them poorly.

8. On August 28th, @KenyaKuwait announced that it had provided clearances and flight tickets for 53 women to be repatriated from Beirut. The first group of 12 departing Beirut on 28th August, followed by another group of 41 departing on 30th.

https://facebook.com/KenyaEmbassyKuwait/posts/173566740955240

9. There have been reports on social media that the flight tickets were funded by donations from NGOs & donors. On their Facebook page, the consulate only confirmed that 12 tickets were paid for by an NGO called DEA.

https://instagram.com/dee.tales/ 

10. @KenyaKuwait needs to clarify whether they have changed their position on covering flight costs for Kenyans being repatriated from Beirut. Kenyans need transparency!

https://www.facebook.com/kenyabeirut/posts/4936978186372936

11. This is a step in the right direction. However, hundreds if not thousands of Kenyan women remain stranded in Lebanon. Thousands more continue to grapple with daily abuse at the hands of their employers and recruitment agencies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar.

12. We are committed to not only tracking the progress of the Beirut repatriation efforts by the Kenyan government and other actors but to also providing repatriation and reintegration support to women who are not able to access this assistance.

13. Our campaign also plays an educational role: we believe that by creating awareness of the experiences of Kenyan MDWs in the Middle East, & of the legal & regulatory environment, we will arm concerned citizens & organisations with the means to hold the government into account.