little hope for their futures.
The church that we had
attended in Beirut, which
offers significant support
to members of the highly
vulnerable migrant worker
and refugee community,
contacted me about a
daycare centre that they
were building for the
children of refugees and
migrant workers. A few
minutes later I was agreeing
to run it!
Tell us abouT The
daycare you are
sTarTing and WhaT makes
iT so imporTanT?
The daycare project was
inspired by the story of an
Ethiopian domestic worker
who became pregnant
after being raped by her
employer. Although her
employer wanted her to get
an abortion, she carried the
baby to term and plans to
raise him. Having escaped
from her abusive employer
she is undocumented,
as is her son. Unpaid for
nine months, she is in a
desperate situation. Her
only hope is to work to raise
money to return home
both the airfare and the
substantial fine for being
undocumented but
while she works she has
nowhere to leave her son.
Her case is not unique. An
estimated 200,000 women
from Africa and Asia work
as domestic labourers in
Lebanon. Children born to
migrant domestic workers in
Lebanon are tragic victims
of this system of domestic
labour. The children are
usually undocumented
and, in the absence of
any family or government
support, their mothers
face the dilemma of where
to leave them while they
work. Leaving their children
at cheap, illegal daycare
facilities is their only
option, both financially and
legally, as undocumented
children are not allowed to
be enrolled in Lebanese
MM
coverstory
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