LEBANON: CHARGE VISITS SAFE HOUSE FOR TRAFFICKING

UNCLAS BEIRUT 000340 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO DEPT PASS TO EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE DEPT FOR NEA/ELA, DRL, G/TIP MARK LAGON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB KCRM PHUM SMIG SOCI CE CF ET LE MA NP RP SUBJECT: LEBANON: CHARGE VISITS SAFE HOUSE FOR TRAFFICKING VICTIMS REF: BEIRUT 151 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) On March 4, the Charge visited the G/TIP-funded Safe House operated by Caritas in partnership with the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC). The residents, all women, told stories of abuse and exploitation, while at the same time displaying the strength and courage to leave their abusive situations and seek help. Caritas has done an extremely effective job of providing care for the women while at the same time seeking justice and resolutions to their detrimental situations by working with cooperative GOL officials. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Charge d'Affaires a.i. Sison met the President of Caritas Lebanon's Board of Directors for the Safe House, Kamal Sioufi, and Caritas's Safe House Director, Najla Tabet Chahda, at the G/TIP funded Safe House in Beirut. Emboffs, Caritas staff, and twenty trafficking victims were also present for the visit. Despite the reasons for the women's presence in the Safe House, their mood was upbeat and hopeful. Many were excited to meet and talk to the Charge, some one-on-one. G/TIP has provided more than $700,000 over three years to support the Safe House's operations. The women were from the Philippines, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Madagascar, and Congo. G/TIP SAFE HOUSE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND IN THE REGION -------------- ¶3. (U) The Charge began the visit by talking with the Safe House's residents in a large group setting. The women described their stories and talked about the mistreatment they faced at the hands of their individual employers (Note: The overwhelming majority of the women worked as household employees. End Note.) After the group meeting the Charge toured the facility, which has the ability to comfortably house 12 women at any given time, but can accommodate twice this amount in an emergency. Usually, the women spend their days working with Caritas to advance their individual legal cases, and to take care of their shared living quarters. They also make handbags and scarves, which Caritas sells. The women use the profits to help buy extra necessities for day-to-day living. ¶4. (U) After the tour the Charge watched a presentation �A;about the Safe House. The G/TIP-funded Safe House has accommodated 206 victims of trafficking since its launch in ¶2005. The nationalities of the women include women primarily from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia; but also, women from Madagascar, Congo and Nepal. Of the twenty that were present on this March 4 visit, almost half were Ethiopian. ¶5. (U) The Safe House provides victims with protection and assistance, trauma counseling, legal aid, social counseling, and support for repatriation. In addition to the project's external caseworkers and lawyers, there is a social worker permanently on staff at the Safe House. In 2007, the Safe House received 98 victims of trafficking and assisted 90 women with their subsequent legal cases. Most foreign household employees earn between $100 and $300 dollars a month, depending on the nationality of the worker (Note: A Filipina maid is paid an average of $150-$300 a month, while a Sri Lankan or Ethiopian employee generally receives around $100-$150 a month. End Note.) WOMEN TELL STORIES OF ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION -------------- ¶6. (U) The Charge later sat down with the newest arrival to the Safe House, "Mary" (not her real name),for a one-on-one conversation. Mary left her two children, aged 9 and 4, to come to Lebanon to work as a household employee to support her struggling family back in the Philippines. Mary worked as a maid in the household of a Lebanese employer, who began beating her soon after her arrival. Mary remained in this abusive situation for over a year and a half. Finally, after a brutal beating she received for leaving her employer's house without permission, she left and sought refuge in the Safe House after hearing about it from a friend. The local employment agency which helped bring Mary to Lebanon did little to remove her from her situation, even after she complained about the abuse. ¶7. (U) Mary's former employer still has her passport and has told Caritas officials that he is going to destroy it to deny Mary the ability to leave Lebanon and return home. Caritas is planning to go public with this story if the Lebanese employer does not return Mary's passport and also pay for Mary's return to the Philippines. Chahda said that often Caritas, rather than the employer, is left with the bill to pay for the women's airline ticket back home. Caritas is trying to enact changes in the Lebanese penal code that would force the abusive employer or the negligent employment agencies either in Lebanon or the woman's host country, to pay for the ticket home, Chahda added. ¶8. (U) A Sri Lankan woman, who had been a resident at the Safe House for over five months, said the family she worked for withheld her wages for a period of seven years. Her only reason for staying in the house was because of her love and affection for the children whom she had raised for the past seven years before finally leaving. Three women from the Philippines who thought they were coming to Lebanon to work in a household instead found themselves working long hours in a resort. Their passports were taken and they were beaten and imprisoned in a small room when off duty. GOL MAKING A GOOD EFFORT TO STOP TIP -------------- ¶9. (U) The GOL cooperates with Caritas to resolve TIP cases and does not attempt to hinder or interfere to any great extent in investigations. Chahda noted that General Security (the lead GOL agency in charge of TIP cases) now has a black list of abusive employers, which prevent people from this list from hiring any future foreign household employees. However, Chahda noted that more should be done to go after the agencies, in Lebanon and abroad, which brings the women to Lebanon without properly checking to ensure their safety. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (U) Caritas/ICMC has submitted a $439,682 project proposal to keep the Safe House operating and to conduct training for government personnel. Post has submitted a cable recommending continued support for this program (Reftel A) and urges approval. End Comment. SISON