A 12 year old domestic worker enters Lebanon: government and recruiting agencies blame her parents!

Al Akhbar daily published today that a 12-year old Bangladeshi girl entered Lebanon with false identity papers so that she can work as a domestic maid in the country. The newspaper reported that the girl who did not receive a salary since she started working and who was subjected to abuse for 5 whole years, fled two days ago the house of her employer as they forgot to lock the doors of the apartment. Commenting on the subject, chief of the migrant domestic workers in Caritas- Migrants Center, Hissen Sayah, told Al Akhbar that the initial bone test showed that the girl is 17 which proves that she entered Lebanon when she was only 12, noting that the father of the victim forged her papers to facilitate her entry. Sayah said Caritas reported to Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi who immediately opened an investigation into the incident, adding that the Organization will take the case to court. For his part, an informed source at the Labor Ministry revealed to the newspaper that “a team of three inspectors familiar with the file are probing the case”. The source added that “the problem emanates from the sending country and the parties accountable include the Bangladeshi Government, the recruiting agency in Lebanon and the employer who agreed to employ her.” Likewise, the President of the Syndicate of the Owners of Workers Recruitment Agencies, Hisham Burji, said, “There are many such cases where parents forge the identity papers of their child worker;” while denying outright any responsibility on the part of the agency or the employer. (Al Akhbar, 29 April 2015)