Lebanese and Migrant Activists target the Kafala system · Global Voices
Elia J. Ayoub

The Migrant Workers Task Force (MWTF), a Lebanese NGO comprising of Lebanese and international activists, including Migrant Workers, has launched a campaign aiming at tackling the notorious Kafala (or “Sponsorship”) System with the hashtag #StopKafala. The campaign features students (migrants) and teachers (migrants, Lebanese and international activists) holding a sign in English, French or Arabic with their message. The photoshoot was hosted at AltCity Hamra where the MWTF gives free weekly English and French classes to migrant workers on Sundays (their day off).
On their Facebook page, they wrote:
In support of the 4th Annual Workers’ Day Celebration and the Fi Shi Ghalat [There's Something Wrong] campaign, our students and teachers prepared their own banners for the Parade that will take place on the 4th of May. They are all taking a stand against the sponsorship (Kafala) system that is responsible for all the human rights abuse that faces migrant workers every day.
The Annual Workers’ Day Celebration (Event Link) mentioned above is an annual event celebrating Labor Day and hosted by four well-known Lebanese NGOs and supported by the MWTF. The four organizations are Fi Shi Ghalat (“There's Something Wrong”), KAFA (Enough), the Anti-Racism Movement (ARM), and the Caritas Lebanon Migrant Center.
The message is followed by a call for action:
Join us by posting your own opinion with your own message about the Kafala system or the Migrant Workers rights’ abuse happening in Lebanon on daily basis and #StopKafala in your photos and posts.
Here are a few examples. You can view the whole campaign here.
Olga from Cameroon: “No matter what we say nothing will change because they don't care about our feelings”
“I am tired of the fact that the color of one's skin is correlated with quality of work one can attain in Lebanon”
“They treat us like animals . We are not prisoners. Some workers are locked in and are not allowed to leave the house for years”
“Dogs get to go out every day, why can't we go out every week? Going out doesn't mean necessarily escaping, it means freedom. “
“The Kafala system kills one domestic worker every week. “