"Ceasefire offers little respite for Lebanon's displaced migrant workers as shelters close" 10 January 2025

Despite the ceasefire bringing a semblance of calm to Lebanon, thousands of foreign workers left homeless by the months of conflict face an uncertain future as shelters close and jobs dry up...

With no government support in sight, many migrants who lost their accommodation and livelihoods have been left stranded in a country reeling from economic and political instability...

Many were laid off by their employers and forced on to the street, with NGO-run shelters taking in large numbers. But the majority of these shelters shuttered when the ceasefire was announced between Israel and Hezbollah on November 27. Rights groups said financial constraints were to blame, along with pressure from communities to reclaim the buildings...

“To pay for rent, food and other needs of the women we took in requires money, which we don’t have,” said Ms De Marceau, a former domestic worker who runs a garment business in Beirut. “Many women were abandoned by their employers, who fled without paying salaries or ticket money. After the war, whatever little support we were receiving stopped. We couldn’t go on indefinitely.”...

The Lebanese government also opened its own shelters across the nation after the war broke out, but foreign migrants were barred...

For some, returning home is not an option...

“It has become almost impossible for migrants to find low-cost housing,”...

A large cohort of male migrants, who often worked in agriculture, cleaning or other labour-intensive sectors, also face bleak prospects...

...