The runaway maids of Oman
Summary
Date Reported: 1 Jul 2021
Location: Oman
Other
Not Reported ( Domestic worker agencies ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Sierra Leone , Domestic worker agencies , Gender not reported )Issues
Human Trafficking , Forced Labour & Modern Slavery , Right to Food , Contract Substitution , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Restricted mobility , Withholding Passports , Wage Theft , Freedom of MovementResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 1 Jul 2021
Location: Oman
Other
Not Reported ( Domestic worker agencies ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Sierra Leone , Domestic worker agencies , Gender not reported )Issues
Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Restricted mobility , Withholding Passports , Violence , Intimidation , Forced Labour & Modern Slavery , Right to Food , Contract Substitution , Personal Health , Freedom of MovementResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported
Source type: News outlet
Two hundred young women from Sierra Leone, west Africa, have been trapped in the Arabian sultanate of Oman, desperate to get home. Promised work in shops and restaurants, they say they were tricked into becoming housemaids, working up to 18 hours a day, often without pay, and sometimes abused by their employers. Some ran away, to live a dangerous underground existence at the mercy of the authorities – but now they are being rescued and repatriated, and some are empowering themselves as independent farmers back home. Tim Whewell tells their story.