LEBANON. Beirut. February 2025. Makdes*, 22, lives in an Ethiopian shelter in Beirut. She made the trip to Lebanon around 7 months ago, but her experience working in the country was traumatising for her.

The first family Makdes* lived with made her work under impossible conditions. For 15 days, they never gave her any food, and she had to do housework on an empty stomach, until she became bedridden with exhaustion.



Unfortunately, her experience with the second family was tougher for her. Her employer would always yell at her, slap her hand to “teach” her tasks, and scare her for leisure.



*Name changed to protect identity