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Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

Unpaid and Overworked: How African Migrants in the UAE are Being Deported

  • By Al Mayadeen
  • Source: Reuters
  • 22 Oct 2021 17:33
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

According to a feature by Reuters, African migrants are being deported from the UAE without earning their owed wages.

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  • Unpaid and Overworked: How African Migrants in the UAE are Being Deported
    89% of workers in the UAE are migrants (Joblio.co)

Deported without crucial documents and detained before they are paid is how hundreds of migrant workers would describe their experience in the UAE.

According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the UAE acknowledged in early September that it had detained and deported over 400 people for alleged human trafficking, assault, and extortion. 

After being arrested in mass raids on migrant workers in June, Emmanuela Nsobe says she "lost everything." Two months later Nsobe was deported.

Group deportations are frequent in the UAE, and they are commonly paired with migrants being sent home without paychecks they are owed.

Many migrant workers such as Nsobe, who has contacted her former boss for her $245 backpay, cannot start over without their money.

Requests for comment were denied by Nsobe's boss as well as other firms where deportees were employed.

Like the other workers held in June, Nsobe was deported and denied the opportunity to recover her personal belongings, including her ATM card, her degrees, and professional certificates.

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A Nigerian 31-year old, Daniel Ojo, claims he was owed $1,225 by his employer before he was deported and his employer stopped responding.

Victorine Edem, a Cameroonian certified nurse, claims her Abu Dhabi employer owes her $1,633.63.

Edem is 7 months pregnant and hopes to leave the UAE after she delivers, hoping she will find her human rights respected elsewhere.

The working class

According to the UN, out of the 10 million inhabitants of the UAE, more than 80% are made up of migrants who send their wages back home. 

Wage theft allegations from migrants are not uncommon. The Business and Human Rights Resource Center (BHRRC) disclosed that 67% of its cases from the UAE involve workers being deprived of their wages.  

According to Saeed Alhebsi, director of the human rights section at the UAE Foreign Affairs Ministry, any company in the UAE is required by law to pay employees regardless of criminal convictions or deportation.

Workers, he added, could file a complaint using a government website, mobile app, or toll-free line – or at the UAE's Labour Dispute Center, where they could also talk with a legal counsel.

Not being able to afford a lawyer, or speak the language of the country also pose a challenge that stops migrants from receiving significant help.

Usually, migrants who do not have financial and legal support from international advocates are usually unsuccessful according to Parvathy Devi, a researcher who has worked on wage theft in the UAE.

  • African migrants
  • Africa
  • UAE
  • immigrants

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