Panicked Kenyan and Ethiopian workers blocked from leaving Lebanon

“I want to go home,” Eulita Jerop, from Kenya, who works as a domestic worker in Lebanon, told the BBC.

But despite fears of all-out war in the country, the terms of her employment made it difficult for her to leave.

She was terrified when she heard unfamiliar voices above her head in a suburb of the capital, Beirut.

The 35-year-old has been working there for 14 months.

“It was horrible. We were told it wasn’t a bomb, it was (a plane breaking) the sound barrier,” she said. “But it was so loud.”

She added that many domestic workers in the WhastApp group shared her panic.

The loud noise in the sky was from fighter jets, and people feared it could be a sign of an all-out war.

Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have been exchanging fire on an almost daily basis along their border since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. This prompted Israel to invade Gaza with the aim of eliminating Hamas.

Hezbollah is a political movement and Iran-backed militia that claims it attacks Israel in support of the Palestinian people.

The shells have mainly landed in southern Lebanon and northern Israel, but there are concerns that other parts of Lebanon could also be affected as the conflict evolves into a wider regional struggle.

The United States, Britain, Australia, France and Canada have all issued official advice for their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible.

But for some people, it’s easier to get out of trouble than for others.

Ms Jerop said it was common for many employers to take passports from employees when they arrived.

Even with a passport, domestic workers still need an exit visa to leave – a document that must be approved by their boss.

This is allowed to happen under the country’s “kafala” (sponsorship) system for foreign workers, which employs about 250,000 people.

“Kafala” provides a person or company with permission to employ foreign workers. This means their immigration status is entirely dependent on their employer and they have limited rights.

Employers can exploit their position, leading to many women being overworked, underpaid and even physically abused – but that was not the case with Ms. Jellop.

Despite calls for major reforms, the system continues to exist in several Arab countries.

IOM communications officer Daniela Rowena told the BBC that under international law a person must be allowed to leave a country if there is a conflict.

In Ms. Jerop’s case, her employer wanted her to continue working in Lebanon.

“They said this situation has been going on in Lebanon for years and there’s nothing to worry about,” she said. “But for us, the tension is high. We’re not used to this noise.”

But even with the documentation, Ms. Jerop and her fellow domestic workers faced other challenges when they left.

“Flights are few and fares are expensive,” she said.

Flights to Kenya can cost up to $1,000 (£770).

Banchi Yimer, who founded an organization that supports the rights of domestic workers in Ethiopia, said the average monthly salary for domestic workers in Ethiopia used to be $150, but since Lebanon has been hit by a severe cost-of-living crisis, “many are not getting paid at all.”

“Every day we get calls from panicked women… asking if we have any (evacuation) plans, if there is anything they can do.”

Another domestic worker, Chiku, from Kenya, could not afford her flight ticket, so her name was changed for her safety.

She has lived in Baabda in western Lebanon for nearly a year.

“Personally, I want to go home. But the flight is too expensive,” she said. “My parents can’t afford that either.”

She has been living in fear for the past few weeks but, like Ms. Jellop, her employer has let her stay.

“They said I couldn’t leave because my contract wasn’t over,” Chiku said. “But is this contract more important than my life?”

Lebanon’s labour ministry has not yet responded to the BBC’s request for comment.

Kenyan authorities say they have evacuation plans in place if fighting breaks out.

Roseline Kathure Njogu, the Kenyan government’s director of diaspora affairs, told the BBC the department can issue emergency travel documents for people without passports.

She added that the Kenyan government was able to provide emergency flights.

“There are about 26,000 Kenyans in Lebanon, of which 1,500 have registered with us for evacuation,” she said.

But many want to leave now.

Ethiopian government spokesman Nebiyu Tedela told the BBC they were “developing contingency plans to evacuate Lebanese diplomats and citizens if necessary”.

However, Ms. Bunch noted that even before the Israel-Gaza conflict, there were many Ethiopian women stranded in Lebanon who were eager to leave.

Lebanon’s economy collapsed in 2020, leaving many Ethiopian domestic workers unemployed.

“Many can’t even afford rent or medical bills, let alone flights home,” she said.

While foreign embassies continue to make evacuation plans, many feel abandoned by the government and left to fend for themselves.

Chiku is trying to save money to pay for a flight home.

“But what about others who can’t do it?” she asked.