Plight of Ethiopian migrants worsens amid virus

Tens of Ethiopian domestic workers in Lebanon gathered in front of the Ethiopian consulate on Thursday after some of them were abandoned by their Lebanese employers, who said they could no longer afford to pay for their salaries. Others were there inquiring about flights out of the country. Some 180,000 domestic workers in Lebanon, most of them women from Ethiopia, are growing more desperate as a crippling economic and financial crisis sets in, coupled with coronavirus restrictions.

On Wednesday night, dozens of Ethiopian workers abandoned by their employers were transported to a hotel by the Labor Ministry where they could stay until they could be flown out of the country, after chaotic scenes outside the consulate. Lebanon's unprecedented foreign currency crisis has meant that many workers from abroad have not been paid for months or that the value of their salaries is down by more than half. Others have lost their jobs after employers dumped them on the streets or outside their embassies. Many of the workers are trapped and unable to go home because of the absence of flights or the lack of money to pay for tickets.