A man from Beirut has stirred outrage on the internet for ‘selling’ a Nigerian domestic worker on a closed Facebook group literally named “Buy & Sell In Lebanon (original).”
In his post, Wael Jerro wrote, “African domestic worker from Nigeria for sale with new residency permit and complete legal documents. She’s 30 years old, she’s very active, and very clean,” and he proceeded to place a price tag on 30-year old Busari Peace Ufuoma for $1,000.
Disgusted by this blatant form of human trafficking, a Lebanese Nigerian woman named Renee Abi Saad lashed out at this man, calling him out for casually advertising a domestic worker on social media.
She shared the post on her Instagram and has grabbed the attention of hundreds of her followers.
“I have reported to the Nigerian embassy. Please do the same if you know anyone in the Nigerian embassy in Lebanon,” she urged.
People in the comments tagged various activists to get their attention and shed light on this issue.
The post caught the attention of a Nigerian blogger named Linda Ikeji who has over 5 million followers on Instagram. Linda wrote about the post on her blog.
While the majority of comments agree with Renee’s stance, some have been trying to justify Jerro’s actions, excusing him for a mere ‘poor choice of words’, although the Arabic description of the FB post clearly states “for sale.”
After writing her post, Renee received many direct messages claiming that it was Busari who asked Jerro to make the post, which is certainly questionable.
To that, Renee argues that instead of posting passport photos and putting a price on a person, “the uncivilized human” could have simply written, “A Nigerian housekeeping lady needs a job, contact me for more info.”
Unfortunately, discrimination towards foreign domestic workers is not uncommon in Lebanon. According to The Guardian Nigeria, two Nigerian women were rescued from Beirut just a month ago.
Earlier this year, Naomi Campbell urged African women not to go to Lebanon after hearing of the tragic story of a young Ghanaian domestic worker who died under employment in Lebanon.
Lebanese people have been urging the government to abolish the unjust and inhumane Kafala system. It is one problem in the pool of issues the government must look into.
As of yet, we have no details on whether the Lebanese authorities are investigating this case.
Editor’s Note: April 28th, 2020. According to new information reported by Al-Arabia, the person behind this human trafficking crime is not Lebanese but a Syrian national allegedly enrolled at a university in Tayouneh, Beirut.
The information was revealed by the Nigerian Embassy in Beirut to the Lebanese authorities who rushed to track him down and arrested him.
