Safe and Voluntary Return
With limited access to protection mechanisms, such as shelter or medical care, the vast majority of support requests by this group of women was to return home. All repatriations we supported were voluntary unless the support was related to assisting those being deported.
We supported a total of 749 repatriations of Sierra Leonean women by covering PCR test fees in either Oman or Sierra Leone, organising travel documents, supporting with amnesty registration, coordinating ground transportation in both Oman and Sierra Leone, support during departure at the airport, coordinating support upon arrival, referring the women to other organisations for reintegration support and/or providing pocket money upon their return to cover their basic needs upon returning (usually in the form of a Soft landing kits). From this group, we covered the repatriation of 108 women, meaning that we covered at least their flight tickets.
The repatriation process is complex and differs according to individual circumstances, some were simple, such as helping them acquire amnesty, travel documents and cover repatriation expenses, while others were more complicated such as negotiating with employers or supporting women with certain health conditions.
A note about repatriation. Repatriation can remediate the victim’s immediate circumstances and avoid further exploitation and restore their dignity and to some extent their wellbeing. However, we also understand that upon returning home, victims of human trafficking and/or exploitation face considerable challenges, from social, mental and medical issues to having to face debts incurred.
Amnesty Registrations
On November 15th, 2020, the Government of Oman announced an amnesty for all workers whose visa had expired and/or who had left their employer. Initially, the deadline was December 31st of the same year, but this amnesty continued throughout the year 2021 with registration finishing on December 31st, 2021, and those registered allowed to leave until the end of January 2022.
Until the end of March 2021, a worker could register at the Sanad office, at the Ministry of Labour, or online. From April 2021 registration for this amnesty had to be done only in person, at the Ministry of Labour, unless a worker knew her Civil ID number, in which case registration could still be done online or at a Sanad Office.
Before the end of March 2021, we guided the women on where to go, what to bring, and what to say to obtain the amnesty. Everyone at this time was guided to go to Sanad office as these were more accessible in distance and the women were less afraid to go there. We also registered as many as possible using the Ministry of Labour’s online portal.
Between March 2021 and November 2021, the amnesty registration was closed and our focus was on providing repatriation support for those registered with the amnesty and continuing negotiations for those that weren’t.
After November 2021, when the registration period reopened, the Ministry of Labour was not easily accessible because only vaccinated people were allowed to enter the premises. Additionally, it was no longer possible to register for amnesty online, unless a worker had a copy of her civil ID, which only a handful of the women did. Therefore, from this date until the end of the amnesty, we relied on volunteers and community leaders to register women for the amnesty by volunteers personally going with the women’s information to the Ministry of Labour and completing the procedures. This process finished on December 31st, 2021.
In total, we supported 174 people to register for amnesty and checked the amnesty qualifications of an additional 135 people who were unable to register.
It is important to note that for a domestic worker to obtain amnesty, her employer must have filed “absconding” charges against her, otherwise, the amnesty would not apply. Additionally, if a worker did not have copies of any of her identity documents, which many people did not have due to passport confiscation, she had to undergo a complicated process of fingerprinting to register, a process that remained unclear to us and the workers for the duration of the amnesty registration period.
Issuance of Emergency Travel Certificates
Only five women who we repatriated with amnesty had their passports with them. For all others, we supported them by obtaining an Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC), a document used in place of a passport for a person to travel to their home country. The process involved obtaining each person’s passport information (via either a copy of their passport or requesting each piece of information) and a passport photo before passing this information on to the Embassy of Sierra Leone in Saudi Arabia. We then arranged to receive the documents in Oman and distributed them to the women. In total, we supported 139 women to obtain an ETC.
PCR Test Fee Coverage in Oman
One of the travel elements that changed worldwide due to COVID-19 is the requirement of PCR tests before travelling and/or upon arrival. For our work, this meant extra financial resources needed and an extra layer of work to ensure their safe departure from Oman and back to Sierra Leone.
Many of the women had no money to pay the 15-25 OMR (US$39-$65) for the PCR test required to check-in for the flight. To address this, we worked with a local hospital where we were able to transfer funds for these tests and in addition, the hospital provided a discount to the women who were victims of trafficking and/or exploitation. Through this partnership, we were able to cover 46 PCR tests.
However, financial resources to cover these fees were not the only challenge. Hospitals are required to see an ID for them to have a PCR test. Most hospitals did not accept their ETCs, which was their only form of identification available to the women. For this, we also worked with the same hospital to ensure that the ETC was sufficient for the women to obtain a PCR test.
PCR Test Fee Coverage in Sierra Leone
Another requirement to fly from Oman to Sierra Leone, was the submission of a QR code upon check-in at the airport in Oman with proof that the “Health Declaration” for Sierra Leone has been paid. The “Health Declaration” is a form for a PCR test that is done upon arrival in Sierra Leone but paid before boarding. At the beginning of our project in October 2020, the women travelling back were able to board their flights in Oman without the “Health Declaration”, but upon arrival in Sierra Leone, their passports were confiscated by the Sierra Leonean Airport Authorities until a payment of LE 800,000 (between US$70-$80) was made.
On March 21, 2021, the Embassy of Sierra Leone in Saudi and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Freetown, Sierra Leone, agreed on a Memorandum to waive the “Health Declaration” fees for domestic workers being repatriated from Oman. Through this Memorandum, we were able to provide waivers to 37 women. This waiver was in place until June 24, 2021.
From then on, payments had to be made for everyone being repatriated. In total, we covered the PCR tests for 55 women in Sierra Leone.
Airport Support in Oman
We coordinated airport support for at least 27 Sierra Leonean women. Airport volunteers were essential to the smooth departure for many of the women. This support was essential because most of the women were not familiar with airport procedures (procedures which consistently changed due to COVID-19 precautions), administrative procedures with the Ministry of Labour, had no common language with airport officials and were sometimes subjected to discrimination based on their race and status as domestic workers.
Our airport volunteer supported the women through the check-in procedures. In cases where the worker had amnesty, the volunteer supported her to go through the procedures with the Ministry of Labour desk at the airport. In cases where the worker was meeting a representative of their employer or office in the airport to exchange documents and complete departure procedures, the volunteer provided support for the woman during the meeting and ensured she was able to leave. In some cases, volunteers provided, from their own pockets, payments for printing costs, Health Declarations and baggage overweight fees.
In multiple cases, with our travel agency, we supported women in addressing grievances with airlines, including issues related to baggage and discriminatory practices such as not allowing them to board their transit flights or keeping them waiting until they had no choice but to leave their baggage behind to be able to catch their flight.
From the group of women, 12% of them were living with and working for their sponsors and 10% were working for a family that the office placed them with but who was not their sponsor. that was not their sponsor (both situations are referred to by them as being “inside”), while 2% were in recruitment offices.
We found that the vast majority of Sierra Leonean women were being overworked, more than half were victims of wage theft, and a large number of women were subjected to harassment and their living conditions were inappropriate. Understanding that leaving the employer had negative consequences, many of them wanted to return home.
When a domestic worker reached out to us in this situation, we supported them by either guiding her on how to talk to their employer or recruitment office staff for them to “allow” her to return home, and when needed, by communicating directly with the employer or recruitment office staff to reach an agreement. Throughout this project, we have negotiated on behalf of at least 36 women and secured the release of 22 women.
Negotiations last anything between a few days to several months, and the objective is for the employer or recruitment office to allow her to leave without having to pay “release money”. In almost all cases an agreement for the worker was reached but the response from employers or recruitment offices varied. In some cases, the employer responded by not paying the remaining salaries, and the recruitment offices responded by sending her to work in other temporary homes and withholding her salary before allowing her to return home. In some cases, they agreed, for example, to leave after a certain date such as the end of Ramadan and in other cases, they did not agree.
Community Building
One of the main threats that domestic workers face working in their employers’ home is isolation. We wanted to make sure that no one felt left behind and that everyone understood that they are not alone. For the success of this project, building a safe and trusting environment was a key element for their wellbeing and for us to work together.
We built an online community of 656 women. This group is still open and it is accessible to all Sierra Leonean women in Oman, regardless of their specific circumstances. This group is used to share information and updates as well as to encourage each other, check on each other, keep each other company, and raise awareness.
This group is kept safe by screening each new person joining the group and continuously monitoring its content.
Awareness Raising
It is very difficult to navigate issues relevant to domestic workers in Oman, and a lot of the Sierra Leonean women do not know how to overcome many of the issues that affect them. We always receive questions on how to return home, how to get their passport back, how to terminate their contract or how to change employers.
To address these questions, we have live Q&A sessions where they can ask any questions and we try to answer as best as we can with as much detailed information as possible. We also present different solutions with different outcomes as well as consequences that might be tied to it.
Through awareness-raising, not only do we focus on answering questions, but we also make sure to break down complicated issues into more manageable steps and to make sure that misinformation is addressed when needed.
Promoting their Voice and Visibility
This community often requests that we help ensure that people, especially those in power, hear their stories. Much of our efforts have been focused on making the women and their situations more visible. With their consent, we have shared their stories. We have been able to raise their voices through the release of a music album where they share their hopes, dreams, and realities. We have also been able to shed light on their experiences by supporting the publication of articles in major outlets, including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Guardian newspaper.
Reintegration Referrals
As Sierra Leonean women victims of human trafficking and other forms of exploitation were returning to Sierra Leone, we wanted to ensure that the necessary support would be provided for their reintegration and/or prevention of re-trafficking.
For those most considered vulnerable and with their permission, the women were referred to World Hope International to provide the relevant support required. We referred a total of 28 women, women who had experienced different forms of extreme abuse or whose physical or mental health had deteriorated.
For all Sierra Leonean women who returned from Oman and were in Makeni city, we referred them to the Domestic Workers Advocacy Network, an organisation focusing on reintegration, awareness and economic empowerment.
Access to Justice and Accountability in Sierra Leone
We researched to understand the recruitment process in Sierra Leone, including the profile of the recruiter. We asked the women whether they wanted to seek justice and investigate suspected traffickers. From women who wanted to seek justice and who were repatriated, we compiled evidence and relevant information which was then passed to the appropriate authorities in Sierra Leone to open investigations.
In 2021, there was one human trafficking conviction in Sierra Leone related to trafficking between Sierra Leone and Oman; however, details of the case are not public and cannot be shared, thus it is unclear if this conviction was due to our efforts or not.
Medical Assistance
Medical assistance has been a continuous need throughout the project. From assisting pregnancies to accidents, medical support was one of the biggest and most immediate needs for this group of women. However, since the majority did not have any form of identification with them or because they were inside their employer’s home, access to medical support was always a challenge. The hospital that we established a partnership with received a woman in a critical condition using a copy of her identity document. For everyone else needing medical support, we worked with a nurse to advise the woman via WhatsApp, using audio and videos, on what best to do depending on the situation. The most common symptoms among the women were extreme fatigue and weight loss as well as chest pain, difficulty in breathing, body aches and pains, inflammation of body parts, congestion, fever, and skin issues.
Food
During the peak of COVID-19 in 2021, women who had left their employer or recruitment office and were outside often requested food. We also work on organising food deliveries to be provided by individual and group volunteers in Oman to different locations throughout Muscat where the women were staying.
Transportation
The majority of the women that have been assisted through this project have limited or no financial security. Throughout this time, women needed to reach government offices, hospitals, and the airport. We assisted with transportation through individual volunteers as well paying for taxi services.
Soft Landing Kits
Soft Landing Kits consisted of US$120 cash sent to some women who were repatriated from Oman to Sierra Leone. The vast majority of the women we supported arrived back in Sierra Leone with less than what they had left with. This is why the Soft Landing Kits were introduced. These kits provided essential financial support to help them travel from the airport to their hometown if they were not in Freetown or to buy necessities such as food and a phone SIM. In total, we provided 86 women with a Soft Landing Kit.
