Anti-Racism Movement

Migrant-led groups, activists and community organizers continue to mobilize and respond to urgent needs on the ground, identifying what’s needed and organizing support with and for each other.
One way we are supporting these efforts is by collecting and redistributing in-kind donations based on what is being shared with us regularly by organizers in different parts of the country.

If you are able to circulate or contribute, we are currently accepting the following items at our space in Beirut:

Baby items:
Formula milk, functional toys, wet wipes, diapers, bottle feeders, pacifiers

Hygiene kits:
All types of cleaning material, soap, tissues, shampoo, toothbrushes, pads

Food parcels:
Dry goods such as rice, oil, peanut butter, canned tuna and sardines, spaghetti, tea, stock cubes, sugar, beans, salt, coffee...

Cooking supplies:
Portable butane stoves or electric stoves, pots, plates, cutlery, bottles

Sleeping support:
Mattresses with covers, sleeping bags, blankets & pillows, tents

Clothes:
In solid conditions, all ages, jackets, pants, shirts, shoes, socks, towels

You can contact us on 03 098 600 or [email protected] for questions or to coordinate drop-off, or drop items directly at our space in Jisr Elwati daily between 10 AM and 4 PM.

As the Israeli war on Lebanon continues and expands at a horrific scale each day, many groups and activists have been organizing incredible efforts to support migrant communities across the country. We’re highlighting a few migrant-led fundraisers, alongside allied initiatives.

Migrant communities are often left to navigate these conditions with extremely limited access to formal support. What this looks like on the ground shifts constantly depending on changing needs and varying access to resources.

Please support where you can and help amplify these efforts, efforts of people who are doing critical work at times of peak distress and overall exclusion and abandonment.

Some of the initiatives highlighted here:

Reman: Regroupement des Migrant.e.s de l'Afrique Noire is a grassroots organization and collective in Lebanon founded to support African migrant domestic workers, particularly those trapped by the Kafala system and affected by the ongoing war & escalation.

Egna Legna Besidet: (An Amharic term that loosely translates to “migrants for migrants”) is a Beirut based migrant domestic worker women run humanitarian and advocacy organization.

Voices of the Unseen: Emergency Response Coalition of migrant organizers and activists building community led solutions to systemic collapse, supporting emergency housing, healthcare access and basic survival needs.

Tres Marias: A grassroots collective based in Beirut and led by migrant women, racialised
women, and survivors of abuse under Lebanon’s kafala system.

Migrant Workers’ Action (ROR): Reclaim Our Right collective is a group of migrant women activists from Kenya, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Philippines, dedicated to defending the rights and dignity of migrant workers in Lebanon. MWA supports and resources the collective's community organising work.

Sisters with a Strategy: Community-based organization empowering migrant women & LGBTQ+ communities.

A more comprehensive list of fundraising efforts is available through the link below. If you know of other initiatives or groups, grassroots or formal, that should be included and aren't yet, please reach out.

https://tinyurl.com/3t3j7xvj

As the Israeli war on Lebanon continues and intensifies, many initiatives, collectives, community groups, activists and organizations have been rallying various forms of support for migrant communities across the country.

Over the past weeks, we’ve been working on updating our service mapping which thoroughly documents the services currently available to migrant workers. We reached out to groups directly to discuss the concrete support they’re currently offering and whether migrant workers can access them.

The result is a live document that serves as a tool for people to navigate what support exists, connect efforts on the ground to those who need them, and make visible the work many groups are doing, while also serving as a shared dynamic resource for those trying to find or provide support.

If you know of other initiatives or groups, grassroots or formal, that should be included and aren't yet, please reach out and we will modify as we go.

You can find the service mapping through the link below.


مع استمرار الحرب الإسرائيلية على لبنان والتصعيد المستمر، تعمل العديد من المجموعات والمبادرات المجتمعية، والنشطاء/ات، والمنظمات على حشد أشكال مختلفة من الدعم للمجتمعات المهاجرة في مختلف المناطق.
خلال الأسابيع الماضية، عملنا على تحديث خريطة الخدمات التي توثّق بشكل مفصّل الخدمات المتاحة حالياً للعمّال/ات المهاجرين/ات. تواصلنا مباشرةً مع المجموعات لمناقشة وتوثيق أشكال الدعم الفعلية التي يقدّمونها حالياً، والتحقّق مما إذا كان بإمكان العمّال/ات المهاجرين/ات الوصول إليها.
النتيجة هي وثيقة حيّة تخدم كأداة لتعميم أنواع الدعم المتوفرة، وربط الجهود على الأرض بمن يحتاجها، وإبراز العمل الذي تقوم به العديد من المجموعات، كما تشكّل مورداً مشتركاً وديناميكياً لمن يسعون إلى إيجاد الدعم أو تقديمه.
إذا كنتم/ن على علم بمبادرات أو مجموعات أخرى، سواء كانت قاعدية أو منظّمة، ولم يتم إدراجها بعد، يرجى التواصل معنا لنقوم بتحديثها بشكل مستمر.
يمكنكم/ن الوصول إلى خريطة الخدمات عبر الرابط أدناه.

https://tinyurl.com/nhj7hdkv

On International Migrants Day, we would like to highlight the situation of displaced migrant communities in Lebanon.

Once again, migrants are stranded, seemingly forgotten about in reconstruction plans, and torn between repatriation or living in Lebanon under harsh circumstances.

Without decent housing or shelters — as many shelters have already closed, displaced migrants in Lebanon are vulnerable to various forms of exploitation and abuse, amplified by Kafala.

This work would not have been possible without the generous contributions of our dedicated supporters and everyone who believes in ARM's work and mandate.

We will continue to respond to the situation as needs evolve, supporting not only immediate needs but also aiming for long-term change. And we will continue to keep you updated!

🗞️Subscribe to our Newsletter for a more detailed report.

🔗Links in the comments below

After 2 months of intensified attacks on Lebanon, there are still no sufficient shelters to protect displaced migrant communities.

Stay tuned, as we'll be sharing testimonies and ways for you to support our campaign and protect migrants in Lebanon.

You can read the full statement on our website, link below. 🔗

https://armlebanon.org/urgent-call-iom-should-open-shelter-for-displaced-and-stranded-migrant-workers-in-lebanon/

Once again, migrant communities have been excluded from all governmental responses to the war, and the reality on the ground is that there is very limited support that is provided by activists, civil society groups, and NGOs, which resulted in thousands of migrant workers facing homelessness under continuous airstrikes. In the face of this harrowing reality, the IOM has maintained a questionable position to not open a shelter for stranded and displaced migrant communities.

This crisis is significantly affecting the population, including thousands of migrant workers who have had to flee conflict areas, as their employers left without them.

In addition, there is currently a shortage of adequate shelters for the displaced. Few Embassies have provided shelters to their nationals in Lebanon, but they remain very limited and not adequately equipped.

Several local civil society organizations have received many support requests from groups of migrant workers who are stranded in Beirut, Saida, and Tyre in the South of Lebanon, with no means to relocate to a safer area, or find shelter where they are.

In at least two cases, migrant women were evicted from public shelters and forced to spend the night on the streets. The cases included over 60 Sierra Leoneans evicted from a shelter in Tripoli and 100 Bangladeshis evicted from a shelter in Beirut.

For migrant communities, an extremely precarious status under the sponsorship/Kafala system in the country is now much more worrying than ever. Based on our experiences following the 2020 Beirut Blast, financial breakdown and the COVID-19 Pandemic, we only expect this to get worse as resources dwindle, needs increase at a national level, and hostility spreads against migrant communities.

You can read the full statement on our website. Link below and in QR code.

https://armlebanon.org/urgent-call-iom-should-open-shelter-for-displaced-and-stranded-migrant-workers-in-lebanon/

⚠️ بينما تتجاهل خطة الطوارئ الوطنية في لبنان وجود المهاجرين واللاجئين، وجدت العائلات والأفراد من دون أي حماية.

🚪 أبواب الملاجئ مغلقة، والشوارع غير آمنة، والحكومة لا تقدم أي دعم. بل على العكس، هم يزيدون الوضع سوءاً، مدَّعين إعطاءَ الأولوية للبنانيين على حساب غير اللبنانيين.

هذه العنصرية والتمييز الصارخان، للأسف، ليسا غريبين علينا...

لقد رأينا ذات السياسات من قبل خلال جائحة كوفيد-19 وفي أعقاب انفجار بيروت.

لا مكان للعنصرية خلال الأزمات والطوارئ. نطالب بشمل المهاجرين واللاجئين في أي خطط للإغاثة، إن كانت حكومية أو من المنظمات الدولية. ✊

شاركوا هذا المنشور في دوائركم. دعونا نحاسب المسؤولين. 💪🙌

#لبنان #العنصرية #المهاجرين #اللاجئين

⚠️ As Lebanon's National Emergency Plan ignores the existence of migrants and refugees, families and individuals are left to fend for themselves.

🚪Shelters' doors are closed, the streets are unsafe, and the government is offering zero support, instead, they're actively making the situation worse by claiming to prioritize Lebanese over non-Lebanese.

This blatant racism and discrimination is, unfortunately, not unfamiliar...

We've seen this before during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the aftermath of Beirut Blast.

There is no place for racism, especially in times of war and emergencies.

We demand the inclusion of migrants and refugees in the government and international organizations' relief plans.✊

Share this among your circles. Let's hold those who are responsible accountable. 💪🙌

These past few weeks, activists, migrant-led initiatives, volunteers and organizations alike have been completely overwhelmed in their response to the needs of migrant workers who have been severely affected by the Israeli war on Lebanon.

We hope that this document serves as a resource hub for anyone who would like to support on the ground and to facilitate their work. 💪

You can find the document on our website, by scanning the QR code, or through the link below. 👇

https://armlebanon.org/mapping-of-emergency-services-provided-to-migrant-workers-in-lebanon/

الكابشن بالعربية في الأسفل 👇

The economic crisis in Lebanon has caused a significant shift in the Lebanese class structure, with many previously middle-class individuals now pushed to take working-class jobs. 👷👷‍♀️

This shift has not been due to direct competition with Syrian workers but rather to the overall contraction of the economy and the scarcity of employment opportunities. 💼

The Lebanese ruling class has been attempting to solidify its position by exploiting Syrian labor and spreading anti-Syrian hate while continuing to avoid the need for structural economic reforms. 🏛️

This strategy attempts to divert public attention from the root causes of the economic crisis in order to pit different segments of the working class against each other.

This report contributes new insights by contextualizing the plight of Syrian workers within the broader dynamics of Lebanon’s economic crisis and the structure of the Lebanese economy.

Unlike previous studies that often isolated the refugee issue from Lebanon’s structural economic problems, this analysis demonstrates how the refugees’ situation illuminates the failings and exploitative nature of the Lebanese economy.

📄 You can read the full research paper on our website link in the comments below. 👇