Enslaved for over 17 years in Lebanon, Banmai Dong finally returns home

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 30: After enduring over 17 years in conditions akin to captivity in Lebanon, Nepali migrant worker Banmai Dong (Tamang), 34, has finally returned to Nepal, thanks to the combined efforts of the government of Nepal and a Nepali organisation based in Lebanon. 

Dong, originally from Sindhupalchowk, was scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on Tuesday midnight, according to her booked flight ticket via Flydubai Boeing 737-800. 

Born on June 24, 1991, she first reached Lebanon, receiving labour employment permit in 2008 and worked for two years for a company as per the contract. 

Two years after, she was handed to a private house owned by Nawaf Assad Abdalla in Hamra Beirut, where she continued to work as a domestic helper without being paid, according to Dipendra Upreti, founder of 'This is Lebanon (TIL),' a Canada-based human trafficking rescue and slavery control organisation. Upreti, who serves as an honourary representative of the Nepali Consulate in Canada, has been helping the abused domestic workers for 15 years.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Although Banmai had repeatedly expressed her desire to return to Nepal, a conducive environment for her repatriation was not created. She did not file any complaint due to the pressure exerted by the house owner."

The case drew official attention on March 25, 2021, when the government of Nepal was involved in the case for her repatriation, according to Dipendra Upreti. 

According to Lok Bahadur Tamang, the younger brother of Banmai Dong, their family submitted a petition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 25, 2021, seeking Dong's safe release and repatriation to Nepal. 

Earlier, Dong’s family reached out to the advocacy group 'This Is Lebanon' in July 2021, seeking assistance. Her brother Lok Bahadur reported that Banmai sent home only around USD 3,500 during her entire time abroad.

Banmai is illiterate and unable to speak Nepali fluently. Having never attended school, her vulnerabilities made her especially susceptible to exploitation. According to Upreti, she can speak her mother language (Tamang) and a little bit of Arabic.

For approximately 15 years, Banmai worked for Dr. Nawaf Assad Abdalla, 81, and his wife, Asia Ayte. The couple, now retired, have three adult children: Layal, Achraf, and Firas. Dr. Abdalla, a former major in the customs department, currently practices as a psychiatrist, according to TIL. 

When TIL contacted via Facebook Messenger, Banmai reported no incidents of physical abuse and said she had maintained good relations with the family. However, communication was challenging due to her limited language skills. Speaking basic Arabic, she conveyed her wish to return to Nepal, stating, “No matter what, I want to go back, but I no longer trust people.” 

Dr. Abdalla, meanwhile, allegedly told her, “What would you do there? You don’t know anyone.” When Banmai’s desire to return became undeniable, the Abdalla family insisted she was not a worker but ‘a member of the family.’

"Banmai had not been paid wages for over a decade, according to the TIL and her brother, Lok Bahadur.

As Upreti conveyed in a WhatsApp message from Canada on Monday and Tuesday, she was returning to Nepal on Tuesday midnight and Maiti Nepal would receive her at the Tribhuvan International Airport and Dong would remain there in a safehouse until their parents come in contact.

According to Upreti, she fled the house of Dr. Abdalla when Dr. Abdalla and his wife fled Lebanon, abandoning Banmai Dong and locking their residence and reached Johannesburg, South Africa, where their daughter Layal resided. 

The TIL has provided USD 1,000 as pocket money for her return to Nepal. Upreti claimed that this is a clear case of transnational human trafficking, and we believe that the 

government of Nepal has both a moral and legal obligation to act upon this case.