We are former migrant workers dedicated to advocating for other migrant workers in the GCC.
We seek to change the narrative that migrant workers are illiterate, expendable, and insignificant.
We have the lived experience and the capacity to see this through.
Inspired (and frustrated) by the multitude of labour violations, exploitation, discrimination, complacency of Embassies, and the general lack of awareness surrounding the plight of migrant workers in the Middle East.
MigrantDefenders.Org was formed in 2022 to step up, rise to the occasion, and address these issues head on.
To educate and empower aspiring/working migrant workers on their rights in the Gulf states, and the avenues they can take to seek justice.
To raise awareness on unethical recruitment practices, labour/human rights violations, among other challenges.
To create a network of migrant workers, human rights defenders, and government officials to advocate for migrant workers' rights.
I was a security guard in Qatar, and I spoke up about migrant worker rights, which led me to get arrested.
I don't regret anything I did.
I was a domestic worker in Bahrain, and I was subjected to a litany of abuses, but I survived.
I now want to fight for other migrant workers.
Sportswashing: From the Beijing Genocide Games to Qatar’s FIFA World Cup Migrant Workers’ Crisis - Oslo Freedom Forum 2022
Panelists: Chemi Lhamo, Lise Klaveness, and Malcolm Bidali.
Moderated by Karim Zidan.
Sign up here