MIGRANT workers trapped in Lebanon’s sponsorship system are being abused and denied their basic rights, including access to healthcare, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned today.

The humanitarian organisation said that under the Kafala system — where workers’ legal status is tied to their employer — migrants frequently face racism, discrimination, and physical, psychological and sexual abuse.

Healthcare access remains a major barrier, with many migrants either denied medical care by their sponsors, turned away from facilities or too afraid to seek help.

“Often, employers confiscate a migrant worker’s legal documents, affect their ability to seek medical care, underpay and overwork them with no rest period or days off,” MSF said.

Lebanon is currently home to about 176,500 migrant workers —70 per cent of whom are women — with nearly half working as domestic staff living inside their employers’ homes.

Many of these people endure extreme isolation, degrading conditions and unpaid labour.

One migrant, referred only to as Mahri, was forced to sleep on the balcony even during freezing winter months.

Another, known as Makdes, was subjected to verbal, physical and psychological abuse.

Rights groups have called for the abolition of the Kafala system, describing it as a form of modern-day slavery.

Lebanese authorities have promised reforms in the past, but little change has occurred.