国际英语新闻:US Charges Madagascar Doing Little to Stop Forced Labor

With her identification papers taken away, Baholiarisoa says she suffered mistreatment and near-starvation as a domestic servant working up to 24 hours a day for a salary that barely covered her costs.

A government ban on sending workers to Lebanon has failed to address the problem, with women being sent through countries like Mauritius and the Seychelles to end up in Lebanon, and more recently, Dubai and Kuwait.

Madagascar's Minister of Population Nadine Ramaroson, named in the report for trying to bring these women back with little help from other government officials, says the problem dates back to the 1990s.  She said it is a crime network that involves government workers and is very tough to break.

Abeline agrees with the report’s demands that Madagascar needs stronger relations with Lebanon or women will continue to be lost and open to abuse.

She says these women need a doctor, lawyer, social worker and journalist out there, otherwise they will always be at risk of exploitation.

The U.S has criticized the government’s reactive approach to the problem, which has failed to use anti-trafficking laws or awareness campaigns to stop women, by the hundreds, being sent from Madagascar’s shores.

More than 600 women are still awaiting repatriation from Lebanon, with charities saying a quarter of them are emergency cases.   Meanwhile, few resources have been given to provide psychological, medical and financial support to the many traumatized returnees.