“Fares Karam Exploited Me”… Modern Slavery in the Homes of Celebrities

By Joelle AbdelAal

It is inhumane to keep normalizing a system that perpetuates slavery, a system that grants employers the power and presumed right to enslave people. It is crude and inhumane to strip migrant workers of their rights and freedoms and exploit them with double shifts for meager wages, if they receive any pay at all. Most egregious of all is that those involved in human trafficking or any form of slavery are rarely held to account, while the mechanisms of exploitation and oppression continue to shield serious violations against domestic workers.

These violations are not confined to families and recruitment agencies; they extend to official channels and public figures who are supposed to protect rights, but who in reality become additional arms that entrench subordination and provide cover for impunity.

“Fares Karam exploited me and isolated me from the outside world.”

Artists accused of normalizing the system of slavery

At a time when artists and celebrities should be using their social and promotional influence to condemn these practices and work to dismantle the racist kafala system, many openly side with the system of exploitation, through direct participation or implicit collusion with the violence and slavery it perpetuates.

Kuweiti Influencer: How can you have a servant in your house and their passport is with them?!

From Kuwaiti artist Maha Mohammad, who treated domestic workers as props to drive up viewership by dressing them in revealing clothes or “bikinis,” to influencer Sundus Al-Qattan, who attacked Kuwait’s new labor law and refused to grant workers their rights: “How can they agree to these ridiculous contracts?! How can you have a servant in your house and their passport is with them?!” She added: “And what’s worse, she has a day off every week… a whole day off! Every week! What’s left?” Then there is Lebanese fashion designer Eleanor Ajami, implicated in a tragic case of torture, beating her domestic worker with an electric cable and abusing her until the woman threw herself from a second floor in a desperate bid to escape, leaving her with severe fractures. Add to this the repeated accusations against Bollywood stars, and a picture emerges of women workers treated as commodities, deprived of their most basic human rights.

Against this backdrop, this investigation forms part of a series of testimonies revealing the extent of the daily violence and slavery inflicted on migrant domestic workers, continuing to expose the features of organized slavery that we began documenting in our investigation, “Migrant Workers for Sale: Ongoing Trafficking Under the Guise of the Kafala System.”

“Fares Karam exploited me and cut me off from the outside world”

The testimony of Kenyan worker Grace Wembar (45), who previously worked in the home of Lebanese artist Fares Karam (referred to as “F.K.” in our earlier investigation), sheds new light on the violence and suffering enabled by a system that allows a vicious cycle of pain and exploitation to persist.

Grace believes that Fares Karam crossed every line associated with modern forms of slavery, from isolation from the outside world and exploitation through forced, extended hours without rest or pay, to making her work in two different homes and evading her official registration under his personal name.

I worked long hours in two houses: his house and his mother’s house. When I started feeling pain in my hands, he said I was making it up.

In her testimony, Grace says she worked for an artist whose media record is rife with controversy: “He was very cruel, deprived me of my wages, and caused me to lose money at the recruitment office.” She adds that she worked in the artist’s home and his mother’s home, even though her residency was registered under the sponsorship of one of his friends. “He couldn’t register a worker directly under his name, so he used his friend as legal cover.”

Grace worked from April 29 to June 11, 2021, without receiving any salary. “He told me, ‘Take your dues from the recruitment agency,’” she says, then falls silent: “Bad memories…” The mistreatment was not limited to the artist himself. “His wife wouldn’t let me use the bathroom without permission; even showering required approval, as if I were in prison.” She continues: “I worked long hours in two houses: his house and his mother’s house, whose name is Laila. When I started feeling pain in my hands, he wouldn’t take me to a doctor. He said I was making it up.”

Through a call we made to the responsible recruitment office, which itself has had multiple similar abuse and violence cases registered against it, the accusations against the artist in question were confirmed.

This investigation does not only open an individual case; it raises concerns about the collusion of a wider network that includes complicit consulates, silent institutions, and influential people who exercise power over defenseless individuals. Will this entire system be held accountable, or will these mechanisms of enslavement continue, hidden behind customs and laws that claim to protect human rights?

Gabriel Services: “Fares Karam was willing to pay”

In the course of Sharika Wa Laken’s investigation into the case, it became clear that, despite numerous testimonies and serious violations attributed to it, the Gabriel Services office has no official violations recorded in the Lebanese Ministry of Labor’s files. This raises serious questions about the effectiveness of official oversight and the state’s ability to protect women workers.

When presented with testimonies from workers who said they labored in singer Fares Karam’s home without pay, he referred us to his wife as the authorized representative. When confronted with accusations against him personally, he simply directed us to his wife and refused to comment.

When we contacted the agency owner, Ilham Lteif, and asked about the accusations against her office, particularly those involving workers who had served in Fares Karam’s home without receiving wages, Lteif initially denied everything. She said that “only two girls worked for him for ten days before being reassigned to another house, and then they ran away.” When we presented testimonies indicating that the period of employment lasted between one and two months and was marked by abuse and humiliating treatment, she ended the call, claiming she was busy, only to repeat her denials later, noting that “the workers worked in good homes, but had complaints about work pressure and being yelled at, and decided to leave because of the work pressure.” As if “yelling” and “work pressure” were normal and unworthy of scrutiny, and workers’ acceptance of such treatment a foregone conclusion.

Elham Lteif admitted that she did not pay Grace’s wages, but justified it by saying that “Fares Karam was supposed to pay, but we made a concession, and they left the house and ran away.” She also confirmed that Fares Karam avoided registering workers directly under his name, saying he “registers them under the names of relatives such as his brother or cousin,” whom she described as “very kind.” She added: “If the workers demand 12 days’ pay, that’s fine, he was going to pay, but they left suddenly.”

Between the office’s denial and the lack of accountability

For her part, Grace, one of the workers we were able to meet, confirmed that she worked for more than a month in Fares Karam’s house and his mother’s house. She pointed out that her friend, who also worked in his home, was later imprisoned after a complaint was filed by the office; she still does not know her friend’s fate.

When asked about allegations of physical abuse and sexual violence by her husband, Ilham categorically denied them, claiming that what is being published about the office are “fabrications originating from This Is Lebanon page,” which she described as “a platform operating from abroad, and you know how associations work.” She emphasized that her husband does not run the office, saying he only contributed to administrative tasks and that since the “incident” he no longer comes to the office: “This office is mine; my husband does not enter it, has no connection to it, and is forbidden from passing by it.”

Justifying her position by noting that “the Kenyan embassy sent a letter denying any complaint against her office,” she added condescendingly, “I’m not lying to you, there are a lot of devilish girls,” blaming the workers themselves. In other familiar stories, she claimed that “one of the workers stole $1,000 from Fares Karam’s house, another stole clothes from the house of a woman she worked for,” and that they “convinced a third girl to run away with them.” She pointed out that their passports were still in the possession of the office and another employer, and that the incident took place about two years ago, when her husband was still working at the union.

It should be noted that, in contrast, one of the workers who testified to us said she had her passport and was able to return to her country.

Lteif renewed her attack on This Is Lebanon: “We are human beings, and let the investigation take its course.” Before ending the call, she asked indignantly: “Are you saying that Fares Karam (ate) stole their right? How did you find out? Do you have the girls at Sharika Wa Laken?” She added: “Tell them return the money to the people who paid it. They’ve been in Lebanon for four years, having fun… Let’s suppose Fares Karam is bad, what about the other ones, what did they do to them?”

On the other hand, Sharika Wa Laken affirms its commitment to journalistic ethics and to granting everyone the right of reply, while seeking to expose the structural flaws in the kafala system, which perpetuates discrimination and grants perpetrators immunity. For the record, the investigation team attempted to contact artist Fares Karam, but his phone was switched off on the first day, and he did not respond to our calls the following day, after the case had already been opened with the office, which may have alerted him to the matter.

Ignoring testimonies and turning workers into defendants

At Ilham Lteif’s request, Sharika Wa Laken contacted Joseph Saliba, head of the Association of Recruitment Agencies in Lebanon, himself the subject of accusations on This Is Lebanon page, including 22 complaints of violence, among them forcing a domestic worker to have an abortion after discovering she was pregnant upon arrival in Lebanon, and failing to pay her dues.

Discussing the accusations against the Gabriel office, Saliba claimed that a “foreign website” had fabricated the problem and that its owner had “fled to Canada.” He pointed out that the Kenyan consulate had denied the existence of any complaints against the office, arguing: “If there were any proven accusations, the Ministry of Labor would have shut down the agency immediately.”

However, this official denial contradicts direct field testimonies from workers who experienced violations, exposing a serious gap in oversight and accountability, and raising questions about how seriously exploitation in this sector is addressed. Instead of discussing the content of the testimonies, Saliba asked: “Where are the girls you are talking about? Fares’? The runaways?” His words reflect the abhorrent subordination and slavery normalized by the kafala system. He continued: “I thought you knew where they were.”

He emphasized that the office operates legally and that the union would have taken action “if any of those crimes had been proven.” In a traditional defensive stance, Saliba said: “If the workers were subjected to sexual or physical abuse, why didn’t they file legal complaints? There are many associations that can help them,” ignoring obstacles such as fear of deportation or retaliation, lack of trust, and lack of legal representation. He added: “We are not defending anyone, but we do not pass judgment based on hearsay. Anyone who has a case should file it, and we will hold any party accountable, whoever they may be,” in what amounted to a veiled attempt at intimidation.

Saliba stated that Nakhle Gabriel, the husband of the office owner, had been providing “logistical assistance” to the union before facing these accusations, and then voluntarily withdrew: “He no longer comes, and we did not ask him why.”

Later, the firm’s lawyer, Pierre Jaber, contacted us, confirming that lawsuits had been filed against all those who published the accusations, foremost among them the foreign page, which he said had been “closed and then reopened under a new name.” He explained that anyone who circulates these accusations exposes themselves to prosecution: “The workers are spreading rumors and getting the office involved in lawsuits… Anyone who has accusations should go directly to the courts, not the media.” He added: “In this way, we are forced to summon and investigate everyone who publishes or contributes to the publication of these stories,” confirming an intent to intimidate and threaten us with legal action to silence and deter us from pursuing the case.

Consulates accused of collusion

Shadows of corruption and extortion

Contrary to official statements claiming that the Kenyan embassy sent a letter exonerating the recruitment office from the accusations, the testimony of one Kenyan worker we interviewed points to a potentially greater danger. She says that “a consulate employee forces girls who have run away and want to return to their country to pay amounts that exceed the actual price of the tickets,” raising serious questions about collusion between some consulate employees and recruitment agencies, and the involvement of the Kenyan consulate itself, albeit implicitly, in the exploitation network.

This collusion not only reinforces the trafficking cycle, it also further undermines victims’ chances of survival and justice. At the center of these accusations is Qasim Jaber, assistant to the Kenyan consul in Lebanon, repeatedly mentioned in multiple media reports, including CNN investigations, where he has been accused of exploitation, financial extortion, and sexual blackmail of women workers in exchange for travel tickets.

There have also been complaints from workers of verbal and physical abuse inside the consulate, some of which amounted to physical assault. Despite this, Qasim Jaber has denied all accusations, threatening defamation lawsuits against media outlets and human rights organizations, and claiming a lack of evidence.

More broadly, a joint investigation by Daraj and the Anti-Racism Movement (ARM), in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), reveals the prominent role of honorary consuls in Lebanon in worsening the plight of migrant workers. Usually appointed in countries lacking official diplomatic representation, these consuls cultivate close relationships with recruitment agencies and security services, directly interfering in the organization of workers’ entry and exit, raising suspicions about their involvement in serious violations, including human trafficking, harassment, and theft.

As these mechanisms and abuses persist, one question remains: Who will be the next artist whose racist practices will be exposed?
To be continued…