PROVIDING mental health support and professional psychiatric help will be among the key priorities for Bahrain’s oldest society dedicated to protecting the rights of migrant workers in the kingdom.
The Migrant Workers Protection Society (MWPS) is looking forward to a full schedule of medical check-ups, outreach campaigns and other initiatives, once its new board is elected during its annual general meeting, at a date yet to be fixed.
“We are currently in a transition phase and will be having a fully functioning board in the coming months, to strive further towards our goal of being the ‘voice for the voiceless’,” MWPS chairwoman Mona Almoayyed told the GDN in an exclusive interview.
“We are planning on having a full schedule of medical check-ups and labour camp visits, which we have not done since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We also plan to work with a psychiatrist to provide mental health support to labourers to address the high number of suicides we have seen amongst that group.
“Migrant suicides were on the rise due to a surge in cases of depression among expatriates financially impacted by the pandemic.”
During the pandemic, the MWPS helped more than 16,000 people, including raising funds for the charter of a flight to repatriate 364 people.
Having started in 2006, the MWPS has been navigating internal challenges in recent months and hopes to start its next schedule of events soon.
“Our society has had some administrative challenges after the pandemic, and we are currently working on reinstating our board,” Ms Almoayyed added.
“During this time, we have not been able to receive donations or conduct some of our initiatives.”
This year so far, the MWPS has provided 1,022 workers with dry rations, up from 876 last year.
During Ramadan, the society also distributed charity boxes, dry rations, blankets and food vouchers to more than 300 workers.
In January this year, the society conducted a workshop in partnership with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) regarding new visa reform guidelines, followed by a training in February for society members with the Foreign Affairs ministry on human rights.
The society noted that 90 per cent of the labour cases it receives involve repatriation and providing legal assistance to low-income labourers and Ms Almoayyed added that on average, there are 10-11 cases every month just around the mistreatment of housemaids, including heavy workload, abuse and non-payment of wages.
Last year, the society handled 31 cases, a drop from 2021, when it handled 70 cases and 2020, when it handled 56 cases.
The society handled five repatriations last year, down from 19 in 2021 and 40 in 2020.
“While most of the calls we get are from Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan individuals, we have also seen an uptick in calls from Kenyan workers, many of whom come here thinking they will work in one job, for example, as a beautician, but end up working as a domestic worker,” Ms Almoayyed added.
The society also highlighted the case of a Kenyan worker who came to Bahrain while pregnant and then struggled to sort out a birth certificate for her baby due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
The MWPS helped the mother and baby with diapers, baby milk, wipes and more, while helping her navigate the legal system to obtain the certificate before paying for her air tickets to return home.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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