By Mafugi Ceesay
The Gambian Consul in Lebanon, Khalid Hammoud has been speaking about claims by Gambian women workers in Lebanon detailing their suffering and demanding the government to return them home.
Speaking to The Standard in a WhatsApp conversation, Khalid Hammoud said: “These girls are not telling the true situation here. They just want a free passage and a full waive of their penalties so they can go home after working for years without papers and earning about 4-500$ a month which is not available anymore.
I did help them before with consular cards so they don’t get stopped, and I am just trying to get them the waiver from immigration and to force the person who brought them and undertake responsibility to send them home in case the agreement between the two parties doesn’t work. So I can’t send them home without paying for their tickets. But they have no patience and keep coming up with stories every time putting pressure on every one. It is also not true that Senegal has evacuated their nationals. Lebanon is currently in a mess after this horrific blast and these women should take it easy and not to make life difficult for our government back home and us here.”
