Cork model forced to pay nearly €2,000 to leave 'harsh and unsafe' conditions in Lebanon

Fionnuala Watts says she was placed in what she described as an isolated and unsanitary 'model apartment' in the town of Jounieh, to the north of Beirut

Irish model Fionnuala Watts waits for her flight in Beirut Airport to return to Greece. Picture: Hannah McCarthy

A Russian-Lebanese owner of a model agency encouraged a model from Cork to travel to Lebanon for work in November, before refusing to allow her to leave the war-stricken country until she paid nearly €2,000.

Based in Greece, where her family moved from Ballydehob when she was a child, 28-year-old Fionnuala Watts currently works for a local Greek model agency. Earlier this year, the agency was approached by a Lebanese agency called Twice Management with an inquiry about whether Watts would be open to working in Lebanon. 

Initially, Ms Watts said no as the money offered was low and Lebanon seemed increasingly risky due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. Despite the initial refusal, Twice Management continued to request her for work in Lebanon.

On October 17, as the death toll in Lebanon passed 2,400, she had a video call with the Russian-Lebanese owner of the agency, Marina Sabaji, who told her that the war was not happening near where she lived north of Beirut or where Ms Watts would be working. 

Ms Watts claimed the agency's owner told her that the media was making the situation in Lebanon seem worse than it is. Picture: Hannah McCarthy

The Cork woman said the Irish Government advised against travelling to Lebanon due to the war, but Ms Sabaji replied that embassies have to issue those types of warnings and that the media is making the situation in Lebanon seem worse than it is.

The two women connected on Instagram where Ms Sabaji’s personal account featured recent photos of her dining out at restaurants and at the beach posing with her two young children. 

“I spoke with a model who had worked in Lebanon earlier in the year, who said that it had been fine, and they got some good photos from their shoots,” says Ms Watts, who says she saw working in Lebanon as an opportunity to add new photos to her portfolio and add a new country to her modelling work profile.

'Terrifying' Israeli airstrikes

On November 10, she arrived in Beirut on a flight from Athens to start a month-long contract with Twice Management. She says it quickly became apparent that the situation was more dangerous than Ms Sabaji had presented.

“The driver for the agency told me I was very brave and there were no other models here,” she says. “I freaked out.” 

Ms Watts describes hearing “terrifying” Israeli airstrikes near her soon after she arrived in Lebanon. The Irish woman says she was subjected to “harsh and unsafe” conditions by Twice Management, including being placed in what she described as an isolated and unsanitary “model apartment” in the town of Jounieh. 

Ms Watts shared an unsigned copy of her model contract and a photo of a video camera which was placed inside the model apartment with the Irish Examiner.

The contract stipulated that the model was prohibited from going anywhere, except to the nearest supermarket and park; that the apartment was equipped with a camera directed at the entrance door; and that if the model attempted to leave without permission, the contract would be terminated and no payment would be made to the model.

Ms Watts shared a photo of the video camera placed inside the model apartment she was required to stay in while in Lebanon working for Twice Management. Picture: Hannah McCarthy

While working for Twice Management in Lebanon, Ms Watts says she was required to work for 12-hour shifts without proper food. 

Her first photoshoot was for Jean-Louis Sabaji — a luxury Lebanese brand run by Sabaji’s husband Leonel Sabaji, and his brother Louis Sabaji — who has designed dresses for celebrities including Beyoncé and Rita Ora. 

On Thursday, Ms Sabaji shared an image of Ms Watts being photographed by Lebanese photographer Eddie Dagher on her personal Instagram account. The model also appears on Instagram advertisements for the Lebanese fashion brand Nakhle.Ets, which were posted on November 15.

Soon after arriving in Lebanon, Ms Watts expressed concerns for her safety and asked to leave in two weeks after completing the jobs she had been booked for. Despite several airstrikes in the Beirut area that week, she says that Ms Sabaji threatened her with financial penalties if she left early.

After speaking with her model agent in Greece and sharing her concerns, she booked a return flight leaving on November 14. She was, however, denied permission to leave Lebanon at passport control at Beirut Airport, as the necessary documents for her to leave had not been approved by Twice Management.

'High degree of control over workers' lives'

Foreign workers in Lebanon are generally sponsored by agencies under the kafala system, which means their visas and employment contracts are linked. This means that workers cannot leave the country or change jobs without their employer’s permission.

“The high degree of control over workers’ lives under the kafala system has led to cases of human trafficking, forced labour, exploitation, and more,” says Human Rights Watch, which frequently documents “the non-payment of wages, forced confinement, withholding of identity documents, excessive working hours, and verbal, physical and sexual abuse". 

In a voice note that the Irish Examiner has reviewed, Ms Sabaji told Ms Watts: “You violated our law by escaping in the middle of the night. You are still under the Twice Management visa and our apartment is assigned by management."

You cannot sleep anywhere other than this apartment. That will be another violation of the law and the police and immigration can take you. This is very serious

Ms Watts says an official at the Department of Foreign Affairs says they could not become involved as her case involved a private dispute. A spokesperson for the department told the Irish Examiner that it is aware of the case and has provided consular assistance, noting it does not comment on the details of individual cases.

In a call to Ms Watts while she was at Beirut airport, Ms Sabaji demanded $2,000 from her for violating her contract and leaving Lebanon early.

Ms Watts was promoted on the Twice Management Instagram account while working on photoshoots. Picture: Hannah McCarthy

When she challenged the cost and noted that she had completed three jobs, she says that Ms Sabaji told her that she could raise the cost by several thousand dollars if she wanted.

Ms Sabaji told Ms Watts that, under the terms of the contract, she was required to return to the model apartment. Ms Watts messaged the Irish Examiner as she was driven to the model apartment, along the highway to Jounieh — which has been struck since the war in Lebanon escalated in September.

After sending €1,977 via Western Union to Ms Sabaji, she was brought to the Beirut office of the Lebanese security agency, which oversees sponsored work visas, where an official signed and stamped her visa for exit on Friday morning.

I heard a massive [airstrike] near me this morning while I was doing the paperwork

Ms Watts left Lebanon on Friday evening aboard a flight that she paid for, despite the contract with Twice Management providing for a return flight. In response to a request for comment made on a phone call, Ms Sabaji said “don’t bother” and did not respond to a message sent via Whatsapp which set out the claims made by Ms Watts.

Twice Management is currently promoting a new foreign model for work on its website. Ms Watts says she contacted the new model to warn her to have an evacuation plan.