‘It was like jail’: Domestic workers face cycle of exploitation in lockdown London

Despite the lifting of lockdown restrictions in the United Kingdom, Rosa* still barely leaves her friend’s house, where she has been staying since March. “It’s very difficult. If another wave [comes], it’s very hard. Again, I have to be stuck in the house,” she told The New Arab over the phone. Rosa travelled to London three years ago as the maid of a wealthy family from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She said her employers expected her to work seven days a week with barely any time to rest as she cared for the family’s young children, including an infant.