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500,000 Ethiopian migrants, mostly women, are in the process of being deployed to Saudi Arabia to join the labor force as domestic workers. The approach is aimed at facilitating an orderly migration process. Priorities were given to undergraduate and graduate students who have been attending training classes in housekeeping and other job skills as a prerequisite to the arrangement. The Ethiopian government has established an agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but a press release explaining the details from the Ethiopia Disaster Risk Management Commission is still pending. The EDRMC is known for its role in handling repatriations of Ethiopian migrants mostly returning from KSA, and Lebanon for many years now.
So far, the one thing that is clear is that a direct deposit of the domestic worker’s earnings will be deposited into their account in Ethiopia, in order to deter the utilization of black-market bank transfers. The agreement appears to be based on a mutual goal to stimulate economic growth in a struggling economy. How they access the money they earn is unclear. The critical question remains; why were people encouraged to join the labor force without any resolution about the endemic human rights violations and a clear path forward for basic protections and clear labor laws? There are countless reports of women being sexually abused by their employers.
The collective group of migrant response actors involved in the facilitation of orderly migration includes governments, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), U.N. Int. Non-Governmental Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, and civil society organizations (CSOs) who are gearing up to advocate, collect data, and report to authorities any human rights atrocities tied to the migration trends in the Eastern Route. The Migration Response Plan report for the Horn of Africa and Yemen indicates they have designated a budget of 84 million for various funding requirements to be dispersed to the top 3 countries, which include 32.6 million for Ethiopia, 23.7 million for Yemen, and 16.1 million for Somalia. Among the top 5 receiving NGOs based in Ethiopia include IOM at 19.5 million, Bethany Christiane Services Global at 2.1 million, Bright Start Relief & Development Association at 2.07 million, Save the Children International at 1.5 million, and Agar Ethiopia Charitable Society at 970 thousand. These INGOs, NGOs & CSOs are also tasked with various support services including reintegration for returnees. Despite an arrangement by the two governments the influx
There are several drivers that increase the influx of migrants through these irregular migration channels, which include poverty, unemployment, inflationary pressure, instability, regional conflict, ethnic violence, environmental degradation, and inter-communal disputes. The migration route to KSA is nothing short of an obstacle course with fatal consequences. The top three causes of death for African Migrants across the continent are (1) drowning, (2) Harsh environmental conditions, lack of adequate shelter, food, water, and (3) vehicle accidents linked to hazardous transport; in that order. The journey leaves many of the migrants vulnerable to a barrage of perpetrators like transnational organized criminals who are actors of human smuggling, trafficking, discrimination, xenophobia, and sexual violence. Many of the migrants are held in detention centers under inhumane conditions for several months where they are tortured, abused, and sometimes even killed.
Yemen is a gateway country for migrants trying to reach the KSA. Yemen Houthis and KSA-backed soldiers present additional challenges for migrants when they pass through. Migrants typically sell their assets to make this perilous journey through such harsh conditions and use the funds to cover legal requirements, broker fees, and transportation costs. Before the inflationary period records from earlier years indicate the cost to cover broker fees was approximately 18 thousand ETB (Ethiopian Birr) approximately 750 hundred USD. The brokers in Ethiopia have played a major role in the recruitment process and in promoting the idea to families with financial needs in their community, without fully disclosing the dangers. Women are likely to join the labor force as a housekeeper, and Men work in the agricultural industry. Without labor laws to protect the migrants they work for months to repay all of the fees it took to get them there. In many cases, they never receive their pay. The old name for this kind of work dynamic was indentured servant.
Bonus material –
Linking ancient times to contemporary minds – The migrant routing path in ancient times was inverted and King Armah reigned between 614-631 in the Kingdom of Axum and provided refuge to the earliest disciples of the Prophet Mohammed. As Muhammed’s first followers fled from persecution out of Mecca and migrated to Axum/Abyssinia as part of Hijrah they were provided refuge in what is now modern-day Ethiopia. The KSA is a monarchy and the Quran and Sunna (the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) serve as the country’s constitution. The Quran states how asylum seekers are to be treated, and King Armah was known for doing no wrong to anyone.
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