Tens of thousands of Ethiopian migrants are being deported from Saudi Arabia. They tell of being detained for months in miserable conditions. At home, they face an uncertain future.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought international migration to a standstill — and migrant workers have borne the greatest cost. But Bangladeshi workers are doing surprisingly well.
The organization Human Rights Watch has denounced that a "deportation center in Riyadh is holding hundreds of mostly Ethiopian migrant workers in conditions so degrading that they amount to ill treatment." In a statement published on December 15, Human Rights Watch asked Saudi authorities to end detention, abuse and torture.
The IOM said on Sunday that there are at least "8 migrants dead and 12 are missing at sea" after being forced off a boat by smugglers off the coast of Djibouti. The migrants were traveling from Yemen, the UN organization added.
In the past two years, more migrants have traveled by boat to Yemen from the Horn of Africa than crossed the Mediterranean. Thousands of them are now trapped and facing multiple risks from the ongoing civil war, the threat of COVID-19, and abuse by human traffickers.
The conditions for migrants and refugees in Yemen are getting worse amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Not only are refugees and migrants more vulnerable to contracting the dangerous disease, but they are also increasingly facing stigmatization and prejudice.
Lebanon is providing temporary shelter for a group of Ethiopian domestic workers abandoned by their employers. It will repatriate some of them, but COVID-19 quarantine measures mean the pressures of returning home are likely to be even greater.
Many Ethiopian immigrants who try to reach Saudi Arabia are not aware of the risks of the journey, a study by the UN migration agency IOM shows.
In the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, foreign workers face high risks, low wages and exploitation. The COVID-19 outbreak is a health crisis they can't afford, and authorities and employers are providing little support.
The Arab region comprising 18 countries hosts 15% of all migrants and refugees worldwide; it is currently seeing "unprecedented levels of migration." Despite these high levels, the majority of migrants and refugees stay within the region. To date, Europe has received only 14% of all refugees originating from Arab countries.
Tens of thousands of people migrate from Eastern Africa to Yemen each year – even though the country has been devastated by a civil war, and smugglers frequently blackmail and torture migrants. Most migrants are hoping to make it to Saudi Arabia, and find work there. Let’s take a closer look at this highly dangerous migrant route.
Tens of thousands of migrants from East Africa depart for Yemen each year hoping to eventually reach Saudi Arabia and find work. But on arrival in Yemen, many migrants are caught by ruthless traffickers who abuse and torture them.