Almost 40,000 Migrants Lost their Lives Crossing Borders/Seas Since 2000: IOM

Mediterranean Sea alone did cost over 22,000 migrants' lives since 2000

It sounds like almost 4 thousand faceless and nameless fellow human-beings had lost their lives unnecessarily every year since 2000 while trying to escape - persecution, killing, or poverty. They were somebody's sisters brothers daughters or sons and now they are just statistics. Unfortunately, thanks to the the rise of anti-migrant right wing parties all over the industrialized world, the death toll of migrants seems to rise even more in the coming years. Every country which tightens its borders and does everything to prevent immigrants from entering its "sovereign land", is a complicit to this human tragedy unfolding everyday from Australia, to the US; from South Africa to Italy; from Saudi-Arabia to Libya.  

Geneva - IOM today (29/9/2014) released “Fatal Journeys: Tracking Lives Lost During Migration,” the world’s most comprehensive tally to date of migrant fatalities across land and sea.

With a count surpassing 40,000 victims since 2000, IOM calls on all the world’s governments to address what it describes as “an epidemic of crime and victimization.”

“Our message is blunt: migrants are dying who need not,” said IOM Director General William Lacy Swing, “It is time to do more than count the number of victims. It is time to

Number of Syrian Kurds fleeing to Turkey nears 140,000: UNHCR

GENEVA. September 23 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Tuesday said more than 138,000 refugees, mainly ethnic Kurds fleeing militant threats to towns and villages in northern Syria, have crossed into southern Turkey since Friday.

The latest arrivals passed through the two remaining open border points at Yumurtalik and the crossing east of Murstipinar/Akmanak.

UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming said the Turkish authorities had told the refugee agency that they are now managing the entry of refugees through two border points (previously nine) in three phases: security checks in order to maintain the civilian character of asylum; health checks, including measles and polio vaccination for very young children; and registration.

Mobile registration centres, large trucks donated by UNHCR and complete with computers, biometric and photographic equipment, are operating in the border crossing of Yumurtalik and in the yard of a primary school of Namik Kemal, Suruc.

Registration is also being carried out by government officials at a boarding school in Onbirnisan, in Suruc district hosting an estimated 50,000 refugees, as well as the Suruc town center – less than 15 kilometers from the Syrian border.

Once registered, refugees receive an ID card, which provides access to free health care services in Turkish clinics, as well as other aid provided by local municipalities, non-governmental organizations and other aid agencies. The card is a critical document that also shows refugees have the temporary protection of the Turkish government.

"UNHCR field staff are visiting the border areas and areas hosting refugees on a daily basis, assessing urgent needs and coordinating the response among other humanitarian actors," Fleming said.

"Our field staff report the majority of new arrivals are women, children and the elderly, who arrive exhausted having walked several kilometers to safety on a dusty, rough road, with their luggage. Some of the elderly and disabled are carried to safety by relatives, their wheel chairs hopelessly unsuited to the rough terrain," she added.

On arrival, the refugees are given water before being transported to a registration point. The Turkish Red Crescent has set up a medical observation tent for injured refugees and more than 290 Syrians were taken to the Suruc hospital by ambulances over the weekend.

The refugee agency has already provided tens of thousands of relief items – blankets, sleeping mats, jerry cans and plastic sheets – to help in the response, coordinated by the government of Turkey. More aid is on the way.

UNHCR's Fleming said the first in a series of airlifts bringing aid for up to 200,000 people is expected to arrive in Turkey, from Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday afternoon. Another three flights from Amman and Copenhagen are expected to follow later in the week.

Many refugees are sheltering with relatives and friends, while others are staying in schools, wedding halls, mosques or other buildings. The Turkish government has set up two transit centres for 10,000 people each at Suleymansah Park in Mursitpinar and Onbirnisan, in Suruc, with support from UNHCR. The government also continues its work on two new camps already under way – Derik Camp in Mardin and Islahiye camp – also with UNHCR support.
Source: UNHCR

Over 2,500 people have drowned or gone missing trying to reach Europe: UNHCR

Half of those arriving in Europe by boat are refugees from Syria and Eritrea.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visited the naval rescue headquarters in Malta yesterday, on a weekend in which new boat sinkings were being reported off Egypt and Libya claiming more innocent lives. Ms. Jolie and Mr. Guterres met three survivors of one of the tragedies, who had been rescued by a commercial vessel and brought to Malta by the Maltese authorities.

In the Maltese capital Valletta, Ms. Jolie also visited Syrian refugee families who survived a similar devastating boat tragedy last October. They included a couple from Damascus whose three small children perished during the crossing, and a doctor from Aleppo whose wife and three year-old daughter drowned. Half of those arriving in Europe by boat are

Human Traffickers deliberately sunk Migrants boat in Mediterranean sea, killing 500

Migrants being rescued off the Coast of Sicily

About 500 migrants are feared to have drowned after the boat carrying them from Egypt to Malta was apparently deliberately sunk by people-traffickers, an intergovernmental group has said. The news – based on the accounts of two Palestinian survivors – emerged on the same day up to 200 more people were feared dead when another boat heading to Europe capsized off Libya. The Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said there was no independent verification for what happened, mainly because only nine people are believed to have survived. The IOM's account comes from the two Palestinians, who were rescued by another boat and taken to Sicily. If the men's account is correct, by the IOM's tally about 2,900 migrants

Calais : de l’exaspération des habitants au désespoir des migrants

Le nombre de sans-papiers à Calais, dont la très grande majorité souhaite se rendre en Angleterre, a explosé depuis le début de l'année 2014. Une situation qui pousse à bout les habitants et les migrants. France 24 est allé à leur rencontre.

 Elle avait haussé le ton ce weekend, exaspérée par la passivité britannique face au drame migratoire de Calais. Natacha Bouchart, la maire UMP de la ville du nord de la France, a finalement obtenu une réponse. Elle, qui avait demandé l’aide des Britanniques pour endiguer le flux de migrants illégaux a réussi à faire sortir  son voisin du mutisme. Face à la menace de l’édile français de bloquer le port de la ville, le ministre de l’Immigration anglais a proposé, dimanche 7 septembre, d’offrir à Calais les hautes clôtures d’acier qui avaient sécurisé la venue des chefs d’État lors du sommet de l’Otan à Newport. Soit 21 km de grillage de près de trois mètres de hauteur.

Que la proposition de Londres doive être prise au sérieux ou non, la menace lancée par

'Israel 'coercing Eritreans and Sudanese to leave' Human Rights Watch

The Irony is, this country which was founded at the beginning of 20th century by a few Israeli refugees who fled Europe to escape arbitrary detention, killing and inhumane treatment. Fast forward 2014, their descendants are repeating what happened to their parents, grandparents and great grand parents against fellow helpless and defenseless African refugees whose only crime is having a bit of more melanin on their skin. It just breaks my heart what these fellow human-beings have to go through in the Negev desert with no hope neither future. They have to chose the lesser two evils: being detained indefinitely in the "free country" or go back and face persecution, rape, and of course to be a modern day slave in the military camps in the case of Eritreans. Being a refugee is not a choice; these people have left their families, friends, careers and their home country behind, as if this is not enough, they are being treated like criminals is an open racism at its best.   

Family in Ethiopia is still unaware of Ethiopian domestic worker who died in Bahrain in January

Just another day with this tragic news which has become almost not uncommon for many Ethiopian girls and women whose lives cut short while searching for better life in the oil rich Arab countries. Sadly but truly, the exodus of these desperate women to their death trap is not to stop in the near future, as life is getting tougher and unbearable by day in their home country where the few TPLF cadres and their loyalist getting richer while millions of Ethiopians are struggling to meet the ends. This young Ethiopian woman most probably forced to end her life due to unimaginable physical, psychological, emotional and other pressures which millions of migrant workers have to go through by  their middle-eastern employers on daily basis. We have said millions times Rest in Peace to victims of to such cases in the past; but have we thought what impact this cliche term has done anything to change the way our sisters and mothers are being treated at home and abroad? NOTHING, I would say.

Aiqa Haider of The Gulf Daily News reported that relatives of Ethiopian domestic worker who committed suicide in a government shelter more than two months ago are still unaware of her death, according to community leaders.

Emirati housewife sentenced to 15 years in jail for torturing her Ethiopian and Filipina maids

A United Arab Emirates court on Monday sentenced an Emirati housewife to 15 years in jail for torturing her Ethiopian and Filipina maids.

 

The Ethiopian maid died after she was forced to drink pesticide and developed pneumonia due to her infected wounds, UAE-based news site Gulf News reported.

 

In its decision, the Dubai Court of First Instance also found the housewife prevented the Ethiopian

Libya another hell-hole for African Migrants

"If an African dies here, it is normal. No one cares". 24 years-old Nigerian migrant 

"A male officer stripped me off to check out if I hide cellphone in my private parts". Pregnant woman 

I heard several horrific stories from Ethiopians and Eritreans who had stayed in Libya as a transit before they moved to Europe but I never expected these level of xenophobic and racist abuses fellow Africans including children and women just because they happen to have a bit higher melanin than the local Libyans. A report which was released today by Amnesty International shows these defenseless and helpless people are being abused, degraded, beaten, raped and killed by local self-proclaimed militias who claim to protect Libyan women from rape and their country from witchcraft. Oh no, how would a 15 years old girl

Ethiopian migrants return empty handed from Saudi Arabia : IRIN

I will never go back to that country (Saudi Arabai) 

United Nation's Organ IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks) reported today from the Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa that early 137,000 undocumented Ethiopian migrants deported by the Saudi authorities to date. This sad Ethiopian woman among thousands of returnees whose dream of having a good economic life and supporting her family was crushed by the Saudiziation crackdown last month and came back home empty handed and a lot of debts to pay.  Mohamed Yusuf, one of the tens of thousands of returnees, told IRIN that he left his home town in Ethiopia for Saudi Arabia a year ago at the age of 17, he thought life would change for the better. Instead, Yusuf's difficult and unprofitable stay in Saudi Arabia ended and deported back to his country. Yusuf says
"At first, I thought I was going to change my life and those of my father and mother, who paid for the whole trip out of their meagre income,"  whose father is a farmer in northern Ethiopia. However, the gruelling journey to Saudi Arabia and his stay there had been harrowing experiences, he told IRIN. 

During the long trek through Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar Desert to Djibouti on the Red Sea, he endured hunger and thirst and had to bury some of his friends, who perished along the way. On reaching Djibouti, he paid smugglers 5,000 Ethiopian Birr (US$261) to take him from Obock, on Djibouti’s northern coast,

across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. From there he made his way to Saudi Arabia.

The majority of male migrants from Ethiopia follow similar routes when crossing into Saudi and mostly depart from Obock, although many also leave from Somaliland. Female migrants usually enter as domestic workers under Saudi Arabia’s ‘kafala’ (sponsorship) system.

Human rights groups say the system creates conditions for abuse, including rules requiring workers to obtain permission from their employer to change jobs. Those who do so without permission are considered undocumented and were among those rounded up during the government’s crackdown on foreign workers, which started in early November 2013.

Initially, Yusuf found work as a shepherd in a rural area of Saudi Arabia but decided to leave after two months because his employers refused to pay him the 800 Saudi Arabian riyals ($213) they owed him. "One day I decided to quit my job and fled to the city [of Jeddah]. And that was when I got captured by the police and put into prison for five months before coming here like this with many Ethiopians," he told IRIN.

There was no opportunity to earn back the cost of getting there, let alone fulfill his dream of a better life. “I’m confused and do not have any idea what I’m going to do next,” he told IRIN. "One thing is for sure, I will never go back to that country after seeing and hearing what is happening to Ethiopians there."Many of the Returnees need Medical Treatment : IOM

According to Human Rights Watch and testimony from returnees, during the crackdown, Ethiopian migrant workers were subjected to beatings by Saudi police and citizens that resulted in at least three deaths.

Another returnee, Kidane Gebre, told IRIN: "After hearing this, my mother will be terrified and waiting for me anxiously. Many people from my home town were victims of this violence."

Many of those rounded up were held in makeshift detention centers without adequate food or shelter while they awaited repatriation.
The Ethiopian government initially estimated that some 30,000 undocumented citizens were being detained

and would need to be repatriated, but as of 16 December the number of returnees had reached 136,946. Of these, 84,721 were men, 45,157 women and 7,068 children.

Up until last week, over 7,000 were arriving every day, but according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number has now slowed to about 1,000 a day. A further 35,000 migrants are still expected, according to IOM.

Six transit centres have been set up in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to receive the returnees and, with the support of government, IOM has been providing temporary accommodation, meals, medical services and a $50 transportation allowance to help the migrants complete their journey home. The organization launched an appeal on 6 December for $13.1 million to continue addressing their needs, but to date had only raised $1.9 million.

“As the number of returnees increases, the financial gap has further widened,” notes a press briefing from IOM released on 17 December.

IOM's Chief of Mission in Ethiopia, Josiah Ogina said the migrants included vulnerable people, such as the victims of human trafficking, unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, and disabled persons. "Many of those detained and returned to Ethiopia arrived in need of medical support," Ogina told international donors in Addis Ababa. Click to read from IRIN

To live in Saudi is to cry every day: Ethiopian Returnee

"They took our money, they took our belongings and there are people who have died," Kamer Hajji

 

"They took my money, they didn't even give me food to eat." 25 years old Ethiopian woman 

 These are some the horrific recounts of thousands of Ethiopian returnees from Saudi-Arabia who were abused, degraded and traumatized by the country's sadistic security officers and vigilante young men. They had been through a lot of an unimaginable circumstances since the oil-rich middle-eastern country started Saudization, a crackdown against migrant workers, last month. Here is what

Jenny Vaughan of AFP (Agence France Presse) who reported 2 days ago from Addis Ababa that when Ethiopia started repatriating tens of thousands of Ethiopian migrant workers who were rounded up by Saudi officials last month, 30 thousand were expected to return.

Today, four times that amount have been repatriated with numbers still swelling daily straining agencies to support one of the largest human airlift operations in recent history.

በጅዳ ቆንስል በር ውላ የምታድረው እህት ክራሞት…

ይህችን እህት በጅዳ ቆንስል መስሪያ ቤት በር ተቀምጣ  ለአንድ ሳምንት እንዳያት  ነቢዩ  ሲራክ የተባለው እና በዛው ከተማ የሚኖር ኢትዮጵያዊ ይናገራል። አልፎ አልፎ  ሊያነጋግራት  ቢሞክርም መልስ አትሰጥም። መጀመሪያ ያያት ቀን አካባቢ ከስራ ለተፈናቀሉ እህቶች አነሰም በዛ መጠለያ እያለ ፣ ለምን በር ላይ ትሆናለች ብሎ የጠየቃቸው የቆንስሉ ጸጥታ አስከባሪ “አንተየ የዚህች እህት ጉዳይ አስቸጋሪ ነው ። ከመጠለያው ብዙ ቆይታለች ፣ አሁን በር ላይ የሆነችው ሃገር ቤት ለመሄድ ወረቀቷ አልቆ እያለ “ሃገር ቤት አልሄድም!” በማለቷ እነረደሆነ ነግረውታል ። “በመጠለያው የነበሩት ሰነዳቸው ባሳር በመከራ አልቆ ሲሸኙ ወደ ሃገር ቤት አልሸኝም ብላ ረብሻ ከማንሳት አልፎ ከተዘጋጀው መኪና ወርዳ ይህን የምታየው ሚኒባስ መስታውት ሰብራዋለች! ከዚያን ቀን ወዲህ አትበላም አትጠጣም ፣ እኛንም የገረመን ይሄ ነው። ምን ታደርጋለህ! ” ነበር ያሉት እኝህ የቆንስሉ ጸጥታ አስከባሪ ሲራክ ይህ ከተነገረው “ወዲህ ሃገር ቤት አልገባም!” ያለችው እህት ለቀናት በቆንስሉ በር  እንዳልጠፋች ይናገራል። ከተቀመጠችበት ወንበር ጀርባ ባለው ግድግዳ “ህጋዊ ሰነድ የሌላችሁ እና የወጣውን የሳውዲ ህግ መስፈርት የማታሟሉ ወደ ሃገር ግቡ !” የሚለው የቆንስል ማስታወቂያ ይታያል ። ከአጠገቧ በፕላስቲክ ኪስ የታጨቀ ጓዟን አስቀምጣ ፣ በሆዷ ቁርአን ታቅፋ አንገቷን ከመድፋት ባለፈ በአካባቢው አዛን ስትሰማ የዘወትር ጸሎቷን (ሰላቷን) ወንበሯን ፈቀቅ አድርጋ እንደምትሰግድ አንድ ዘወትር እንቅስቃሴዋን የሚከታተል የሲራክ ወዳጅ  አጫውቶታል… እንዲህ ሆና  ኩርምት ብላ ውላ ታድራለች! ቀን ጸሃይ ሲወቃት ፣ ማታ ወበቁ ይፈራረቅባታል። ሲራክ ካያት ቀን ጀምሮ ወደ መጠለያው እንድትገባ ከብዙ ሰዎች ጋር ሆነው ቢማጸኗትም  እንዳልተሳካላቸው  ነው የሚናገረው። ከሃገሯ በጤና የመጣችው እህት ችግር ውጋቷን እነሲራክ እንድታጋራቸው  ሲጠይቋት አትመልስም። ወደ ሃገር ቤት እንድትገባ በጅዳ ቆንስል ልትሸኝ ቢሞከርም አልተሳካም። የ”ሃገር ቤት ግቢ!” ” አልገባም!” አለ መግባባት ፍርሻ ከመምጣቱ በፊት አንዳንዴ ኦሮምኛና ብዙ ጊዜ ግን የተሰባበረ አረብኛ እየቀላቀለች መናገር ይቀናት እንደነበር አንድ “በመጠለያው እያለች  አውቃታለሁ።” ያሉ ወንድም ለሲራክ አጫውተውታል። ያን ሰሞን ወደ መጠለያው እንድትገባ ተለምና ብትገባም በመጠለያው ውስጥ ካሉ ግፉአን ጋር ግብ ግብ ፈጥራ መውጣቷን ይነገራል።

ይዚህች ግፉዕ እህት ሰላም የነሳና አዕሮዋን ያወከ የውስጥ ህመም ሚስጥር አይታወቅም። ትሰማለች ፣ ለመናገር አልፈቀደችም።  አንድም ቀን በር ላይ ውሎዋ ትንፍሽ ብላ ስትናገር ሲራክ እስከ ዛሬ እንዳልሰማት ይገልጻል። ውስጧ እንጅ ውጭ አካሏ የተጎዳ አይመስልም! ከሁሉም የሚገርመው ይህች እህት ጤናዋ ታውኮ እንኳ ሃገር ቤት ከወገኖቿ ጋር መቀላቀል ሞት መስሏታል።  ሲራክ  እንዲህ በማለት እይታውን ይደመድማል "ሌላው አስገራሚ ሂደት የዚህችን መልከ መልካም እጣ ፈንታ የምንመለከትም ህጋዊ ሰነድ የሌለን ብዙዎች የሳውዲን መንግስት የምህረት ቀቢጸ-ተስፋ ሰንቀን ጤናችን ተጠብቆ እያለ” በሰላም ሃገር ቤት ግቡ!” የሚለውን የመንግስትና የወገን ምክር መቀበል አቅቶናል! እንዴት ነው ነገሩ …?

አንድየ ይታረቀን ከማለት ባሻገር ምን ይባላል :) ብቻ እሱ ያቅልለው እንጅ የሚሰማ የሚታየው ይከብዳል ! … ያማል … ያማል!" በጣም ያማል። እናመሰግናለን ሲራክ ስላካፈልከን፡እባካችሁ የዝህችን ወገናችንን   ቤተሰብም ሆነ ዘመድ ወይም  የቅርብ ጓደኛ  የምታውቁ ካላችሁ ያለችበትን ሁኔታ በማሳወቅ ህይወቷ አስከፊ አደጋ ላይ ከመውደቁ በፊት ወገናዊ  ትብብራችሁ አይለየን።

Israel passes law to detain undocumented African migrants for a year without trial

According to AFP Israel's parliament has approved a law which allows undocumented immigrants from Africa to be detained for up to a year without trial, MPs announced on Tuesday.

Hardliners from Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud party praised the new legislation, with Interior Minister Gideon Saar saying it would "allow us to keep undocumented immigrants away from our cities."

And MP Miri Regev said Israel should "send them all back to their countries."

But not everyone welcomed the legislation.

"Would you also have placed Nelson Mandela in a closed detention centre?" asked Tamar Zandberg from the left wing Meretz party.

Human rights groups say most African migrants in Israel cannot be deported because their lives would be under threat if they returned home to Sudan and Eritrea.

The government-backed bill amends earlier legislation from 2012 under which undocumented immigrants could be held for three years without trial that was overturned by the Supreme Court in September.

The new bill passed by 30 votes in favour to 15 against during a late-night vote in the 120-member parliament, or Knesset.

It was the latest in a series of measures aimed at cracking down on the numbers of Africans entering the country illegally, which Israel says poses a threat to the state's Jewish character.

Last year, Israel launched a crackdown on what it said were 60,000 undocumented African immigrants, rounding up and deporting 3,920 by the end of the year, and building a hi-tech fence along the border with Egypt.

On November 24, the cabinet approved measures aimed at tackling the question of illegal immigrants, including a crackdown on employers and financial incentives for those agreeing to return to their country of origin.

It has also invested in the construction of a sprawling detention facility for undocumented immigrants arriving in Israel and for immigrants already in the country who "disturb the public order," the premier's office said.

The facility, to be inaugurated on December 12 and run by the Israel Prisons Services, will be open during the day but locked at night, and it will initially house up to 3,300 people, Haaretz newspaper reported.

It said capacity could be expanded to hold up to 11,000.

Saudi Arabia Doubles Down on Abuse

Dawit Giorgis is a Visiting Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former senior official in the Government of Ethiopia and David Andrew Weinberg is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation penned the following commentary on The National Interest's website last November following the violence against Ethiopian migrant workers by Saudi's Police and its vigilantes who took the law in to their hands.  

Last month, three Ethiopians were killed in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, as well as one foreign worker from Sudan. They died amid vigilante violence and reports of police brutality after illegal immigrants in the slum of Manfouha protested against a massive campaign of deportations that the government launched this month. A similar demonstration was broken up in the city of Jeddah, and its organizers arrested.

Meanwhile, large groups of Ethiopians have been gathering for protests this week at Saudi diplomatic institutions across the United States, including in front of the Saudi Embassy in Washington, as well as the Kingdom’s consulates in Atlanta, Los Angeles and in many parts of the world.

What is this big controversy about?

Saudi officials claim that the Ethiopians

Ethiopians in Saudi-Arabia Feared for their Lives

Ethiopians and one journalist who wanted to be anonymous told the Ethiopian Satellite Television ESAT that an alleged SMS was sent to employers and landlords of Ethiopians at the end of last week which threatens them a 100 thousand Saudi Riyals unless they fire Ethiopians from their workplaces and/or expel from their houses. The situation is threatening for tens of thousands of documented and undocumented Ethiopians according to a post published in Amharic on ESAT's  FaceBook wall last week. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians are waiting in makeshift detention centers to be returned back home. The Ethiopian government assigned only 40 workforce to handle hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian returnees. These Ethiopians alleged that the Saudi government is indirectly instigating for all Ethiopians to be expelled from its territory. A journalist who wanted his name not to be disclosed told ESAT that if the current hate climate against Ethiopians continues as it is right now, nationals who reside in that country may face unimaginable danger in the near future. The journalist said the alleged SMS message which was sent last Friday should be a wake-up call for Ethiopians who live in Saudi-Arabia regardless of their legal status. He said the recent threatening SMS against Ethiopian migrant workers was allegedly sent by the Saudi government unofficially through its agents. The anonymous journalist blasted the Ethiopian government for trying to score a political point with the number of Ethiopians returnees

it brought back home instead of making a strong diplomatic efforts to bring back all of its citizens to safety. The journalist alleged that the number of thousands of Ethiopians who are desperately waiting to be returned in various concentration camps is more than twice of the ones who returned back home.

An Ethiopian who was sheltering nine Ethiopians who were expelled by their landlords told ESAT that one of the alleged victims came to Saudi legally eight months ago. The victim's father sold his house to send him to Saudi and live in rental house right now in Ethiopia. He said his life in Saudi-Arabia is endangered at the moment.   

Meanwhile an estimated three thousand detained Ethiopians who entered to Yemen from Saudi-Arabia are reportedly suffering from food-shortages, according a journalist who visited the detainees.

በሳውዲ አረቢያ የሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያውያን ወገኖቻችን ህይወታችን አደጋ አንዣቦበታል ይላሉ

የኢትዮጵያ ሳተላይት ቴሌቪዥን ( ኢሳት )ባለፈው ሳምንት መገባደጃ ላይ ያነጋገራቸው ወገኖች እና አንድ ስሙ እንዳይጠቀስ የፈለገ በሳውዲ የሚኖር ጋዜጠኛ በሳውዲ አረቢያ የሚታየው ሁኔታ እጅግ አስፈሪ ነው ይላሉ። ከ40 ሺ በላይ ኢትዮጵያን በእስር ቤቶች ውስጥ ይገኛሉ። ወደ አገራቸው ለመመለስ የሚፈልጉ በአስር ሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ዜጎች ቀናቸውን ይጠባባቃሉ። የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት በመቶ ሺ የሚቆጠረውን ስደተኛ ለማስተናገድ የመደበው የሰው ሀይል 40 ብቻ ነው። የሳውድ አረቢያ መንግስት ደግሞ በተዘዋዋሪ መንገድ ኢትዮጵያውያን ከአገሪቱ ምድር ተጠራርገው እንዲወጡ እየቀሰቀሰ ነው። ሁኔታው በዚህ ከቀጠለ፣ በኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ ታይቶ የማይታወቅ አደጋ ሊፈጠር ይችላል ብሏል አንድ ስሙ እንዳይገለጽ የፈለገ ጋዜጠኛ።
አርብ እለት  በተለያዩ የሳውዲ ከተሞች በተንቀሳቃሽ ስልክ የተበተነው አጭር መልዕክት ህጋዊ ለተባሉትም ሆነ ህገወጥ ለሚባሉት ኢትዮጵያውያን የማስጠንቀቂያ ደወል ነው ይላሉ እኝህ ጋዜጠኛ።
የተበተነው የተንቀሳቃሽ ስልክ አጭር መልዕክት ኢትዮጵያውያንን ቀጥራችሁ የምታሰሩ እንዲሁም መኖሪያ ቤት ያከራያችሁ ሁሉ በአስቸኳይ እንድታስወጡ፣ ይህን ባታደርጉ ግን 100 ሺ ረያል ትከፍላለችሁ የሚል እንደሆነ ያነጋገርናቸው ኢትዮጵያውያን ገልጸዋል። ይህን መልእክት ተከትሎ በርካታ ኢትዮጵያውያን ከተከራዩበት ቤት ተባረዋል። 9 ኢትዮጵያውያንን ወደ አስጠጋው ኢትዮጵያዊ በመደወል መታሰቢያ ቀጸላ አነጋግራቸዋለች። እርሱ እንደሚለው መልክቱ መተላለፉን ተከትሎ ጓደኞቹ ከቤታቸው እንዲወጡ ተደርጎ በእርሱ ቤት ተጠልለዋል
ከቤታቸው ከተባረሩት መካከል አንዱ ከ8 ወራት በፊት አባቱ ቤታቸውን ሸጠው ፣ በኪራይ ቤት እየኖሩ በህጋዊ መንገድ እንደላኩት ይናገራል። አሁን ቤትክን ለቀህ ውጣ ተብሎ ህይወቱ አደጋ ላይ ወድቋል
የሳውዲ መንግስት በይፋ እንዲህ አይነት መልክት ያስተላልፍ እንደሆነ የጠየቅነው ጋዜጠኛ፣ መንግስት በቀጥታ እንዲህ አያደርግም ነገር ግን እርሱ ባሰማራቸው ሰዎች አማካኝነት መልክቶችን እንደሚሰድ ይታወቃል ብሎአል።
የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት ጠንካራ የዲፕሎማሲ ዘመቻ በማድረግ በመቶሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ኢትዮጵያውያንን ህይወት መታደግ ሲችል በቀን ይህን ያክል ሰው አስመጣሁ በማለት ፕሮፓጋንዳ ይነዛል የሚለው ጋዜጠኛው፣ በሳውዲ የቀረው ኢትዮጵያዊ ወደ አገር ቤት የተመለሰውን በብዙ እጥፍ ይበልጣል ሲል በአገሪቱ ያለውን እውነታ አስረድቷል።
በሌላ በኩል ከሳውድ አረቢያ ወደ የመን የገቡ 3 ሺ ያክል ኢትዮጵያውያን በምግብ እጥረት ተጎሳቁለው እንደሚገኙ እስር ቤት ድረስ በመሄድ ጋዜጠኛ ግሩም ተክለሀይማኖት ጎብኝቷቸዋል።

Saudi Arabia Must Stop Violence Against Ethiopian Migrant Workers: Human Rights Watch

“Now the Saudi government needs to rein in Saudi citizens who are attacking foreign workers.” : Joe Strok, deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch condemned the ongoing  violence against defenseless Ethiopian migrant workers by Saudi's uniformed police and the Shabab (young men). The Right group made the urge today after interviewing Ethiopian victims and witnesses from Manfouha neighborhood of southern Riyadh, where Ethiopian residents make up a majority of residents. Human Rights also blamed Saudi officials and state controlled media's Xenophobic smear campaign against migrant workers branding them as criminals months before the crackdown which resulted unprecedented level of assault, killings and rapes on these groups especially Ethiopians since November 4/2013. The right group also urged Saudi authorities to immediately investigate assaults on Ethiopian and other migrant workers by security forces and Saudi citizens, and hold those responsible for violent crimes to account. Saudi and Ethiopian authorities should work to speedily repatriate undocumented foreign workers waiting in makeshift holding centers, if they have no fear of returning home, and ensure that they get adequate food, shelter, and medical care. Last but not least, Human Rights Watch has once again called on the Saudi government to abolish aspects of the kafala or “sponsorship” system that create conditions for abuse, including rules requiring a worker to obtain permission from his or her employer to change jobs or leave the country. These rules leave foreign workers with little option for redress in cases of abuse or labor violations and force them into under-the-table work.  To read the full report click here.
 

Saudi-Arabia, #1 Freedom-Expression's Predator

To show how some predators of freedom of expression really think, Reporters Without Borders - one of the biggest freedom of expression watchdog- have presented their innermost thoughts in the first person. They had to use a little imagination, of course, but the facts alluded to conform to reality. Here's one of their well-thought and sarcastic depiction of Saudi-Arabia's King Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Enjoy!

Almost 90 years old, I am Saudi Arabia’s sixth monarch and the third most influential person in the world. That’s the opinion of Forbes magazine, not my own.

Since I acceded to the throne in 2005, I have hesitated between openness and

Kebour Ghenna of Ethiopia Tells Oil-Reach Saudi Monarchs, Change is Inevitable!

Kebour Ghenna, Ethiopia's entrepreneur and businessman Op-ed his brutal critic on the Ethiopian business weekly CapitalEthiopia, concerning the recent crackdown on the so-called "illegal" migrant workers especially Ethiopians by  Saudi government and its disgruntled youth. Here is the full text of his thought provoking and daring messages.  

Saudi Arabia: A Dying Ancient Regime

 

The House of Saud (Read ‘The House of Satan’) is desperate.

IOM aids over 21,000 Ethiopian returnees from Saudi Arabia

IOM Ethiopia has assisted over 21,000 Ethiopian returnees arriving home on Ethiopian government charter flights from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) over the past 12 days, following a KSA crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Ethiopia began bringing migrant workers home from the KSA on November 13th. It is now flying up to 12 charters a day from the KSA to Addis Ababa.
Four processing points have been set up by the government, with support from IOM, to assist the returnees. IOM provides them with overnight accommodation, food, water, shoes and money for transport to their places of origin.

IOM indicated that it will need approximately