Showing posts with label Ethiopian Migrant Workers in Saudi-Arabia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ethiopian Migrant Workers in Saudi-Arabia. Show all posts

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Saudi Arabia’s treatment of Ethiopians has been shameful

SemahagnG. Abebe, an O’Brien Fellow in Residence at the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism in the Faculty of Law at McGill University, wrote the following compelling atrocities against Ethiopian migrant workers by Saudi Arabia government and the apathy of TPLF led government to the suffering of its thousands of nationals in that hell-hole country called Saudi Arabia.  

Unarmed Ethiopians vs Brutal Saudi Police and thousands of Vigilante Young Men
The Saudi government certainty didn’t waste any time. As soon as the seven-month warning period for expatriate workers expired in November, officials rounded up tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, many of them facing violence, rape and torture at the hands of police and vigilante groups throughout the crackdown.
Images circulated on social media that showed Saudi citizens lending support to their police force, participating in vigilantism, or simply cheering and watching the drama unfold from a distance. Ethiopian migrants were mercilessly beaten, tortured and raped

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

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

Saturday, December 14, 2013

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…

Ethiopian woman in Saudi Arabia, Jiddah Ethiopian embassy 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።

Monday, December 9, 2013

Israel Reportedly to Deport 500 Ethiopians as of Next Year

Unlike those deported from Saudi, these migrants could get a total of 35m Br in compensation

The pro government Ethiopia's business weekly Fortune quoted Ethiopia's ambassador to Israel that deportation of Ethiopian migrants in that country is to happen within a short period of time.      
As Ethiopians removed from Saudi Arabia continue filing back into the country, Israel is also planning to deport 500 Ethiopians, possibly as early as January 2014.
Some 60,000 migrants from different African countries – particularly Eritrea and Sudan, which makes up the lion’s share at some 90 percent of the total – have entered Israel in recent years through the Sinai Peninsula. This has led to fears that the Jewish character of the country of 7.8 million is being threatened, as was stated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech in May 2012.
In order to assuage those concerns, the country is embarking on a drive to remove the undocumented migrants, which it calls ‘infiltrators’, with incentives designed to encourage voluntary departures. These include 3,500 dollars in compensation for each migrant, in addition to free plane tickets and health care. 
For more click here

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

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

Monday, December 2, 2013

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።


Sunday, December 1, 2013

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.
 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

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

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

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

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Infographics about Global Ethiopians' Demonstration against Saudi's Brutality

The protest started in the Saudi-Arabia on November 9/2013, a hell on earth for many migrant workers, by Ethiopians who resisted Saudi's police brutality who inflicted an imaginable pain. This sparked a global protest by Ethiopians around the globe to urge Saudi authorities to stop such gross human right abuses, killings and rape against helpless and defenseless migrant workers with the pretext of regularizing "illegal" migrants workers in that country. Ethiopians from Edmonton, Canada to Soul, South Korea; from Melbourne, Australia to Washington D.C., USA; from Addis Abeba to London, UK went to the streets of their respective cities to express their outrage. So far, roughly thirty thousand Ethiopians and origin of Ethiopians have participated, the majority, obviously in North America. November 18/2013 was the largest crowd recorded, nearly ten thousands Ethiopians in various countries around the world said LOUD & CLEAR to stop Saudi-Arabia its barbaric practices against Ethiopians. Ironically, hundreds of our compatriots in Ethiopia, who tried to show their solidarity with fellow suffering citizens in Saudi-Arabia, were beaten and then arrested by the ruling TPLF. However, Ethiopians who live abroad vowed to go and make noise at Saudi Embassies everywhere in the world until that country stops its crimes.      

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Ethiopian Returnees from Saudi-Arabia Recount their Horriffic Ordeals

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has repatriated over 350 Ethiopian migrants from Saudi-Arabia over the past few weeks. Three of these returnees told their horrific ordeals in Saudi Arabia to Abebayehu Gebyaw of Ethiopia's Amharic weekly AddisAdmas. Here's the translation of the Amharic version which was published on November, 18/2013. 
I'd never go back [to Saudi], even if they say a gold is raining there”, Abdu Indris.
Ethiopians are being incarcerated in Saudi prisons”, Indris Mohammed.
They [Saudis] consider Abeshas (alternative term for Ethiopians) as cheap commodity.”, Indris Yousuf. 

Ethiopian Migrants Victimized in Saudi Arabia (GRAHAM PEEBLES)

In the last 10 days persecution of Ethiopian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia has escalated. Men and women are forced from their homes by mobs of civilians and dragged through the streets of Riyadh and Jeddah. Distressing videos of Ethiopian men being mercilessly beaten, kicked and punched have circulated the Internet and triggered worldwide protests by members of the Ethiopian diaspora as well as outraged civilians in Ethiopia. Women report being raped, many repeatedly, by vigilantes and Saudi police. Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT), has received reports of fifty

Friday, November 22, 2013

ከሳኡዲ የተመለሱ ኢትዮጵያውያን ሰቆቃ

ሰሞኑን በህገወጥ መንገድ ሳኡዲ አረቢያ ከገቡ ብዙ ሺ ኢትዮጵያውያን ወጣቶች መካከል ዓለም አቀፍ የስደተኞ ተቋም ከ350 በላይ የሚሆኑትን ወደ አገራቸው መልሷቸዋል፡፡ የአዲስ አድማሷ ጋዜጠኛ አበባየሁ ገበያው በተቋሙ መጠለያ ጣቢያ ያገኘቻቸውን ሦስት ተመላሾች አነጋግራለች፡፡
ሳኡዲ ወርቅ እየዘነበ ነው ቢሉኝ አልሰማም” አብዱ እንድሪስ
ኢትዮጵያውያን በእስር ቤት እየተሰቃዩ ናቸው” እንድሪስ መሃመድ
አበሻ ለእነሱ ርካሽ እቃ ማለት ነው” እንድሪስ የሱፍ
አብዱ እንድሪስ እባላለሁ፣ ከኮምቦልቻ ተነስቼ ከጓደኞቼ ጋር ነው የሄድኩት
---መንገዳችን ጥሩ ነበር፡፡ የመን ከዛም ሳኡዲ ደረስን። ከስምንተኛ ክፍል ነው የሄድኩት..ቤተሰቦቼ ድሆች ነበሩ --- የእነሱን ችግር እያየሁ መቀመጥ አላስቻለኝም፡፡

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

እ አ አቆጣጠር ከ 1999 እስከ 2013 በመካከለኛው ምስራቅ አገራት በኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ የተፈጸሙ ግፎችን የሚያሳይ አጭር ዘገባ

ከዚህ በታች የምትመለከቷቸው ካርታ እና ሰንጠረዥ እንደ አውሮፖውያን አቆጣጠር ከጥቅምት 1999 እስከ ጥቅምት 2013 በተለያዩ የአረብ አገራት በሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ የተፈጸሙ ልዩ ወንጀሎችን በዝርዝር የሚያሳዩ ናቸው። ከእነዚህ ወንጀሎች መካከል ማሰቃየት፡ግርፊያ፡ድብደባ፡አስገድዶ መድፈር፡ባርነት፡የሰሩበትን መከልከል እና እራስን ማጥፋት ወዘተ የሚገኙ ሲሆን ወንጀሎቹ የተፈጸሙባቸው ወገኖች ስም፡ ቦታዎች፡ቀን እና ሌሎች ዝርዝር መረጃዎችም ተካተውበታል። 
ይህንን መረጃ ያገኘሁት ከአንድ ሰለስደተኞች መብት ላይ ከሚከራከር ድርጅት ድረ ገጽ ላይ ሲሆን በመካከለኛው ምስራቅ ከሚኖሩ 
የውጭ አገር ዜጎች ኢትዮጵያውያን የእነዚህ ከላይ የዘረዘርኳቸው ወንጀል ግንባር ቀደም ተጠቂዎች እንደሆኑ ያሳያል። ለእዚህ ድርጅት በተጠቂ ወገኖቼ ስም ምስጋናዬ እያቀረብኩ በእነዚህ ዓመታት 86 ኢትዮጵያውያን የጥቃት ሰለባ መሆናቸውን በዓረብ የሚገኙ መገናኛ ብዙሃንን፡ ሆስፒታሎችንና ፖሊስ ጣቢያዎችን ምንጭ በማድረግ ይህ አጭር ዘገባ ያሳያል። ዘገባው በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ሰለባዎችን ሊያካትት ያልቻለው በመረጃ እጦት እንደሆነ እገምታለሁ። ሌሎቹ በዚህ ዘገባ ላይ ያልተካተቱን እና ህይወታቸውን ያጡ፡በእስር ላይ የሚገኙ፡ የት እንዳሉ የማይታወቁ፡ በየእለቱ ተገደው የሚደፈሩ፡ የሚራቡ የሚጠሙ፡ ቀን ከለሊት ከባርነት ባልተናነሰ መልኩ ያለምንም ክፍያ ወገባቸው እስኪጎብጥ የሚፈጉትን እህቶቻችን እና ወንድሞቻንን ቤቱ ይቁጠረው። እነዚህን ሰንጠረዡ ላይ የሚገኙ መረጃዎችን በዝርዝር ለማየት ከፈለጉ በስተቀኝ በኩል በሁለቱ ሰንጠረዦች መካካል የሚገኘው ትንሽ ሳጥን ላይ የሚገኙትን ትናንሽ ቀስቶች ወደ ፊት እና ወድ ኋላ እንዲሄዱ በመጫን መጠቀም የሚችሉ ሲሆን ከታች የሚገኘው ትልቅ ባለብዙ ቀለማት ሳጥን ደግሞ ወንጀሎቹ የተፈጸሙባቸውን አገራት እና ዓመታት፡ የወንጀሎቹን ዓይነት እና ምን ያህል እንደሆኑ የሚያመለክቱ ናቸው። እነዚህን መረጃዎች ለሌሎች በኢሜይል፡በፌስቡክ፡በትዊተር እና በሌሎችም ማህበራዊ ድረገጾች በማካፈል ይሄን ከእለት ወደ እለት በመካከለኛው ምስራቅ በተለይም በሳውዲ አረቢያ ግፈኞች በወገኖቻችን ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለውን አስከፊ ወንጀል ለመላው ዓለም በማዳረሰ የበኩሉዎን የዜግነት እና የሰብዓዊነት ግዴታ እንዲወጡ በመጠየቅ መረጃዎቹን በተመለከተ ጥያቄዎች ካሎት በኢሜይል ወይም ከዚህ ጦማር በታች በሚገኘው የአስተያየት መስጫ ሳጥን ውስጥ ማስቀመጥ ይችላሉ።  

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Infograhpics about Violence against Ethiopian Migrant Workers in the Middle-East from 1999-2013

 The following graphics shows the various types of violence (rape, involuntary servitude, murder, assault, battery, suicide, physical abuse, etc) against Ethiopian migrant workers in the Middle-eastern countries from October 1999 - October 2013. This is just the tip of the iceberg; 86 cases were verified and approved so far but this data doesn't include hundreds if not thousands of nameless, faceless Ethiopians who had lost their lives, crippled, deformed, raped disappeared and imprisoned in various prisons of Oil & gas rich countries. Courtesy of this data is to domestichelpabuse.com  I'd like to thank them for their well researched and detailed data at this critical time where the lives of our compatriots are being at stake in the middle-eastern countries especially Saudi-Arabia. This infographics is very interactive and includes various inputs such as descriptions of the violence (name of the victims, the country where they were abused, time, date and year of the violence etc). There is a small button on the right side next to the the first legend where you can drag it or click the backward and forwards buttons to read details of the abuses. You can sort the information which you want to see by clicking on the legends on the right-hand side or by clicking on the maps and then choose to filter the data you want to explore. Please share this info and spread the word about this barbaric crimes against defenseless and helpless Ethiopians in the middle-east so that the world to act and safeguard the well-being of our citizens. If you have questions regarding this infographics, please don't hesitate to send them via e-mail or write them on the comment section at the bottom of this post.

ህውሃት በሪያድ የሚገኘውን ቆንስላ በመዝጋት በሺህ የሚቆጠሩ በሳውዲ የሚገኙ ወገኖቻችንን ለአስከፊ አደጋ አጋለጠ

ውሻ በበላበት ይጮሃል
 
እንደሚታወቀው ኑሯቸውን ለማሻሻል በሚል ከአፍሪካ እና ከእስያ የተውጣጡ በሚሊዮኖች የሚቆጠሩ ዜጎች በየዓመቱ በህጋዊ እና ኢህጋዊ በሆኑ መንገዶች ወደ መካከለኛው ምስራቅ አገራት በተለይም ሳውዲ አረቢያ ባህር አቋርጠው፡ድንበር ተሻግረው አየር ሰንጥቀው ጉዟቸውን በየእለቱ ያቀናሉ። ይህ በእንዲ እንዳለ፡ የሳውዲ መንግስት ፖሊስ እና ወጣት ወንዶች ኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ ያነጣጠረውን መጠነ ሰፊ፡ዘግናኝ እና ኢሰብዓዊ ወንጀል ከመቼውም ጊዜ በበለጠ በማጠናከር እና በማስፋፋት ላይ እንደሚገኙ ከሰሞኑ ከዚያች አገር በተለያየ መንገድ የሚወጡ መረጃዎች ያሳያሉ። እህቶቻችንና እናቶቻችን ይደፈራሉ ወንድሞቻችን ይገደላሉ፡በአደባባይ ይደበደባሉ ሌሎች ደግሞ በእነዚህ ጋጠወጥ ጎረምሶች ታፍነው ወደ አልታወቀ ቦታ ተወስደው ለከፋ ስቃይ እና እንግልት ተዳርገዋል። ይህ በሳውዲ ዜጎች ያስቆጣው ርህሩህ ልማታዊ መንግስታን ደግሞ የረባ አገልግሎት ሰጥቶ የማያውቀውንና በዚች ቀውጢ ጊዜ እነዚህን ወገኖች ለመታደግ ባለፈው እሁድ በሪያድ የሚገኘውን ቆንስላ ላልተወሰነ ጊዜ መዘጋቱን አስታውቋል። እነዚህ ወገኖቻችን ሳውዲ ውስጥ ለመቆየትም ሆነ ወደ አገራቸው ለመመለስ የሚያስፈጓቸው የመጓጓዣ ሰነዶች የሌላቸው ሲሆኑ የቆንስላው መዘጋት ህይወታቸው ከመቼውም በበለጠ ለከፋ አደጋ እና ችግር ተዳርጓል። እንዲህ ነው እንግዲህ ለወገን ተቆርቋሪ እና አሳቢ መንግስት፡ ዛሬ በሺህ የሚቆጠሩ ልጆቻችን፡እህቶቻችን፡እናቶቻችን፡ወንድሞቻችን፡ እና አባቶቻችን ህይወት በእነዚህ ጨካኝ፡ አረመኔ እና ለሰው ልጅ ህይወት ደንታ በማይሰጣቸው የሳውዲ ፖሊሶች እና ጎረምሶች ቁጥጥር ስር የሚገኝ ሲሆን አራት ኪሎ ምንይልክ ቤተመንግስት የሚገኙት ገዥዎቻችን ጭራሽ ይባስ ብለው የሳውዲ መንግስት በኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ የሚደረገውን ዘመቻ ከማሞካሸት አልፈው አገርቤት ይህ ድርጊት ያስቆጣቸው እና የእነዚህን የተቸገሩ ወገኖቻችንን ድምጽ ለማሰማት ሰላማዊ ሰልፍ የወጡ ንጹህ ኢትዮጵያውያንን

Monday, November 18, 2013

TPLF shuts down Ethiopia's Consulate in Riyadh when Desperate Citizens Needs It More

Saudi-Arabia, one of the major destinations for millions of desperate migrant workers from Asia and Africa, intensified its war against Ethiopians over the past weeks. Saudi's security police and the Shabab (youth) vigilantes are on rampage killing, torturing, raping, imprisoning and starving these helpless and defenseless Ethiopians. Large numbers of Ethiopians were killed, kidnapped, tortured and unaccounted for over the couple of days, since the Saudi government started rounding off undocumented migrant workers. Against this background Ethiopia's Riyadh consulate announced yesterday that it was shut down indefinitely. This is how much the rulers at Arat killo Palace cared and concerned about their powerless nationals whose safety and security is at stake. Thousands of these compatriots lack papers to stay in Saudi and/or repatriate back home; the consulate added salt to their wounds by abandoning them in the hands of heartless and barbaric Saudi police and its militia. If this is not treason, then what would be? The women in the following video were kidnapped and are being gang-raped by twenty Saudi  men who killed their