Ethiopia under the boots of the Tigrai Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) is a two-faced country. Foreign alms givers and the ruling party pat each other on the back for a job well done. For the average Ethiopian, the country is an oppressive virtual prison without opportunities — a sad, hopeless place that forces many frustrated citizens to migrate to an abusive Middle East. Ethiopia’s rulers are addicted to the foreign exchange earnings that are created on the backs of these women. There is much dissonance between imaginary growth figures bandied about and the depressing reality of the average Ethiopian on the ground. It is hard to think of any other country in the world many of whose citizens are willing to risk life and limb to get away from an oppressive system that has denied them a living.
Ethiopia to export half a million maids annually to Saudi Arabia
By zehabesha.com
May 16, 2012 (Durame) — Ethiopia commenced sending 45,000 Ethiopian housemaids per month to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), an Ethiopian official said by phone today.
The controversial recruitment strategy will send 500,000 Ethiopian women annually to a country long known for abusing housemaids and foreign nationals in the strict Sharia-governed Kingdom.
Amid tougher restrictions for housemaids working in KSA by the Philippines, Indian, Sri Lankan, Indonesian and Kenyan governments, Ethiopian housemaids have been in high demand by families in Saudi Arabia.
With little to no support from the Government of Ethiopia, many Ethiopian women are often exploited by Saudi families, working grueling 16-hour days and having their passports and earnings withheld to prevent them from running away.
Poverty and high unemployment in Ethiopia continues to be the leading factor that drives young women towards the Middle East.
“There are no opportunities in Ethiopia for employment. I either become a prostitute in Addis or a housemaid in Saudi Arabia. I have chosen the latter to support my family,” said 23-year-old Asamenech Alemu by phone.
Earning up to SR4,000 (USD $1,060) a month for legal housemaids, nearly a year’s salary in Ethiopia, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian women will continue to flock to the Kingdom in search of employments, despite the risks of abuse.