At least three Ethiopian migrants have died in Saudia Arabs detention centers that hold thousands of such migrants in heinous conditions.
According to the right groups, Ethiopian migrants have been living in appalling conditions where they are forced to use cell floors as toilets. Rights groups have strongly urged Saudi authorities to work towards the betterment of this situation. These captives were expelled from Yemen after which they took refuge in Saudi camps.
Amnesty reported that Houthi rebels forced out these migrants from Ethiopia who have been working in northern Yemen previously. They are forced to live in dreadful conditions without food, water, and other necessities. More than 2000 migrants are stranded at the Yemeni border.
Saudia Arab serves as one of the prime sources of foreign remittance for Ethiopia when every year, thousands of Ethiopians seek work opportunities in the Saudi kingdom.
However, since 2017 Saudia Arab is regular in carrying out crackdowns on illegal migrants. A total of 500,000 Ethiopian migrants was reported earlier and an average of 10,000 of these migrants are deported every month.
But this year due to COVID 19 and subsequent effects on the economy Ethiopian authorities demanded the Saudi kingdom to halt all deporting activities.
The situation in Al Dayer and the Jizn detention center is vicious. Detained migrants are forced to share a cell with more than 350 people. Two Migrants claimed seeing dead bodies of three people in Al Dayer. They further added that they often see dead bodies lying at different places.
Rights groups have demanded the Ethiopian government to take urgent measures to expatriate their nationals while Saudi authorities to ameliorate detention conditions.
Saudi Arab held 16000 captives from Ethiopia at the start of this year, but reports claim the figure is going down and Ethiopia aims to expatriate 2000 detained migrants by the end of this month.
