The government of Ethiopia on Saturday airlifted 449 undocumented Ethiopian migrants from Saudi Arabia as efforts to repatriate its citizens from gulf nations continue.
Ethiopia, in partnership with various stakeholders, is exerting its effort to bring back Ethiopian nationals stranded in various foreign countries, the Ministry Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The government “would continue to identify its citizens who are living in unbearable conditions abroad and provide assistance to those who want to return home voluntarily”, it added.
An estimated 250,000 domestic workers live in gulf nations, the majority of them live in poor conditions as condemned by rights groups.
The spokesperson office of the Ministry said 449 Ethiopians including 128 children have returned home from Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port city on the Red Sea.
The new arrivals have brought the total number of Ethiopian nationals airlifted from gulf nations this week close to 1,600. Of these, 1, 341 came from Saudi Arabia while the remaining came from Yemen.
Reports say people from the East Africa region risk their lives making the dangerous journey via the Gulf of Aden to Yemen in the hope of finding jobs in Saudi Arabia. Most end up either stranded in Yemeni or Saudi Arabia’s detention centers due to their illegal status.
MG/abj/APA