Ethiopia-Middle East: Domestic workers with mindless preference

By Abdulla Redwan
On departure from Addis Ababa Bole Airport, no one can ignore the ample domestic workers heading to the gulf states, parting their destiny to the Almighty with a piety of hope to make a bread and decent working conditions .

Domestic workers phenomenon is not odd to the Ethiopian society with rural dwellers work for urbanites. But what has changed is the pattern and destination of them, with ruthless businessmen involved in the process.

Poor servants depart their homes, lacking basic skills to be considered as domestic workers ,with vast ignorance to hosting countries conscience, culture, norms and moreover, communication barriers stands as a unease.

Unregulated Employment agencies business peak, with less significance of coaching and training of domestic workers, beside apt awareness creation, no means of courting their guiltiness, has prompted trafficking of maids from rural as well urban dwellings for financial return.

Officials negligence to preserve and demand safe working situation, along with sound counseling on respective embassies destination, has blown up the matter to citizens without states safeguard. What really distress is the attitude of so called “Diplomats” ,who are rarely proactive in resolving those poor maids difficulties and continuous preference to stay aside by tossing the fault on the domestic workers recruitment process or grievance of being out of budget to act on. Lack of efficient and effective servicing for what we claim as productive and economic working force is driving the stance to worse than ever, as we ignore and less focus on the crisis.

The argument of having economic benefit and worth of dollars as remittance from FOREX and creating jobs is equivocal to the fatal destiny of our poor sisters in the gulf states with insensitive and senseless conduct they face. An alarming trend of physical disabled , mental hysteria and insane arrivals to home argues to reconsider our thoughts on who domestic workers migration is to be handled.

Thoughtful measures need to be furnished to save our fellows who are nowhere leaving in dignity and humanity. Government, civil society and citizens are argued to stand in oneness and march for a prolong call that regain our sisters of such despair and hopeless destiny.