August 7^th , 2003

Crossing the Red Sea to Sell ‘Labour’

by Fitsum Getachew

Is there any one who, by any chance, has not heard of some young Ethiopian lady dreaming of crossing the Red Sea to join the ‘job’ market there? Well, if there is any, the prime minister himself has made a point of it in a recent televised ‘national security and foreign policy discussion’ forum, in the presence of the highest authorities of the nation! As to how many actually leave this country, under a multitude of pretexts, and decline to return, well, this is the domain of immigration statisticians! If this amounts to a confirmation of the pessimist conclusion that the country is a sort of ‘sinking ship’, with desperate passengers, is something to probe into.

How many women are fascinated by the dreams of some sort of lucrative employment, a hope, to be acquired overseas? Just go about the premises of the Immigration Authority here and you can materially see, on a daily basis, the huge number of people patiently queuing, to fulfill formalities. In the recent policy discussion, the Prime Minister was heard saying, “ can there be any thing more shameful than to see our sisters paying bribes and resorting to other illegal deals, in an effort to join the Middle East cheap labour market as ‘housemaids’? Apparently, the Prime Minister was not unveiling a secret. He raised a point commonly known and accepted as ‘normal’, not taken as shameful any way. As indeed, Ethiopians at large are picking up new habits and tradition, including the claim for handouts of food grains from donors, even notwithstanding a bumper harvest. This is nothing less than ‘dependency syndrome’! Today, there may be an emergency in which 14 million people are threatened by famine, but even in a normal year, as many as five million receive ‘relief food’! Hence, no wonder the prime minister’s statement reflects some sort of an official admission of the ever deteriorating plight of a nation!

We see that even countries of apparently not so glamourous opportunities, (such as Djibouti and Yemen, or some other African country), have managed to attract some Ethiopian female labour force. I don’t want to suggest by any means that these countries are not ‘better off’ than ours. A cursory look at the just released Human Development Report would suffice to confirm it. Ethiopia is listed at the bottom of some 175 countries, considered under a number of parameters. Technically, almost any country in the world, excepting war thorn zones, result better off. And that is why almost any one here (without deep rooted and firm socio-economic base) would qualify as a potential migrant. In fact, such state of affairs seems to be the rationale of many embassies here requiring temporary entry visa applicants to show that there subsists sufficient motive that would pull them back home, a condition, or onus, at times impossible to fulfill!

Another significant point to make would be, even when many nationals nose that conditions overseas could be ‘repulsive’, nevertheless, people resort to the laconic remark: “there is nothing worse than to stay here, unemployed, depressed, hungry and without prospects!” Some complain that even when you may manage to secure a job here, ‘interference’ of some sort, primarily from ‘public offices, or authorities’ would make your survival a gamble or precarious. Frustration would overwhelm you, you get discouraged and quit! The working environment in many trades or entrepreneurship is labeled as ‘too onerous/demanding’ owing to among others, bureaucracy, parasitism, nepotism, corruption, unfair taxation, persecution, and threats of market fluctuation. Hence, the choice to migrate as a panacea. The Prime Minister was admonishing that the country’s ‘permanent condition of impoverishment’ had reached such a level that it would not be ‘afforded’, ‘sustained’ any more! That meant, if I got it right, according to him, every one needed to be totally conscious of the naked truth on our national plight and ponder rather seriously.

Be that as it may, I don’t know how many of those who migrate in search of better economic prospects have any idea about what sort of life awaits them. My own experience says if one is not well informed, the chances of exposure to crude/ruthless exploitation and abuse are enormous. With reference to the labour market in the Middle East, the feedback is grim. The International Organization of Migrants, IOM, a UN-affiliated body, has been conducting studies in this area, in consultation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. It advises migrants on how to avoid being trapped in the net of traffickers, by giving them orientation and awareness about their rights, and socio-economic conditions of the destinations. IOM has been carrying out a campaign against trafficking and illegal migration for the last two years, including a weekly morning (Wednesday) program on the local radio station, FM Addis 97.1.

Meanwhile, we know that thousands of our sisters move to these countries in search of mainly menial employment as domestic assistants. The interminable hours in household chores subject them to stress added to the unfamiliar socio-cultural milieux that contribute to psychological discomfort, mental disequilibrium! (Incidentally, it is not that domestic labour conditions in Ethiopia would be so fanciful. But here, at least, one may have the psychological advantage of contacts and consultation with one’s family members. Across the Red Sea, such contacts are severely restricted. For obvious reasons! Isolation is one of the weapons these vampire-like agents use to extract maximum gain from their human trafficking, exploiting the vulnerability and eagerness of these ladies to go abroad, disseminating misleading temptations!

Besides, these girls are often obliged to tolerate the rage and violence of the wives motivated by jealousy.(Reports of violence on these young ladies, including inhuman incidents such as being shoved away from high storey buildings have been registered!). These constitute ‘revenge’ against the relative beauty and youth of the women. A cousin of mine had to repatriate only after a month when the housewife for whom she used to work tried to burn her hair! Unfortunately, not all can do this because they would not have the means to do it. They are deprived of their passports as soon as they reach the places of employment, and they can have them back only when they have paid all their ‘debts’ and their ‘contracts’ expire. This often means three or more years of virtual imprisonment!

What is even scandalous is that, as these girls are young and attractive, (at least in the face of the older wives) the male patrons would also try to forcefully seduce them, using them as sex objects! Such outrage has been disclosed by many returnees. Some have even been taken there for such purpose. Some are ‘forced’ to prostitution.

Under what conditions are these young ladies ‘exported’? Who are the organizers? What is their legal status? Who are the contacts? Who are the agents, both here and in the places of destination? What sort of supervision and control are effected on their terms and conditions? What is the role of pertinent government bodies, (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, diplomatic representations) and NGOs, in trying to legalize and manage the whole process? These are some of the queries that need to be adequately addressed if there is the political will and commitment to extricate our sisters from their systematic exploitation by unscrupulous traffickers. As Ethiopian nationals, these vulnerable workers would be entitled to legal protection. The State may not be in a position to employ them here, and if they are forced to sell their labour abroad, a mechanism should be placed so that their basic rights would be respected. Some of the gratuitous treatment that they have to tolerate are unacceptable. Incidentally, one condition of their employment, in most countries, is that they be Moslems, and I know that some are forced to look like one, carving a new ‘artificial’ identity!

Here is the harsh expression of poverty. ‘Passive’ tolerance of indignities! Far East ladies, (Philippines, Vietnamese...) obtain employment as housekeepers, babysitters etc in many European countries. But their rights are adequately respected. Information is clear, abundant; laws are enforced, due taxes paid to the host government, economic guarantees extended including holidays, leaves, health and insurance benefits. In the Arab countries however, our sisters do not even have the right to correspondence (their letters are suppressed), private phone calls are forbidden. They cannot consult with their dear ones, friends or family. Their plight is tantamount to imprisonment. To talk about Rule of Law and the respect of human rights becomes a luxury. Naturally, avid employers do this for the very elementary reason that their maids do not access and exchange information on the proper conditions of employment. They block their mobility. They deprive them of their right to form associations and discuss their plights. The vulnerability of these girls is hence further exacerbated, leading to helplessness and depression.

Some years ago, there was the tragic case of a certain Yeshiwork who, employed in a household in Bahrein, and incapacitated from withstanding any more the continuous harassment of her boss, finally resorted to violence that resulted in murder! The matter acquired immense publicity. It involved courts and the accused was about to undergo capital punishment. Yeshi was obviously mentally deranged due to persistent harassment. Such huge controversy and trial attracted international attention, bringing to light the plight of the thousands of our female compatriots navigating in similar waters. The dilemma is clear. Lack of prospects at home had driven these women out of their motherland, but in the process they fail in such traps. By the way, even such migration is not so promptly accessible as it involves the payment of a huge sum of money to so-called intermediaries, (for visa, travel, medical and employment fees). The list of girls awaiting such process is long. Some prerequisites are onerous. Many fail the medical tests, including HIV status! Many pay bribes, (as the PM mentioned) to solicit the process. And the rest of the Calvary is all too well known.

Talking about trafficking and illegal migration of labour to the weekly Reporter, W/ro Rakeb Messele of IOM said Lebanese authorities’ figures show that there are as many as 25 thousand Ethiopian women migrants working in Lebanon. But no figures are available concerning those who have been trafficked or migrated illegally. Evidently, thousands others are present in Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Djibouti. Still others work in European countries such as Italy and Greece, as baby sitters, nurses/housekeepers for the elderly etc. The ‘luckiest’ ones cross the Atlantic to the US and Canada! The common denominator for them all is the search for a job. Ethiopia’s ‘ three thousand year old civilization’ has evidently not enabled her citizens afford a better life than those who lived under various forms of foreign domination, at times even harsh. Ethiopia, Africans often enjoy remarking, should have been one of the leading nations of the continent, if not the world! On the contrary, it is so poor that it does not even manage to feed itself!

I don’t know whom to blame and whom to exempt from it! Ethiopians’ notorious fatalism induces them to believe that any one’s destiny is fixed by the Almighty! Religious misconceptions at times result an obstacle to advancement through toil. Again the Prime Minister’s recent negative remarks on the ‘Ethiopian psyche’ was taken by many as an ‘assault’ on the national dignity and pride! But it reflected the crude reality, despite its originating from the leader of the nation! After all, critics logically remarked, one of the principal architects of such Ethiopian plight is the very government led by the Prime Minister! The voice of the PM therefore was self-incrimination with aggravating circumstances, they bashed ! Indeed, many times, it is governments and leaders that are ‘exposed’ to such criticism, as it is they who would grab the claim of glory in case of achievements. The premier’s criticism of the state of mind of Ethiopians in general, always fond of ‘living in the past’, does not sound scandalous. He had added ‘only a bankrupt generation would sit on past glories!’

Nevertheless, the suggestion that our forefathers handed us a poor country, was bitterly disputed. Many cited the brave deeds and sacrifices payed by our forefathers to preserve our freedom and sovereignty as an achievement by itself! And for a people, these are priceless treasures. They spared us from the indignities of colonization and slavery. The critics responded. EPRDF and the government run by Prime Minister Meles himself should not exempt itself from the guilt of the nation’s current plight. The various blunders committed in administering the country have been mentioned. The observers rejected all negative allegations against our forefathers. One popular newspaper even titled its editorial, “Hands off from our forebears!”

The bottom line is our immeasurable and irreversible poverty, getting more and more cumbersome by the day. Our debts are enormous and yet we have to continue to borrow. Our foreign currency reserves are slim and yet we have to import a lot from abroad. Our population continues to rise, as our share of resources diminish. Globalization reigns and international trade awards the rich. Cut throat competition drives out our infant industries. Our meagre products are subdued to unmanageable challenges. Prices of certain key commodities such as coffee, continue to plummet and our returns decline correspondingly. We have little economic alternatives, hence forced to rely more and more on foreign aid, grants and loans. And erratic climatic conditions add further fuel to the fire! In a recent study on our economy, it was disclosed that in two decades, as much as fifty percent of our population may need to stretch their hands for a bowl of grain in order to survive, if things continue at the current pace! The picture can be really dispiriting and dreadful. Is Ethiopia truly a ‘sinking ship’? Are there no hopes? If every Ethiopian dreams of emigrating to preserve some vital breath, how would you feel like condemning them?! The exodus across the Red Sea is only the tip of the iceberg, because we are also losing some of our best brains to the ever expanding Western ‘world market of knowledge’. But this is another issue.