Somalia begins recruiting maids for Saudi jobs

MOGADISHU, Somalia-Somalia’s Federal Government (SFG) has started a controversial recruitment exercise to send 15,000 maids to Saudi Arabia amid reports of physical assaults meted out to domestic workers in the Arab country, Garowe Online reports. 

Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Services Osman Libah Ibrahim has announced that the first phase includes 2000 workers as part of a deal signed between Somalia and Saudi Arabia.  

Somali activists have harshly criticized the government for selling dignity to abusive Saudi employers whom rights groups slammed for despicable treatment.  Ibrahim noted that the workers, among them housemaids and drivers would be sponsored by recruiting agencies.  

Somali government will be in contact with concerned bodies to ensure even distribution of quotas across the country, the Somali government official added.  

Uganda more recently banned its nationals from travelling to Saudi Arabia as housemaids on concerns of abuses, joining Ethiopia, Indonesia and Philippines that imposed similar bans earlier.

Some activists claim that girls export contracts lack clear-cut laws that would safeguard their rights.  On April 17, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed came to the defense of the recruiting operation for Saudi Arabia: “I am very sorry about how the debate on Somali girls was misjudged. Our girls now journey alone without being ordered by the government, they are not tracked down by rights groups, and they take to oceans on human trafficking; they wade through conflict-wracked Yemen, and enter Saudi Arabia on foot,” Mohamud remarked before reporters of TV4 while speaking in Sudanese capital, Khartoum. 

Mohamud has also fought off growing public outcry over the future of Somali girls expected to be sent to the Gulf, claiming they will return dignified and with honor.   

Meanwhile, Saudi Labour Ministry demands Somali works acquire certificate from Security Ministry for criminal records check, besides vaccination against contagious diseases.  

Somali hospitals and health centers will also be electronically linked to the Saudi embassy in Nairobi according to officials. 

In late 2015, Saudi Arabia issued visas for Djiboutian domestic workers hired at a recruitment cost of $1, 000.

GAROWEONLINE