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10:25, 08-Jul-2017
50,000 Ethiopians return as Saudi Arabia extends amnesty period
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By CGTN's Sam Mkenya
Fifty thousand Ethiopians have returned home from Saudi Arabia, according to the African country’s foreign ministry.
In March, the Saudi Arabian government announced a 90-day amnesty allowing undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country without facing any penalties. That deadline has now reportedly been extended by a month.
Close to 111,000 undocumented Ethiopians have so far secured exit visas to return home, local media FBC quoted Meles Alem, spokesperson of the Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying.
However, an estimated 400,000 undocumented Ethiopians are living in the Middle East’s largest economy, where they take jobs ranging from maids to construction workers.
November 21, 2013, Paris, France: Ethiopians protest against the conditions of Ethiopian illegal migrants in Saudi Arabia. /VCG Photo
November 21, 2013, Paris, France: Ethiopians protest against the conditions of Ethiopian illegal migrants in Saudi Arabia. /VCG Photo
Thousands of undocumented Ethiopians are still in Saudi Arabia as the initial grace period expired last week, which forced the Ethiopian government to appeal for an extension of the amnesty.
With an eye to curbing illegal migration, the Ethiopian government has recently signed an agreement with the Saudi Arabian government for an overseas employment agreement to help future legal Ethiopian migrants.
The approaching deadline has recalled painful memories of the Ethiopians during the last massive deportation in November 2013, when many illegal migrants ended up in Saudi detention camps or were driven back home penniless.