Burundians, especially women have been attracted to chasing jobs in Arab countries, but the grass is not green as it is boasted.
Sonia Niyubahwe, spokesperson of the ministry of foreign affairs and cooperation to the development, reported earlier this month that around 100 women are still unemployed in Saudi Arabia.
She asked Burundian to patiently wait until interested households bring offers on the table.
The spokeswoman said these women are living in good conditions, and the agencies continue to send more workers to the Asian country.
“They are well-treated by recruitment agencies”, she said.
Niyubahwe, the spokeswoman of the minister of foreign affairs and cooperation for the development, issued a press release, following viral images published on social media platforms, denouncing ill-treatment of workers in Saudi arabia.
The video came after the first batch of women were officially sent by the government of Burundi in May 2023 after alarms of human right advocates claiming abuses on women taken to Arab countries.
The government of Burundi then forced recruiters to legally sent them to Saudi Arabia
For the association “ONLCT OÙ ESt TON FRÈRE”, which campaigns against human trafficking, it applauded the initiative and congratulated the Burundian authorities for the step ahead.
“This will help to reduce the number of cases of girls and women whose rights have been continually violated in the Gulf countries, some of whom have even been killed in recent years”, said Prime Mbarubukeye, the association’s legal representative.
Burundi and Saoudi Arabia signed an agreement of exchange of workers in October 2021. Currently, more than fifteen agencies of recruitment of migrant workers are officially operating in Burundi and over 1000 women have been sent to Saudi Arabia.
