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| Ethiopians protest outside Saudi Embassy in Addis Ababa |
The Middle Easts oil rich Saudi Arabia has recently cracked down on illegal foreign workers, Al Jezeera reports here. After a seven month amnesty period the police and vigilantes have allegedly beaten, raped and deported over 100,000 Ethiopians. With unemployment in Saudi on the rise the government is getting tough on illegal workers.
However these illegal workers are not necessarily taking "jobs" from Saudis, with many working as rural slaves unable to pay back debts of people smugglers.
The recent crackdown has also been met with a government and media blank over the issue. The systematic human rights abuses have gone widely unnoticed by the international community. Which begs the question, why is this allowed to happen?
Perhaps the answer lies within the economic relations and dependancy of many nations on Saudi's oil resource. Even the Ethiopian government failed to officially condemn the treatment of its citizens.
The United Nations and International Organisation have committed funds to the repatriation of the workers. However no concrete plans to stop these abuses of foreign workers by Saudi Arabia.
It is imminent the oil will run out in Saudi and perhaps only then will the international community dare to interfere with human rights abuses.
