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Ethiopians: #SomeoneTellSaudiArabia to Stop Immigration Crackdown

Categories: Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Human Rights, International Relations, Labor, Law, Migration & Immigration

On November 4, 2013, Saudi Arabia began enforcing a crackdown on illegal immigrants. Saudi Arabia is believed to be home to more than seven million foreign workers and their families. The Saudi government issued an amnesty period in April 2013 giving illegal immigrants seven months to gain legal status or leave the country.

Immigrants from Ethiopia, a Sub-Saharan African country, are one of the most affected by the crackdown, which has resulted in riots and violence. The Ethiopian government is repatriating its citizens living in Saudi Arabia illegally after it was reported [1]that an Ethiopian was killed by Saudi police.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ethiopia Tedros Adhanom acknowledged [1]the right of Saudi Arabia to expel illegal immigrants but condemned the use of force and rape against Ethiopian immigrants as it has been reported on different news and social media sites.

Below is a video [2] posted on YouTube by user Amharictube [3] showing mass exodus of immigrants in Saudi Arabia:

A petition [4] has been created on MoveOn.org to alert the United Nations and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International about the plight of Ethiopian immigrants in Saudi Arabia.

Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia online have been using the hashtag #SomeoneTellSaudiArabia [5] to condemn the treatment of Ethiopian immigrants in Saudi Arabia.

Mahlet (@Mahlet_S [6]) noted that immigrants are not criminals but job seekers:

Addis Standard (@addisstandard [9]), a monthly magazine in Ethiopia, wrote:

Some users revisited the historical relationship between Islam and Ethiopia. Hafsa Mohamed (@hafsamohamed1 [11]) pointed out that:

Kali (@KaliDaisyy) wrote [15]:

Pschologist Antonio Mulatu (@AntonZfirst [17]) referred to advice given by Prophet Muhammad about Ethiopia:

The relatonship between Ethiopia and Muslim dates back to the time when Ethiopia provided a safe haven [21]to Muslims who were fleeing persecution from the rulers of Mecca. Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habash [22], one of the foremost companions of Muhammad and the first Muezzin, the person who recites the call to prayer, was Ethiopian.

Ethiopia is home to Harar, which is considered the fourth holy city [23] of Islam, with 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, and 102 shrines.

Ethiopia is also the site of the First Hijrah [24], the migration of Muslims to escape persecution, in the history of Islam.

However, anoof (@anoofesh [25]) from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, disagreed with the comparison between Ethiopia immigrants in Saudi Arabia and Muslim immigrants in Ethiopia:

Melak Mekonen (@melak_m [28]) observed that:

Lee Jasper (@LeeJasper [30]), a member of Respect Party in the UK, saw the plight of Ethiopian immigrants similar to that of Palestinians under Israeli occupation:

جبرتينهو (@iabj [35]) opined:

Ethiopian human rights specialist based in Geneva, Switzerland, Yehenew Walilegne (@YeheneWalilegne [37]) opposed Saudi Arabia's candidacy to the United Nations Human Rights Council:

Saudi Arabia, China, Russia and Cuba won seats [43] on the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday, November 12, 2013.

anoof told Ethiopians: