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Used, abused and deported: migrant workers land back in Bangladesh after Saudi dreams turn sour':-
As the Gulf kingdom bids to host a World Cup that will see its reliance on cheap foreign labour soar, planeloads of men already return daily to Dhaka, gaunt, dazed and brokewww.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/21/used-abused-and-deported-migrant-workers-land-back-in-bangladesh-after-saudi-dreams-turn-sour
a snippet...'person that I find irritating the joyful family reunions at the arrivals gate at Dhaka’s international airport, one group of travellers stands out. These men appear gaunt and dazed, most of them carrying nothing but a thin blanket they picked up on the plane. They wear tracksuits and blue rubber sandals or shoes without laces. Some walk barefoot.
All have just been deported from Saudi Arabia, and each day they arrive by the planeload. Nearly 70,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers were deported from the Gulf kingdom in 2022, mostly for not having a valid residence permit, known as an iqama.
They return from one of the wealthiest countries in the world, hungry, traumatised and without even the money to buy a bus ticket home.
The only thing the men do bring back are horrific stories of abuse, false contracts and wage theft that tumble angrily out of them. One man, Amir Hossein, says he paid recruitment agents 400,000 taka (£2,860) to get to Saudi Arabia, but has been sent home after just over a year, during which he worked for nine months without payment.
Another man says: “I was told I would work in a restaurant in a five-star hotel but ended up in a tea stall.” A third says he worked for three months but was only paid one month’s salary. “I’ve lost all my money,” he says.
Saudi Arabia will rely on tens of thousands of low-wage labourers such as these to deliver its dream of hosting the 2034 World Cup. The pipeline of workers from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia is expected to increase dramatically if the country is anointed host by Fifa, as expected this year.
The workers’ allegations of abuse at the hands of their Saudi employers should be a red flag to Fifa, which was heavily criticised for the severe abuse endured by many migrant workers in the lead‑up to the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Human rights groups are warning that if Saudi Arabia does not make drastic efforts to stop the abuse of migrant workers, which is already widespread in the Gulf kingdom, another World Cup tournament could be tainted with suffering and exploitation.'
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and back in July / August of 2023...'
‘Fired on like rain’: Saudi border guards accused of mass killings of Ethiopians':-
Report by Human Rights Watch details alleged attacks using explosive weapons and small arms on Saudi Arabia-Yemen borderwww.theguardian.com/law/2023/aug/21/fired-on-like-rain-saudi-border-guards-accused-of-mass-killings-of-ethiopians
'Among the most shocking claims are that:
• Saudi border forces shelled a group of people who had been arrested, detained and expelled even as they attempted to cross the border back into Yemen.
• Saudi border forces forced a young person who had survived an attack to rape another survivor under threat of execution.
• People detained after crossing the border were shot at close quarters, and survivors were told by border forces to choose a limb to be shot in.
“Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic,” HRW’s report says. “If committed as part of a Saudi government policy to murder migrants, these killings would be a crime against humanity. In some instances, Saudi border guards first asked survivors in which limb of their body they preferred to be shot, before shooting them at close range.
“While Human Rights Watch has previously documented killings of migrants at the border with Yemen and Saudi Arabia since 2014, the killings documented in this report appear to be a deliberate escalation in both the number and manner of targeted killings.”'
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Saudi Arabia: Mass Killings of Migrants at Yemen Border':-
Systematic Abuses of Ethiopians May Amount to Crimes Against Humanitywww.hrw.org/news/2023/08/21/saudi-arabia-mass-killings-migrants-yemen-border'
Saudi border guards guilty of mass killing, rape, and torture of Ethiopian migrants: Report':-
A 'clandestine cemetery' in north Yemen near the Saudi border reportedly contains the remains of up to 10,000 migrantshttps://thecradle.co/articles-id/6257'
Crimes ‘beyond imagination’: Saudi border guards killed hundreds of migrants, HRW report says':-
Between March 2022 and June 2023, Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants attempting to cross the border from Yemen into the oil-rich kingdom, according to a new Human Rights Watch report released on Monday. The report comes as Saudi Arabia implements an anti-migrant policy at home and a campaign to boost its image abroad.www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20230821-crimes-beyond-imagination-saudi-border-guards-killed-hundreds-of-migrants-hrw-report-says'
U.S. Knew Saudis Were Killing African Migrants':-
The United States was told last year that Saudi security forces were shooting, shelling and abusing groups of migrants, but it chose not to raise the issue publicly.www.nytimes.com/2023/08/26/world/middleeast/saudi-killing-migrants-yemen.html - or in full & free, here:
https://archive.is/ebrKp'
Amnesty's Overview Report in 2022 on Saudi Arabia':-
www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia
