A video surfaced on social media claiming to be Burundians who were sent to Saudi Arabia by the government for domestic works made hullabaloo due to the living conditions they found in the Middle East. A 53 seconds video showed several women believed to be Burundians sleeping on the floor as the narrator said it was a kitchen.
Burundi’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ines Sonia Niyubahwe snubbed the claims that Burundian domestic workers in Saudi Arabia were ill-treated and called on for calm and patience.
“As you know that there is an association in Burundi that is in charge of sending the workers…that association that host them is in charge of dispatching them to households for jobs,” said Ms. Niyubahwe.
“Burundi government representatives in Saudi Arabia went on ground to assess the situation yesterday…and they found out there are no issues which were notified,” she added.
According to the Burundi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since the official kicking off of the dispatching of house maids from Burundi to Saudi Arabia in May this year more than 800 women already left for Saudi Arabia and 100 of them are yet to get employed are still hosted by the agencies that hosts them.
African domestic workers in Asian and Middle Eastern countries have caused alarms in Africa for the last decade with reports of Human Rights Violation, rape, killing and torturing being reported by the victims or their relatives.
With many Burundian girls and women who are desperate to leave the country for a greener pasture, analysts say there is need for a proper channeled and follow up of Burundian nationals to prevent any unfortunate incidents.