Saudi Arabia, an Eldorado that turns into a nightmare for Ugandan servants

The announcement, on December 23, of the suspension of the bilateral agreement on migrant workers between Uganda and Saudi Arabia had made them fear that their contracts would be cancelled. But so far, dozens of young Ugandan women in domestic uniforms continue to march through Entebbe International Airport every day, despite warnings from numerous human rights organizations.

A year earlier, Martha* was one of them. In the teeming center of Nateete, a district located southwest of Kampala, the 21-year-old saleswoman has been working since her return in a small phone shop. “I heard stories of women earning a lot in the Middle East. They could buy land or a shop on their return, and a friend convinced me to try my luck”, she recalls. After obtaining a contract as a domestic employee via a recruitment agency, she flew to Saudi Arabia in January 2022, for a salary of 900,000 Ugandan shillings per month (about 225 euros). Far above the income of the majority of Ugandans, 42.2% of whom lived on less than $2.15 a day in 2019, according to the World Bank.

But once she arrives at the home of her Saudi employers, the long-awaited El Dorado turns into a nightmare. “Very often when I was cleaning, the father of the family grabbed me by force, touched my chest and I almost had to fight because he tried to push me into my room to rape me”, she says. After three months, Martha makes a report to her agency and asks to move to another home or to be repatriated to Uganda. “They simply told me that without proof of my accusations, I couldn’t leave! And since they had given my passport to my employers when I arrived, I was stuck without my papers in this house. »

For several months, her family tried by all means to find common ground with the recruitment agency to break the two-year contract and bring the young woman back to Kampala. “The situation came to a head when I gave up my salary and we paid 2.7 million Ugandan shillings [674 euros] to the Saudi family to buy my plane ticket,” denounces Martha, who returned to her native country in October, six months after her first report.

“There is no safety net”

Her case is painfully commonplace in the offices of the Rights for Maids association, created in 2020 to help domestic workers in distress in the Middle East. “There is no safety net once there, regrets Janepher Nabbumba, director of the organization. So there are many abuses: mistreatment, sexual assault, overwork, refusal to allow servants access to medical care, non-payment of wages…”

The suspension of the bilateral agreement signed in 2017, the aim of which was to increase the Ugandan workforce in Saudi Arabia, will be effective after sixty days if no compromise is found between the two parties. Among the points of negotiation are the increase in the remuneration of workers, the improvement of social security, but above all the creation of a joint technical committee between the two countries.

“It was supposed to be put in place with the initial agreement, but it never happened. It would make it possible to ensure that the conditions of the partnership are respected and to deal directly with difficult situations”, assures Aggrey David Kibenge, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development. According to the official, the government has at the same time decided to strengthen the embassy in Riyadh, with attachés intended to manage issues relating to domestic workers.

A first step for Rights for Maids, but the association pleads for measures that allow us to go further. Among these, the transition to one-year renewable contracts – instead of two -, to prevent dangerous situations from being prolonged, or even respect for the right to be treated, to have time off decent and to communicate with his family. “It is also absolutely necessary that the workers keep in possession of their passport”, emphasizes Janepher Nabbumba.

More than 120,000 departures in 2022

Cases of domestic violence are regularly reported. Last August, a demonstration was organized in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in support of the family of a young servant who died two months earlier after having warned against the brutality of her employers. However, departures to the kingdom, the first destination for Ugandan workers in the Middle East, have multiplied by ten in five years, rising from around 12,000 in 2018 to more than 120,000 in 2022, according to Ugandan authorities.

“It is a very important industry for the country. By the sums sent by the workers to their families, but also by the income collected by the State on the production of passports or the payment of the licenses of recruitment agencies “, assures Aggrey David Kibenge. The authorities estimate that in 2021, the state received more than 42 billion Ugandan shillings (nearly 10.5 million euros) from sending workers to the Middle East. “By going through agencies with a license, the risks [de mauvais traitements] are minimized, because we can follow the journey of migrants”, justifies the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labor. A speech that makes Martha cringe. “Once there, we are left alone to face our problems”, she sighs.

A few kilometers away, in the working-class district of Bunamwaya, Anita* is also returning from Saudi Arabia after breaking her contract. “I even worked at night and early in the morning, I didn’t even have time to sleep when Madame woke me up to give me laundry or other chores, she says. She insulted me. One of his children hit me. » The 22-year-old woman changed house several times, before an accident on the stairs that led her to the hospital, then a return to Uganda. No salary was paid to her during the six months she was there.

However, Anita is already preparing to leave. “What else can I do?” », wonders the young mother, anxious to be able to provide for the needs of her 2-year-old daughter: “ There are no jobs here, so I can only try my luck again and pray that this time I will work for a better family. »