Sierra Leonean migrant workers bound for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been asked to leave the hotels where they were lodged and to return to their various homes due to the latest third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The order was contained in a press release by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security which has taken full charge in the recruitment of mainly young women for employment as domestic workers in the Middle East and the Gulf States.
The first batch of hopeful workers numbering about 200 have for some time been camped in hotels in Makeni and Freetown, awaiting departure through an elaborate and organized recruitment process undertaken by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security together with a Ghanaian private company believed to have vast experience in enlisting people for employment overseas.
The Labour Ministry issued the statement on Friday 25th June 2021 saying the move was due to the measures put in place by the government to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and to comply with them.
According to the release, “the above-mentioned migrants have been certified medically and have undergone several personal and professional development training”. It stated that the training were to prepare the migrants for the different jobs they would be doing in Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry also said they want to ensure that the domestic workers are vaccinated and issued visas, before departing to their “individual job locations”.
This is the first time the government is getting directly involved in the recruitment of people for employment as mostly maids, in those parts of the world. Many women have been recruited by various questionable Agencies in Sierra Leone and other African countries, offering them employment. Harrowing accounts by the women have emerged on social media of them being duped, repeatedly raped or forced into slave labour, in complete contrast to the often lofty assurances given of better working conditions. Thousands of the abused migrant workers from various African countries have in the end turned to appeal for help so they could be repatriated home.
The current government has financed the return of stranded Sierra Leonean women in Lebanon and other countries in the region not long ago.
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