The deadly journey to the Gulf
Migrants from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia risk drowning, extortion and violence
In the beginning, before the desert and the sea, before the beatings and the body, all he had was a phone number. Abdro was working on a building site in Ethiopia when another labourer told him how to contact a dalala, a broker, who could get him to Saudi Arabia. He was 19 years old, with an ailing father, seven siblings and no prospects, so he made plans to leave.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Out of Africa”
From the June 15th 2024 edition
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