Ambassador slams ‘smear campaign against Ethiopians’

March 27, 2013 | Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — The Ethiopian government is planning to take serious steps to crack down on gangs that smuggle Ethiopian citizens into the Saudi borders and will cooperate with Saudi authorities toward achieving this goal, said the Ethiopian Ambassador to the Kingdom, an Arabic daily reported.

Muhammad Hassan said the Ethiopian Embassy acknowledged that some Ethiopians have been involved in crimes but rejected an alleged media campaign that he claimed labeled all his fellow citizens as criminals when there is no evidence.

He said nationals of African countries have many common features when it comes to facial features, skin, and language and, therefore, it is difficult to determine the nationality of someone from these states, he added.

Hassan said an alleged smear campaign the media has launched against Ethiopian illegal workers has done a lot of damage to the community in the Kingdom.

He said this was because the media has gotten into a habit of blaming Ethiopians for most crimes committed in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking about some Ethiopian housemaids who were involved in murder cases, the ambassador claimed the media blew such reports out of proportion.

“Most persons involved in such crimes tend to be illegal workers who don’t have any ID that proves their nationality.

“Nevertheless, the media says they are Ethiopian without double-checking their identity or providing any documentary evidence.”

He added that if these criminals are proven to be Ethiopians, they are still few and do not represent the peaceful Ethiopian community.

He said the media should know that there are human trafficking networks that operate in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Yemen and the Kingdom and take advantage of poor Ethiopians.

The Ethiopian government has formed a national council to raise public awareness about the dangers of these networks.

The embassy will provide this council with all the necessary information that should help it achieve its goals. Hassan said long-term bilateral relations between his country and the Kingdom would not be affected by recent media campaigns.