Ethiopians in Middle East Unite to Combat Human Trafficking 

Ethiopian communities in the Middle East have formed a union to fight the abuse and suffering of Ethiopian migrant workers in the region.
After a meeting in Addis Ababa on Monday, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by representatives of Ethiopian communities in Jeddah, Riyadh, Bahrain, Dubai, Yemen, Lebanon and Qatar.
The union vowed to defend the rights of Ethiopian migrant workers in the stated countries and fight illegal traffickers in coordination with the relevant government offices.
Recent studies indicate that the number of Ethiopian workers being smuggled into various Middle East countries has been growing steadily.
Ato Rezene Lemlem, head of the Ethiopian Community in Jeddah, said that the increase in the number of illegal traffickers was exacerbating the problem of trafficking.
Ato Nebeyou Belete, deputy head of the Ethiopian community in Yemen, noted that there were a significant number of Ethiopians "wandering in different cities of Yemen after being smuggled by tortuous paths into the country".