The government of Ethiopia has repatriated over 2330 COVID-19 compatriots the Middle East this week alone.
State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tsion Teklu and other senior government officials on 28 May have received 333 Ethiopians repatriated from Lebanon at Bole International Airport. The government’s decision to repatriate these people was made against the backdrop of complex problems they were forced to face living in Lebanon.
The government noted that the returnees were highly motivated to return back to their country and that they were in trouble to stay being unemployed in Lebanon and protect themselves from the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tsion said on the occasion that in addition to today’s returnees, about 320 Ethiopian citizens are also expected to be voluntarily repatriated from Lebanon and arrive in Addis Ababa today. It is recalled that 57 Ethiopians who were living under difficult conditions in the United Arab Emirates were voluntarily repatriated recently.
A committee led by the State Minister jointly works with Ethiopia’s national steering committee led by the Ministry of Peace to identify Ethiopian citizens in need of repatriation and monitor if the rights of such citizens are protected in their countries’ of residence.
The repatriated persons do not have work or residence permits as they were migrants that traveled to Lebanon illegally, it was learned. A national task force has pre-quarantine, quarantine and post-quarantine committees that follow closely the condition of the repatriated persons till they join their families. Peace State Minister Frealem Shibabaw said the repatriates will rejoin their families after it is confirmed that they are free COVID-19.
Ethiopia has started repatriating close to 2,000 COVID-19 vulnerable Ethiopian migrants in compliance with the UN resolution of mass repatriation during pandemic. Foreign Affairs State Minister Tsion Teklu said even if repatriation is not encouraged at this challenging time the return of extremely vulnerable migrants is necessary as they cannot get the much needed assistance in the host countries.
“The most vulnerable ones will be repatriated and in light of that last week, for example, we had 57 from the UAE. They were detained and given parole to be repatriated.
Similarly, we are going to repatriate 649 Ethiopians from Beirut today and on Saturday because they made precarious living that exposes them to the virus,” she elaborated.
Tracing and identifying the irregular migrants is difficult as they are not registered by the Ethiopian missions, Tsion said. She stated that collaborative efforts have been exerted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among Ethiopians in the host countries.
“In total the number of those that are going to be repatriated would not exceed 2,000. We are actually working on sustaining them where they are and providing them with what they need to control the spread of the virus,” the state minster said.
According to her, medical supplies, including places for quarantine, for the returnees are prepared in cooperation with the pertinent sector offices and ministries.
Tsion pointed out that “the repatriated, upon arrival, will be quarantined and in the meantime the different ministries will work out plans for their resettlement. We are of course taking a lot of precaution to resettle them because they are coming from different countries to Addis Ababa to be quarantined and sent to regions. We are sticking to the idea of not spreading the virus.”
Any work related to migration, especially during such times as this needs genuine collaboration among countries, international organizations, and the community at large, she added.
In any case “we will continue to assist our fellow Ethiopians since it is uncertain when COVID-19 will be fully controlled,” Tsion stated. Over the last couple of years, Ethiopia has been repatriating its citizens and resettling them.
BY HAILE DEMEKE
