Detained and Deported: UAE Migrant Workers Abuse Resurfaces in Abu Dhabi
There has been a lot of debate about the tyrannical rule in the United Arab Emirates and it has been proven by the repressive government time and again with the repeated abuse of human rights. The Internet was recently flooded with news about 700 African workers being arrested by Abu Dhabi authorities and deported on the basis of no legal justification. This resurfaced the age-old issue of UAE migrant workers abuse.
The arrests were made between the night of 24 to 25 June, 2021, followed by the deportation of the workers without any legal reasoning provided with, as per the ImpACT International for Human Rights Policies and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
One of the many facing the UAE migrant workers abuse was Kabirat Olokunde, a Nigerian worker who planned on celebrating the night of her birthday in Abu Dhabi, with her friends. However, as fate would have it, she was spending her time in a stingy, Emirati prison, tied to chains and sitting / sleeping without a mattress. The statement was provided by Olokunde via a telephonic conversation from a Nigerian city, Lagos, where she was sent to prior deportation from Abu Dhabi on August 3. She had no access to her personal belongings yet.
When asked, a statement was issued by the Interior Ministry of UAE, claiming that 376 men and women were detained on the grounds of criminal offenses such as, acts against public morality, extortion, related to human trafficking, and assault. The statement about UAE migrant workers abuse also cited that most of the workers were deported, leaving only 50 individuals in detention due to a lack of travel documents.
However, migration researcher at the Euro-Med Monitor, Michela Pugliese claimed that the actions were undoubtedly “racially motivated mass human rights violation. And it’s continuing within the UAE right now.”
The cases of UAE migrant workers abuse have surfaced constantly in the past due to unclear knowledge about their rights as employees and regarding their employers.
Nigeria’s ministry of foreign affairs failed to respond to requests for comments. Some of the workers even complained about not hearing back from their native countries’ embassies when complaints were filed by their families.
