The Overseas Recruitment Agencies Association of Burundi (ORAAB) has announced the availability of an emergency fund worth 3 billion Burundian francs to assist Burundian nationals working abroad who may face sudden or serious difficulties.
In a communiqué issued on Friday, ORAAB said the funds are deposited in an account at the Burundi central bank (BRB) and are intended to facilitate the repatriation and emergency support of Burundian workers deployed overseas through legally authorized recruitment agencies.
ORAAB urged Burundians encountering problems abroad to immediately contact the licensed recruitment agency that facilitated their travel, ORAAB itself, or the Ministry of foreign affairs. The association emphasized that the mechanism is designed to ensure rapid intervention in cases of distress.
The association also reiterated its call for Burundians seeking employment abroad to strictly follow legal migration channels, warning that the majority of reported cases of abuse, abandonment, or exploitation involve individuals who traveled through irregular or illegal networks.
“Most of the Burundians who experience serious problems abroad are those who did not follow official procedures,” ORAAB said in its statement, adding that only recruitment agencies recently approved by the government are authorized to operate.
According to ORAAB, nearly 20,000 Burundians have been deployed abroad through government-licensed agencies. The association claims that about 99 percent of these workers are living in acceptable conditions and that many have begun investing in development-oriented activities after returning to Burundi.
Labor Migration to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia remains one of the main destinations for Burundian migrant workers, particularly women employed as domestic workers. Labor migration to the Kingdom is governed by a bilateral agreement signed in 2021, which sets out conditions for recruitment, employment, and protection of workers’ rights.
In July last year, the Burundian government reiterated that all labor deployments to Saudi Arabia fall under this agreement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also dismissed allegations of widespread abuse of Burundian workers raised in a report broadcast by TV5 Monde’s Journal Afrique.
In a statement published on X, the ministry said it “categorically denies and strongly condemns” what it described as false and misleading information about the situation of Burundian workers in Saudi Arabia.
Ongoing Concerns Over Exploitation
Despite official assurances, concerns over the treatment of Burundian workers—particularly women employed in domestic service in Gulf countries—persist.
Human rights organizations, regional media outlets, and testimonies from returnees have documented cases involving excessive working hours, unpaid wages, contract substitution, confiscation of travel documents, and physical or psychological abuse. Domestic workers are widely regarded as particularly vulnerable due to the private nature of their workplaces and limited access to legal remedies.
Some high-profile cases in recent years, including reports of mysterious deaths and disappearances of Burundian women in Gulf countries, have sparked public outrage and prompted calls for stronger government oversight and accountability.
While authorities and ORAAB maintain that such cases are isolated and often linked to illegal recruitment networks, civil society groups argue that monitoring mechanisms remain weak and that victims face significant barriers in accessing justice abroad.
ORAAB’s announcement of an emergency fund comes amid increased public scrutiny of overseas labor migration programs, which the government has promoted as a strategy to reduce unemployment and boost household incomes through remittances.
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