Burundian girls working in Oman request Government to ease their return to work

Some Burundian girls who work in Oman say they face difficulties in returning to work when they come to spend their holidays in the country.

Burundian girls who returned to Burundi from Oman

“I went to Oman to look for work. I was living in Buyenzi neighborhood on 25th Avenue in central Bujumbura. I arrived in Oman on 4 June 2016. I am afraid to return to Burundi because I heard that Burundian authorities will not allow me to go back to Oman,” says Hafsa Irakoze, a young Burundian girl working in Oman.

She says she heard testimonies by two girls who returned to Burundi but were not authorized to go back to Oman by Burundian authorities. She asked the latter to facilitate their work in Oman.

“Everyone has the right to go abroad and return to his/her country without any problem. The police verify that the person meets the regulations. We check if he has the necessary papers to travel and stay abroad.

“We are rigorous because there are women and girls who have been victims of human trafficking in Middle East countries especially Oman and Saudi Arabia,” says Pierre Nkurikiye, spokesman for the Burundi’s police.

“We ask the Burundian public to respect the law. We ensure Burundians who are there to feel free to come to Burundi.

If they meet the necessary conditions, i.e. if they have the residence permit in those countries, no one will prevent them from going back there,” he says. Nkurikiye says the police must carry out thorough investigations to make sure people who work in such countries are not involved in human trafficking,” says Nkurikiye.

“We verify that they have signed an employment contract”

Jacques Nshimirimana, Chairman of the National Federation of Associations engaged in the promotion of child’s welfare in Burundi (FENADEB), says that all women who work legally in the Middle East countries have the right to come to Burundi and return to their work. “For those who arrive in Burundi, we verify that they work officially and that they have signed an employment contract with their employers,” says Nshimirimana.

Jacques Nshimirimana says that civil society organizations are not against Burundians working abroad. “We just denounce the exploitation of these girls,” he says.

Since mid-2016, Burundian civil society organizations fighting for human rights have denounced Burundian women “sold” in Oman and Saudi Arabia. They report that thousands of girls have gone to these countries and some of them say they are being abused.

The chairman of FENADEB says five girls are imprisoned in Oman and another in Saudi Arabia. He also says that two other girls returned to Burundi a few weeks ago after they had suffered ill-treatment in the Middle East countries.