NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) The Ethiopian government has banned its citizens from travelling overseas for employment.
According to the state owned Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency, the order took effect from Thursday and the government is also clamping down on foreign employment agencies
The Ministry of Foreign Affair says countlessEthiopians have lost their lives and undergone untold physical and psychological traumas due to illegal human trafficking. The latest move came after hundreds of African migrants lost their lives off the Italian island of Lampedusa at the beginning of the month.
According to the Association of Ethiopian Overseas Recruitment Agencies, more than half a million Ethiopians have flown out of the country illegally the last five years and most of the migrants are underage females who are smuggled to the Middle East.
