Mereja.Forum

[Selam/]

Ethiopia is a nation of youth. According to the Central Statistical Agency (CSA, 2021), over 70% of the population is under the age of 30. On the surface, this demographic structure holds immense potential for economic growth and innovation. However, this promise remains unfulfilled. The youth unemployment rate in Ethiopia stood at approximately 25.3% in urban areas as of 2022 (ILO, 2023). In rural areas, where labor is often informal or underpaid, unemployment figures may be masked but are no less dire.

https://hornreview.org/2025/07/30/youth ... -ethiopia/

[Abere]

The flip side of it is, Ethiopia is a country where unfortunately, only very few reach the age of wisdom. Many of its young population wither away before hitting age 45 years, because of perennial war, ethnic cleansing, violence, HIV/AIDS, Khat, Alcohol, malnutrition. This demographic pyramid shows very few climbs the age leader or struggle to reach age 40s. CSA is just hiding the truth -it is like Birr 150 = 1 dollar; and OLF-PP claims the economy is doing great, because Birr changed from 28 to 150 That is how Chilfitu/Huresa/ medmer operates.

[Dama]

Abere, khat chewing doesn't kill and it doesn't alter normal thinking to influence violence as alcohol does.
Swallow your extreme impulses to go against Islam. Killing of Amara Muslims by extremist Fano has done already done lots of damage to the fabric of Amara society. Don't just look at the reward from the US anti-terrorism center for crimes afainst innocent Ethiopian Muslims. Stop feeding of the bloods of innocents

[Abere]

Dama, you’re becoming increasingly weird and unintentionally funny, lol. Hearing you talk as if khat (ጫት) is “normal” is unbelievable. Honestly, it sounds like you must have been on this dangerous substance yourself to say something like that.

Khat is socially, economically, and physiologically harmful. What kind of medical doctor or public health expert would claim otherwise? It should be banned. It has consumed the lives of countless youth in Ethiopia and robbed them of their bright futures. Have you seen the teeth and faces of many young people who are addicted to ጫት? Youth in their 20s end up looking like people in their 70s.

And by the way, I’ve never heard of any religion preaching that khat is a sacred leaf. What I do know is that both tobacco and khat are cursed leaves—practically the kind of thing Satan himself pe<ed on.

Abere, khat chewing doesn't kill and it doesn't alter normal thinking to influence violence as alcohol does.
Swallow your extreme impulses to go against Islam. Killing of Amara Muslims by extremist Fano has done already done lots of damage to the fabric of Amara society. Don't just look at the reward from the US anti-terrorism center for crimes afainst innocent Ethiopian Muslims. Stop feeding of the bloods of innocents

[Selam/]

Khat results in mental health crisis, chronic disease, and it drains household economics and destroys cultural life.

The flip side of it is, Ethiopia is a country where unfortunately, only very few reach the age of wisdom. Many of its young population wither away before hitting age 45 years, because of perennial war, ethnic cleansing, violence, HIV/AIDS, Khat, Alcohol, malnutrition. This demographic pyramid shows very few climbs the age leader or struggle to reach age 40s. CSA is just hiding the truth -it is like Birr 150 = 1 dollar; and OLF-PP claims the economy is doing great, because Birr changed from 28 to 150 That is how Chilfitu/Huresa/ medmer operates.

[Selam/]

[Selam/]

“I am going to Saudi Arabia, or my grave”: The exodus of Ethiopia’s frustrated youth

“Please come back, my son, I will share everything I have with you.”


https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news ... ion-africa

[Dama]

You don't care about Ethiopians health. No you two don't. If you did, you would advocate against alcohol(areqe, bear, whisky) that cause cancer, drunken fights/death, drunk driving accidents causing injuries and death, raw meat eating causing all kinds of intestinal worms. Also prostitution which is the cause of stds transmissions including hiv-aids.

Chat plant is innocent of all terrorism related accusations. The psychedellic effect of chat is no stronger than that of tea or coffee. So said Science. Not me.

It is a huge economy in Ethiopia. You can't play a dumb game with the economic asset of millions of Ethiopians.

Give it up!!

[Selam/]

ችሎ ማደር
አልኮል ፉት ተደርጎ በፍጥነት ይጠናቀቃል። በተለይ አንድ መለኪያ የኮሶ አረቄ ብትጠጣ፣ ይኸ እንደ ውሻ የሚያንፏቅቅህን ተውሳክ ይነቅልልሃል።

ጫትን ግን ከስነ-ስርዓቱ ጀምሮ ቀኑን ሙሉ ወሬ እያወራህ እንደ ጋማ ከብት ስታመነጅከው ነው የምትውለው። ስራ ያስፈታሃል፣ አፍህን ያበላሸዋል፣ ጨጓራህን ይበጣጥሰዋል፣ ስንፈተ-ወሲብ ያስከትልብሃል። የውስኪ የትውልድ ሃገር ስኮትላንድና አየርላንድ በአልኮል ምክንያት ሃገራቸውን ወደ ኋላ ሲጎትቱ አይተሃል? በጀርመን ቀውጢ የኦክቶበር ፌስት ማግስት፣ የBMW ሰራተኞች ከስራቸው ሲቆሙ አይተሃል?

ግን አንተ አንድ ቦታ ላይ ተቀርቅረህ የቀረህ ከይሶ ጎጠኛ ስለሆንክ ፍልስፍና አይገባህም። ቡቺ ቡቺ ቡቺ!

You don't care about Ethiopians health. No you two don't. If you did, you would advocate against alcohol(areqe, bear, whisky) that cause cancer, drunken fights/death, drunk driving accidents causing injuries and death, raw meat eating causing all kinds of intestinal worms. Also prostitution which is the cause of stds transmissions including hiv-aids.

Chat plant is innocent of all terrorism related accusations. The psychedellic effect of chat is no stronger than that of tea or coffee. So said Science. Not me.

It is a huge economy in Ethiopia. You can't play a dumb game with the economic asset of millions of Ethiopians.

Give it up!!

[Selam/]

ችሎ ማደር
ወደ በረንዳው ከመሄድህ በፊት አንድ የመጨረሻ ቡጢ ላቅምስህ:

- ብዙ አልኮል በመጠጣቸው ምክንያት ወደ ኋላ የቀሩ ሃገራትን ስም ዝርዝር ጥቀስልኝ፥ ምርጫ - ጀርመን፣ አየርላንድ፣ ራሺያ፣ ሮማንያ

- ጫት እየቃሙ ያደጉ ሃገሮችን ስም ዘርዝርልኝ፥ ምርጫ - የመን፣ ጅቡቲ፣ ሶማሊያ፣ ኢትዮጵያ

ቡቺ ቡቺ ቡቺ!

You don't care about Ethiopians health. No you two don't. If you did, you would advocate against alcohol(areqe, bear, whisky) that cause cancer, drunken fights/death, drunk driving accidents causing injuries and death, raw meat eating causing all kinds of intestinal worms. Also prostitution which is the cause of stds transmissions including hiv-aids.

Chat plant is innocent of all terrorism related accusations. The psychedellic effect of chat is no stronger than that of tea or coffee. So said Science. Not me.

It is a huge economy in Ethiopia. You can't play a dumb game with the economic asset of millions of Ethiopians.

Give it up!!

[Selam/]

Migrant Ethiopian women say Pope Leo's Lebanon visit brings little comfort amid kafala exploitation

Alex Martin Astley
27 November, 2025

As Pope Leo arrives in Lebanon, the country's migrant women remain invisible, trapped in exploitative conditions where even their most basic freedoms are denied




As the clergymen filed past the congregation, the women, wrapped in traditional white netela shawls, bowed and pressed a wooden cross to their foreheads and then to their lips.

Sunday Mass begins at dawn in the Ethiopian Orthodox church in Ain Aar, a hillside village a few miles east of Beirut. For seven hours, some 200 worshippers sit crammed between technicolour murals of saints and seraphs, while the hymns, prayers and sermons mingle with the incense and birdsong outside.

For the women – almost all of them domestic workers from Ethiopia – this is their only day of rest after six days of drudgery. Yet they dedicate the day to God. As news spread that Pope Leo would be visiting Lebanon soon, most of the women beamed.

"I’m very happy to see the Pope abroad. It's useful for creating Christian unity," said Beruk Azane, who was collecting money from worshippers to expand the church grounds.

Other worshippers shared the sentiment. "A lot of Ethiopians will try to see him when he arrives. We all love the Pope," smiled Helen Henouk, before being hushed by a choirmaster as a new round of prayers began.

The Pope's visit will be welcomed by all of Lebanon's Christian denominations, at least for political, if not always spiritual, reasons. That includes the tens of thousands of mostly Orthodox Ethiopian workers residing in Lebanon.

Leo will bring a message of peace to the tiny Mediterranean country battered by crises and war. For many of Lebanon's Christians, the visit will also bring hope to a community whose numbers have dwindled over the past century.

But as he embarks on his first apostolic journey abroad, Leo will arrive in a country where thousands of his coreligionists remain trapped in exploitative work conditions known as the kafala – or sponsorship – system.

"I don't have hope," said Ayana*. "In church, we forget everything else. We have our religion, our church, our Father and the other women. We pray, we fast, we celebrate. All these things, what does it do? It makes us forget the oppression we face here in Lebanon."

Ethiopians_in_Lebanon
The majority of Ethiopian Christians belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church [Alex Martin Astley]

A cycle of exploitation
Under Lebanon's kafala system, migrant workers cannot legally change jobs without permission from their employers, trapping workers in potentially abusive situations that in some cases amount to modern-day slavery.

Indeed, the kafala system was first drafted in the Arabian Gulf after slavery was abolished there to regulate foreign labour.

Most employers confiscate their workers' passports and residency papers to prevent them from seeking higher wages elsewhere, outside their contract. If they try to escape, they risk detention and deportation.

Ayana has spent the past nine years working as a cleaner and has not once returned to Ethiopia. After her first year in Lebanon, she fled her employer, who was paying her just $200 per month. She has been working without a legal contract ever since. If she leaves the country, she will never be allowed back in, and she needs the income to support her mother back home.

"Nobody looks at us because we're foreigners. Nobody cares about foreigners. If I look to Lebanese people for support, they tell me that they also need help, so how can they help foreigners?" Ayana said.

Last year, she tried to apply for a new residency permit so she could work legally again. A man claiming to be a lawyer said he could help her. In the end, he took $1,600 of her money, threatened to rape her and have her arrested, threw her passport away, and fled the country when war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah.

Ayana's story is, sadly, not unique. Many women were left stranded during the war; some were even dumped in the street by their employers as the bombs rained down on the capital. With her own country’s officials unwilling to help, Ayana had nowhere left to turn.

"I went to the [Ethiopian] consulate. Do you know what I saw? I saw three girls who had lost their minds because they had been treated like animals… But the worst of it all was not being able to go home to see my mother," Ayana said, her voice cracking over the telephone.

In his first apostolic exhortation – an important papal document intended to appeal to Catholics – Leo wrote on "love for the poor", completing a work initiated by his predecessor before his death. The exhortation, which denounces inequality, suggests that Leo may be following a similar progressive path to Pope Francis.

Leo has also recently condemned the treatment of detained migrants in the US, his country of origin. Quoting the Evangelist Matthew, he said: "At the end of the world, we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him, and welcome him, or not?"


Ethiopians_in_Lebanon For decades, Ethiopians have gone to Lebanon looking for work, only to find themselves stuck in a cycle of abuse that’s hard to escape [Alex Martin Astley]


A responsibility to name and shame
Despite their theological differences, the Vatican has maintained friendly relations with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In a 2016 meeting with Abune Mathias, the Ethiopian Patriarch, Francis emphasised the importance of unity through shared suffering. The year before, Islamic State extremists had carried out a mass execution of Ethiopian Christians in Libya.

"If one member suffers, all suffer," Francis said at the time, quoting Corinthians. "Shared sufferings have enabled Christians, otherwise divided in so many ways, to grow closer to one another."

But there is little unity through suffering in Lebanon, and it is unlikely that Leo’s visit will improve working conditions for women like Ayana. The kafala system is entrenched in Lebanese society, and repeated attempts to reform the country's labour laws, which exclude migrant workers, have so far fallen short.

And there have been many attempts. Ethiopian workers have organised, held demonstrations, and, in one case, confronted their employers. In 2020, Meseret Hailu filed a complaint against her former employer for "slavery" and against the recruitment agency involved in her transfer for "trafficking slaves". Hailu testified for the first time at a court hearing in May this year.

Ethiopians_in_Lebanon
The Vatican has maintained friendly relations with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church [Alex Martin Astley]

There are not many organisations dedicated to defending the rights of foreign workers in Lebanon. But This Is Lebanon has taken a novel approach: naming and shaming abusive employers online to its 180,000 followers.

The NGO was founded to give migrant workers in Lebanon a voice, though it also provides a hotline support service. Many cases involve unpaid wages. Others are more sinister.

Two domestic workers are repatriated in coffins each week, according to the most recent figures from Lebanon's General Security Directorate. Precise statistics are hard to come by, and though there is a high rate of suicide, many murders have also been reported.

"They should not have to rely on a roll of the dice to decide if they go home in a cabin or cargo. We also want to see more thorough investigations carried out when a domestic worker dies … Not all 'suicides' are suicides," Pat Silwal, a volunteer at This Is Lebanon, told The New Arab.

But funding is low at This Is Lebanon, and if their operation folds, there will be no other group to replace it.

Meanwhile, behind every school run, every restaurant kitchen, every midnight office, there is likely to be a migrant worker like Ayana, trapped in the kafala system.

Ayana finds solace in her church, which she says also supports abused or exploited women and sends money to those in detention. But sometimes she just goes there to cry.

"I love Lebanon, but what can we do? We put up with it," said Ayana finally. "We say: 'Never mind, we leave everything to God's will.' We forget what happened to us, and we start a new life."

Neither the Vatican nor the Lebanese government responded to requests for comment.

*Name has been changed to protect her identity

Alex Martin Astley is a freelance journalist based in Beirut, covering conflict, foreign policy, and social justice issues

Follow him on X: @AlexMartin6190

[Selam/]