Report: African Migrants Are Dying In Saudi Coronavirus Centers

"My only crime is leaving my country in search of a better life. But they beat us with whips and electric cords as if we were murderers," says one of the African migrants currently being forced to live under torturous conditions, along with hundreds of others, in a coronavirus center in Saudi Arabia. An investigative report released by The Telegraph reveals that Saudi Arabia is keeping hundreds of African migrants—many young and of Ethiopian descent—in a center set up to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Harrowing pictures, showing dozens of men, cramped together in various states of emaciation, taken with mobile phones were sent to The Telegraph by migrants held in these detention centers. Some other pictures showed some men revealing the welts on their backs from being beaten by the guards at the center, and a picture of a teenager who had hung himself, although unreleased, was among the fold.

In March, the government of Saudi Arabia deported nearly 3,000 Ethiopian migrant workers as it struggled to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. And while 200,000 migrants were also slated for deportation, they have since been rounded from different parts of Saudi Arabia and left to suffer under squalid conditions.

The British newspaper was able to locate two of the centers, one in Al Shumaisi, and the other in Jazan, where this act, that has been described as modern slavery, has been taking place. With some migrants said to have been in these centers for up to four months, many international human rights bodies have condemned this act from one of the world's richest nations, who can afford to house migrants in better conditions.

The Telegraph reports now that the Saudi government has responded promising to look into the issue to ensure that "If facilities are found to be lacking, their needs will be addressed appropriately." There is no excuse for human beings to be treated this way and many have taken to social media to make that point.