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cross-posted from: https://jlai.lu/post/19454496

Saudi Arabia is home to nearly 4 million domestic workers, including 1.2 million women and 2.7 million men from Africa and Asia who play an essential role in enabling the country's economic development and supporting family life. Yet, the experiences of Kenyan women outlined in this report illustrate how many of these workers endure gruelling, abusive and discriminatory working conditions, often amounting to forced labour and human trafficking.

Abusive recruiters sold the women interviewed for this report a dream before plunging them into an isolated, segregated reality of severe abuses being perpetrated in private households. They exploited the pressures shaping the lives of women and restricting their choices – soaring unemployment, few opportunities at home in Kenya and children to feed and educate. Once in Saudi Arabia they routinely withstood working days of 16 hours and more, with little rest and often not a single day off for months or even years. Some could never leave the house, and many were almost entirely cut off from the outside world. In their workplace, which was also their home, there was no escape from verbal abuse, demeaning treatment, racism, discrimination and extreme exploitation. In many cases, they were physically or sexually assaulted. Some were raped by their male employers and their sons. Many endured delayed or non- payment of their meagre wages. Almost all had their passports confiscated on arrival, making it virtually impossible for them to flee abusive employers, none of whom were held to account.

Gum arabic (gum acacia, gum sudani, Senegal gum and by other names[a]) (Arabic: صمغ عربي) is a tree gum exuded by two species of Acacia sensu lato, Senegalia senegal[2] and Vachellia seyal. The gum is harvested commercially from wild trees, mostly in Sudan (about 70% of the global supply) and throughout the Sahel, from Senegal to Somalia.

Gum arabic is a complex mixture of glycoproteins and polysaccharides, predominantly polymers of arabinose and galactose. It is soluble in water, edible, and used primarily in the food industry and soft drink industry as a stabilizer, with E number E414 (I414 in the US). Gum arabic is a key ingredient in traditional lithography and is used in printing, paints, glues, cosmetics, and various industrial applications, including viscosity control in inks and in textile industries, though less expensive materials compete with it for many of these roles.

Gum arabic exuding from Acacia nilotica. Ashwin Baindur (User:AshLin) • CC BY-SA 4.0

L'article du Monde avec mur de payement : https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2025/05/04/melenchon-demande-la-devotion-aveugle-celui-qui-doute-trahit-les-extraits-de-la-meute-une-enquete-sur-la-france-insoumise_6602916_3232.html
L'article de Libération avec mur de payement : https://www.liberation.fr/politique/purges-manque-de-democratie-ambiance-de-courtisans-plongee-dans-le-systeme-melenchon-a-lfi-20250504_YKZ35WLF3VGH5GRULJBW7BAJKQ/

This third day sucked.

My legs and feet began to feel the strain of walking over 50 km in just a few days for the first time in my life, especially without proper training.

Additionally, it was rainy and much colder than I had anticipated for this time of year. I found myself shivering and questioning what was happening to me, was it simply exhaustion? It wasn't until later that day, after I reached my place for the night, that I learned it had been just 3°C that morning. I had been walking in only shorts, a light sweater, and a rain cape.

Nonetheless, the path today was nice, with mostly woods and fields.

Finding some shelter from the rain and cold in a beautiful church on the way.

Once again, I couldn't find any cheap pilgrim stay, so I ended up staying at an out of budget bed and breakfast. At least, it was a charming old farmhouse.

I am part of this rare breed of cooking pilgrims. The hosts didn’t offer dinner; after all, it was a B&B, not a B&D&B! However, they did provide a ride to the grocery store, so I took advantage of that and prepared myself a hearty meal. In my book, taking transportation is ok as long as you restart walking from where you ended. My hosts were quite amused by the fact that I did cook myself a full, balanced meal, instead of just eating pasta and cheese.