MALAWI EXPORTS YOUTH TO ISRAEL

A controversial deal to send Malawi youth to work on farms in Israel has been slammed by human rights groups. Around 200 were flown to Middle East county at the weekend to plug a labour shortage after thousands of Palestinians had their work permits revoked.

The Human Rights Defenders Coalition blasted the ‘secrecy’ surrounding terms of the agreement that's been called ‘evil’ by Malawi opposition leader Kondwani Nankhumwa. He said no sane parent could send their child to a country at war.

So why is the Malawi government doing this? Maybe it has something to do with the $60m aid package it received from Israel two weeks ago? Officially, Malawi’s government says it’s a way to create jobs for its youth and will continue to send workers to Israel and other countries.

The polite term is ‘bi-lateral labour agreements’ - but isn’t this just a posh phrase for exploitation? Kenya has done similar deals in the past with Germany and Saudi Arabia and been criticised for it.

There’s been a backlash online to Malawi’s latest move, including this post. Lots of people seem to agree with this woman's outrage. Do you?