KAMPALA, Uganda—Before dawn on a recent Tuesday morning, Prosy Komukama lined up outside a labor agency in Kampala, hoping to join a growing exodus of Ugandans seeking work in the wealthy Gulf states of the Middle East to escape the spiraling cost of living.
“I would like to stay in Uganda but there are no jobs and it’s not just me,” says the former schoolteacher, gesturing to the other young women crowded outside the compound’s 10-foot brick walls. “Most of us don’t have any options. Food and rent are basically unaffordable.”