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Ibsa
Mohamed, a student from Oromia, paid a smuggler to take him to Yemen but has
been left stranded in Djibouti
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Many
are trying to reach Saudi Arabia via Yemen, while thousands of others head for
South Africa, Israel and Europe, crossing deserts and seas and placing their
lives in the hands of smugglers who often have little regard for their
well-being.
Most
of the migration from Ethiopia is undocumented, so accurate numbers are hard to
come by, but the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported in 2010 that in Yemen alone
nearly 35,000 of newly arrived migrants were Ethiopians, accounting for
two-thirds of all new arrivals that year. Between January and October 2011,
almost 52,000 Ethiopians made their way to Yemen.
Refugees
from Somalia follow similar routes, often using the same smugglers, but their
reasons for undertaking these dangerous journeys are more apparent: Somalia has
been plagued by armed conflict for nearly two decades and is now in the midst
of a famine.
Ethiopia
is not engaged in a civil war, and although parts of the country have been hard
hit by drought, it is one of the world’s largest recipients of development aid.
However, it also has one of Africa’s largest populations - an estimated 75
million - with a growing rate of youth unemployment and a shortage of job
opportunities.
“The
main reason people migrate from Ethiopia to Yemen is because of need - they go
there [Saudi Arabia] to earn money,” said Daud Elmi, 28, who left his village
of Lafaisa in eastern Ethiopia to find work in Saudi in 2006.
Instead,
he spent a year in a refugee camp in Djibouti, and another three months in a
camp in Yemen, avoiding arrest by claiming to be a refugee from Somalia. After
failing to earn enough money to cross into Saudi Arabia, he finally returned
home.
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JIJIGA,
Abdirizak Mohamed Mohamoud, 30, returned to his home village of Lafaisa, in the
Jijiga zone of eastern Ethiopia, six months ago, after his attempt to reach
Europe and a better life turned into an ordeal. He talked to IRIN, as well as a
roomful of curious neighbours and friends, about his experiences as a migrant
in Libya
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Tagel
Solomon, coordinator of irregular migration programmes at the International Organization
for Migration (IOM), confirmed that Ethiopians usually migrate in search of
economic opportunities.
Most
are young men like Kadar Mowlid Mahamoud, 23, who teaches English and computer
skills. He set off from Lafaisa in 2008, “seeking a better life” in Europe, but
was lucky to make it through Somaliland, a self-declared state on the Gulf of
Aden, and Yemen. He ran out of water near the Saudi Arabian border and resorted
to drinking his own urine, only to be robbed at knifepoint shortly after crossing.
He
eventually found casual labour on construction sites in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s
capital, and during the 18 months he spent there managed to save a little
money. But after being severely injured in a car accident, his savings were
wiped out by the hospital bill and he decided it was time to go home. He turned
himself in to the authorities and was deported in October 2010.
