The Ethiopian diaspora association, People to People (P2P), this week contributed USD11,000 to IOM for emergency assistance to Ethiopian migrants returning home from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This latest donation form the Kentucky-based P2P, follows previous contributions from Ethiopian diaspora around the world who have come to aid of their fellow nationals returning home destitute and in need of immediate support and assistance. 

Handing over the check, Dr. Zewdu Terfework thanked IOM for the assistance it is providing to Ethiopian vulnerable returnees. After living 26 years in Europe, Dr. Zewdu returned to his home country and has set up a genetic laboratory inAddis Ababa. “We the diaspora have been migrants ourselves and we have lots of experiences we can share with the migrants.  We understand the importance of the initiative that IOM is carrying out and are willing to help,” he said.  

Maria Moreno, Operations Officer of the U.S. Association for International Migration (USAIM), IOM’s non-profit partner in the U.S, visiting IOM’s post arrival assistance operation inEthiopiasaid: “We have over USD 200,000 from the Ethiopian diaspora in the U.S and around the world for the Ethiopian returnees. This proofs that the diaspora are not only agents for development but also partners during crisis and post crisis operations.”

Following Government of Ethiopia’s (GoE’s) request, IOM and partners have been providing emergency post arrival assistance to returnees from the KSA. The operation started when the Government of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expulsion of irregular Ethiopian migrants began in November 2013 and the returns continued until the end of March 2014. A total of 163,018 (100,688 male, 53,732 female and 8,598 children) individuals were returned toEthiopia. 153,173 returnees have been assisted by IOM through provision of transport allowance, accommodation, food, Non-food items and health assistance among others in close coordination with national and international partners. The main areas of region include Amhara, Tigray, Oromia and SNNP.

IOM has been collecting data on returnees since the beginning of the operation. Following this, IOM is currently conducting an assessment to gather data on the status of returnees, efforts being made so far by stakeholders, and the capacities and limitations of the local government and International Organizations (IOs), which will be used to inform the strategy towards complementing the GoE’s efforts to sustainably reintegrate returnees from KSA.