IOM assisted a total of 577 Ethiopians stranded in Djibouti to return to Ethiopia. The operation comprised four movements and started on Friday, 21^st October 2016. Within one week, IOM supported the safe return of 123 minors and 454 adults, each movement assisting approximately 145 migrants.

The returnees left Ethiopia with the help of smugglers, intending to reach the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by paying, on average, 10,000 – 15,000 ETB (500-750 USD). After arriving in Djibouti, they were abandoned by the smugglers and became stranded there. Abdul, aged 30, was desperate to leave Ethiopia to reach the Gulf country in search of a better life: “The smugglers promised us a safe trip which would only take a maximum of 3 days to reach.” The truth was far from reality and the road to the Middle East was replete with hardships and torture: “they deprived us of both food and water.” “They demanded ransom each time we were handed over to another smuggler and beat us harshly when the amount wasn’t procured,” he remembers in anguish.

Hassen, 22, was a farmer in northern Ethiopia who also aspired to earn a better living in Saudi Arabia, where smugglers promised him a good salary. He recounted his traumatizing experience specifically witnessing the death of several smuggled migrants: “many were ill and had health problems and they were left to die on the road.” He continued: “after having crossed Djibouti, we were forced on to a boat and thrown into the water when we approached the Yemen shores. Not all of us could swim and many drowned”.

Most of the returnees were detained for days and weeks in Yemen before being deported to Djibouti, where they were received at the IOM Migrant Response Centre in Obock. There, Ethiopian Government officials carried out nationality verification and issued travel documents enabling the migrants to return home.  They were assisted and escorted by IOM personnel back to Ethiopia. Upon arrival in Addis Ababa, the returnees were welcomed at the Transit Centre where they spent the night and were given transportation allowance and blankets the following day to make their way to their respective hometowns.  For the unaccompanied migrant children, IOM is working with UNICEF and the Bureau of Women and Children Affairs (BoWCA) to conduct family tracing; the children will be staying at the Transit Centre until this process is completed, after which they will be escorted back by BoWCA social workers to their places of origin.

The Eastern migratory route is one of the three most dangerous and actively used irregular channels by smugglers to transport vulnerable Ethiopian migrants to the Middle East. IOM continues to work with the Ethiopian Government and other partners to combat irregular migration and to ensure the safe and voluntary return of stranded migrants back to their homeland.

Today more than ever, there is need for a multi-pronged strategy if irregular migration of this sort that commodifies human beings is to be eradicated, says the IOM Chief of Mission to Ethiopia, Ms. Maureen Achieng. First and foremost, there is urgent need to apprehend migrant traffickers and people smugglers, while at the same time ensuring that the matching of labour supply and demand is handled by governments and their legitimate representatives and not by people smugglers. Efforts to inform would-be irregular migrants of the hazards of irregular migration, while at the same time supporting them in identifying alternatives to irregular migration continue.

Disclaimer: The actual names of the interviewed migrant were changed to ensure privacy and confidentiality.

For further information, please contact Alemayehu Seifeselassie at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +251.11. 6611117 (Ext. 455), Mobile: +251.91.163-9082 Email: salemayehu@iom.int