The International Organization for Migration Special Liaison Office in Ethiopia (IOM SLO Ethiopia) and International Organization for Migration office in Tanzania (IOM Tanzania) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provide d assistance in receiving 253 Ethiopian returnees from Tanzania on Friday 28 November 2014. This group of irregular migrants, after released from Tanzanian prisons last week, were staying at temporary stations provided by IOM Tanzania until their pre-departure medical screening and travel documents were finalized.

The returnees who were intercepted at the borders of Tanzania, while irregularly traveling to South Africa, were sentenced to prison by the Tanzanian Government. They were held-up in two regions in Tanzania namely Mbeya and Pwani in three prison facilities called Ruanda, Ubena and Kigongoni. Most of them were released after serving their prison terms for over one year, while some were pardoned by the Tanzanian Government before serving full time in prison.

IOM assisted by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tanzanian Immigration Department in registering and verified the nationalities of the returnees during their stay in prison. After the verifications, IOM Tanzania has conducted a pre-departure medical screening to assess the conditions of the migrants and chartered a flight to bring them back to their home country.

Most of the returnees originated from the Ethiopian Southern Nations and Nationalities Peoples Region. All of the returnees are male with 39 of them being unaccompanied minors (UAMs). Upon their arrival, IOM SLO Ethiopia provided accommodation and meals at the IOM Transit Center in Addis Ababa for UAMs. IOM SLO Ethiopia in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs and UNICEF office in Addis Ababa will conduct family tracing for UAMs and reunite them with their families in the coming days. For the adult migrants, IOM SLO Ethiopia will handout onward transportation allowance to them to support their local transportation to their home areas

Up on arrival the Addis Ababa International Airport the returnees were checked for Ebola. This operation is funded by the Government of Japan.