Djibouti: Migration Crossroads
Posted by <
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/by_author/cwiesner/>
Catherine Wiesner / March 16, 2013
Catherine Weisner serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
<
http://www.state.gov/j/prm/> Population, Refugees, and Migration.
We hadn't driven more than three dusty minutes before we encountered the
first group of men clustered under a scraggly tree for shade, resting from
their long journey on foot from Ethiopia. Here they waited for smugglers to
take them to the boats they would use to attempt crossing the Red Sea to
Yemen. I expected them to be more skittish, but the staff from the
<
http://nairobi.iom.int/djibouti> International Organization of Migration
(IOM) explained that they are known to migrants as a helpful, friendly, and
professional organization.
The men freely told us their stories -- extremely limited prospects at home
led each to pay smugglers the equivalent of US$ 380 -- more than a year's
wages in rural Ethiopia. Sometimes whole communities pooled resources to
send a few people out; many had borrowed the money. "I don't know how much
I'll make...but it will definitely be more than I can make in my home
country," one migrant said. The majority were in their 20's and 30's, a few
looked too old for hard labor; one 14-year-old should have been in school
instead of attempting this dangerous journey.
Having just read this
<
http://www.regionalmms.org/fileadmin/content/featured%20articles/RMMSbookle
t.pdf> report by the <
http://www.regionalmms.org/index.php?id=2> Regional
Mixed Migration Secretariat, I wondered if the migrants knew they risked
kidnapping, torture, rape, and extortion in Yemen. Or, joining thousands of
migrants stranded on the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border or possible human
trafficking while en route to their final destination. While the migrants
knew IOM could help them return to Ethiopia, they were determined,
nevertheless, to be among those who make it.
The State Department funds IOM activities as part of a project to assist
migrants in Ethiopia, Somaliland, Puntland, Djibouti and Yemen. Irregular
migration, what these men were attempting, is often dangerous, and IOM
engages in outreach to law enforcement, advises on legal frameworks for
improved migration, and raises awareness of the risks of irregular
migration.
On the other side of town, another group of migrants were giving up their
journey after smugglers abandoned them. Destitute in Djibouti, they prepared
to return to Ethiopia with IOM support; the migrants promised to spread the
word that the journey was not worth the risk.
The Djiboutian government views the migrants' presence as illegal but lacks
the resources to deport the majority of them. On board a Djiboutian Coast
Guard vessel, the captain pointed out several recently-confiscated smuggling
boats, adding to the 70 or so seized last year. In 2012, the Coast Guard
intercepted 5,300 migrants at sea, a significant increase over previous
years, but only a fraction of those crossing daily. Food, water, and first
aid have undoubtedly saved the lives of many traveling in unseaworthy
vessels. Less clear was whether procedures were in place to screen and
protect vulnerable migrants being detained. In my meetings with government
officials, they emphasized they would like to see source countries take more
action. Certainly, only greater regional dialogue and concrete cooperation
between source, destination, and transit countries will resolve the region's
complex humanitarian challenges of mixed migration.
Received on Sat Mar 16 2013 - 21:12:58 EDT
