Date: Friday, 24 March 2017
March 24, 2017
It’s often assumed that would-be migrants from the Horn of Africa are only interested in moving westwards towards Europe, but a steady stream of mainly Ethiopians and Somalis are still trying to reach the Gulf States via Yemen, undeterred by the ongoing state of war in that country. A significant minority also head south to take advantage of the perceived economic opportunities in relatively prosperous South Africa. The so-called “southern route” has been largely neglected by researchers with the last significant attempt to map trends along this route undertaken by the International Organization for Migration in 2009. Now the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat has released this long overdue update to that study.
According to the “Smuggled South” report, around 15,000 people, most of them Ethiopians, set off on the southern route every year, slightly less than the 17,000 to 20,000 estimated to be using the route when the IOM study was done. Although the numbers are down – probably the result of an increasingly hostile attitude towards foreigners in South Africa and more restrictive asylum policies – smugglers’ profits have increased. Unlike in 2009, smuggling along the southern route is now routinely accompanied by violence and exploitation, with smugglers often holding migrants captive until ransom demands are met. South Africa may become a much less attractive destination for economic migrants in the future as the government seeks to close a legal loophole that allows asylum applicants to work while their applications are being processed.......................
...................Read it in PDF Attachment below:
Berhane Habtemriam
