The Smuggling of Ethiopian migrants through Horn of Africa: Picturespeak

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Ethiopian migrants smuggled through the horn of Africa
Two Ethiopian Refugee children outside their home in a shantytown in Burco, Somaliland.

Somalilandsun: Every year, large numbers of people around the world take perilous journeys fleeing poverty, violence, conflict and abuse. Many cross deserts on foot, in overcrowded smuggling trucks, or embark on deadly sea voyages.

Too often, their despair and fear are being exploited by human traffickers and smugglers who prey on their hopes and dreams, painting an image of a reality that often does not exist.

Among those undertaking the dangerous journeys in search of a better life are many Ethiopian men, women and children.

Some of them travel to Somalia and Djibouti along the so-called Eastern Migration Route, cross the Gulf of Aden, and journey through conflict-torn Yemen to the Gulf, mainly to Saudi Arabia. Others head northwest to Sudan and onto conflict-torn Libya to try and cross the central Mediterranean.

Ethiopian migrants smuggled through the horn of africa
Fadmou holds her baby girl as she waits in a clinic in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The 18-year-old Ethiopian and her husband plan to migrate to Yemen and then to the Gulf in search of a better life. ‘Life has not treated us kindly here,’ she said. ‘My friends tell me that Saudi Arabia is the land of opportunities, and I want to go now because I don’t want my child to grow in poverty like I did.’

For more details continue reading In Pictures: Ethiopian migrants smuggled through Horn of Africa