EU-IOM Joint Initiative

for Migrant Protection and Reintegration

Yasin travelled all the way to Djibouti with the intention of proceeding to the Gulf states to find work. But he changed his mind, unable to accept the high risk of crossing the sea in a rickety overcrowded boat. Just as frightening was the war in Yemen, Yasin’s port of disembarkation for the onward journey.

“It is not the same when you hear about the danger and when you are actually facing it. I buried four of my friends in the desert who died of dehydration,” he said.

 As they make their way to the coast – often on foot - Ethiopian migrants sometimes succumb to the heat in Djibouti where temperatures can exceed 50 degrees Celsius.

 Yasin’s reason for turning around appears uncharacteristic except when considering recent research by IOM, which showed that most migration decisions are actually made quickly – probably without enough consideration of the risks. Some 83 percent of first-time migrants made the decision to leave less than one month prior to departure.   

Released in May 2020, the study - ‘The Desire to Thrive Regardless of Risk’ – also found that only 30 percent of first time Ethiopian migrants are aware of the war in Yemen, while less than 50 percent know of the dangers of boats capsizing at sea.  All these factors might account for Yasin’s decision to return despite his unchanged circumstances.

Yasin is from the Habru District of North Wollo, Amhara regional state. It is an area that was once green and produced surplus. Now it is degraded and infertile and barely able to support its residents, especially the landless and unemployed youth.

“The youth in my community know about the risks of the journey. But the lack of fertile land, business opportunities and employment drive them to lose faith and risk their lives,” Yasin said.

Now 26-years-old, Yasin dropped out of school and took over the family plot after his father passed away. As he struggled to earn enough, the young breadwinner made the decision to try his luck abroad.

He paid USD430 to smugglers to facilitate his travel to Djibouti where he stayed for three weeks in the port village of Hayu. Djibouti is a transit country largely for Ethiopians seeking to get to the coast en-route to the Gulf states.

However, it was during his stay in Djibouti that Yasin came to terms with the high fatalities among those who attempt the journey. His return to Ethiopia was facilitated by the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa. Since June 2017 the programme has assisted 2700 Ethiopian migrants to voluntarily return, with more than 3100 returnees being consulted about their reintegration plans. 

Yasin chose to try to make a living from something that he knew. As he had had a stint working in a bakery prior to his departure, the programme arranged for training and provided him with enough materials to open a bakery of his own and that now displays his name. He also received grafted mango seedlings that he planted on his parents’ plot.

In Habru District, the programme also supports returnees and the community through an environmental rehabilitation project implemented by the Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Mekane Yesus.  About 713 households are the focus of this project. Vulnerable community members are trained on making energy saving stoves and further supported to establish self-help groups to improve their livelihoods.

An additional 340 households have access to clean water and livelihood options through an affiliated initiative that incorporates an irrigation and clean water supply project co-funded by the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark.

 About the EU-IOM Joint Initiative 

Launched in December 2016 and funded by the European Union (EU) Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, the programme brings together 26 African countries of the Sahel and Lake Chad region, the Horn of Africa, and North Africa, the EU and IOM around the goal of ensuring that migration is safer, more informed and better governed for both migrants and their communities.