EU-IOM Joint Initiative

for Migrant Protection and Reintegration

North Wollo Zone, in Amhara regional state, is among the places in Ethiopia where irregular migration by young people is very common, despite the risks associated with it. Their intended destination is mainly the Persian Gulf.

Take Desalegn from Habru district. It was in 2018 that the 17-year-old returned from Yemen, with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“I made the mistake embarking on irregular migration as I exposed myself to health and personal risks” he said. “I broke my knee, and it was difficult for me to secure food and water.”

Desalegn described brokers and traffickers in Somalia – through which he crossed the Gulf of Aden - and in Yemen, as being hard-hearted and mean-spirited. Physical abuse such as beatings, torture and slapping, is also common during the migration journey.

Desalegn said as he travelled through Yemen with the intention of getting to Saudi Arabia via Jizan, he was under the custody of brokers who demanded a ransom for his release. His elder sister, who lived in Saudi Arabia, had no choice but to send the sum of ETB 120,000 (about USD3,200), to obtain his release.

“I was immature and insane,” said Desalegn, looking back. His father, Belay Mekonnen, aged 58, said: “Irregular migration is common in this area. I deeply appreciate the commitment of IOM and the European Union as my son has been safely reunified with his family.”

Desalegn is presently living a quiet life, along with his parents. He also speaks of being fortunate to have been assisted through the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa, which is in a partnership with Save the Children.

To date Desalegn has received different levels of skills training, including in entrepreneurship, and a course in livestock production.  “More than anything, my heart feels happy and I am trying to forget about my troubled experience. I am very fortunate. I own six goats provided by the EU-funded project.”

Desalegn is working towards achieving his dream of owning a shop and having his own house.

His father adds: “I’m very lucky as he was brought back home alive, as many of his peers lose their lives before reaching their destination.”

 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 migration is safer, more informed and better governed for both migrants and their communities.

For more information please contact Helina Mengistu at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +252115571707 (Ex.1109), email: hmengistu@iom.int; or the IOM Regional Office in Nairobi: Julia Hartlieb, Tel: +254734988846, email: jhartlieb@iom.int and Wilson Johwa, Tel: +254204221112, email: wjohawa@iom.int