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Molla Mitiku Ayenew (molmitiku@gmail.com)
Illegal immigration is a worldwide phenomenon that deserves a global response if countries determine to minimize if not to end it. Despite various opportunities at origin homes, the number of both legal and illegal immigrants has been showing an upward trajectory in the past ten consecutive years.
Hence, the bone of contention in this piece is pinpointing some of the severe challenges that immigrants face both while traveling in and at destination countries; thereby, emphasizing the indispensable role of the entire people around the world in skirmishing illegal immigration.
The number of people who take part in the illegal movement of youngsters, particularly from African countries to Arab countries, European Nations and the United States of America with the objectives of accumulating a ransom of money via trading of human beings include different personalities.
These accomplices came together for one common aim. It is to accumulate wealth through trading human beings. In some cases, the criminals take out the internal organs of immigrants for trade. The criminals committed such inhuman crimes on those youngsters attempting to cross Egyptian and Yemeni lands. The crimes are usually done by accomplices, including brokers, medical doctors, local administrators and other officials.
In 2011, CNN reported that activist witnessed organs corneas, livers and kidnys theft from refugees who are unable to pay their demands for large amounts of cash that bodies of African refugees have been found in the Sinai desert with organs missing. According to witnesses in the area, corrupt Egyptian doctors are working with mobile hospital units to perform the operations to remove the internal organs of refugees and trade an organ for 20, 000 USD. The challenges to illegal immigrants are so severe that they compelled to give their internal organs while they are alive.
Despite such sufferings and the efforts made to curb illegal immigration, some researches indicated that the number of illegal immigrants has been increased from time to time. Immigrants have been assimilating faster in the Arab Countries, European Nations, the United States and other African countries.
Documents from UNHCR also indicated that in 2009, almost two-third of African immigrants were from Eastern and Western Africa, particularly from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana and Kenya.
It indicated that during the 2000-2005, an estimated 440,000 people per year emigrated from Africa, most of them to Europe. Illegal immigration from Africa to Europe is so significant. Many people from poor African countries embarked on the dangerous journey.
Like in other developing countries, the issue of illegal migration has become a highly contentious matter in Ethiopia. A large number of youngsters are instigated to leave their country for good due to wrong mindset.
Retarding attitudes enforce the youngsters and their parents to decide to leave for abroad than using opportunities at home. The misleading pre-set among the society of enjoying a better life abroad with minimal efforts instigates Ethiopians leave abroad illegally. The people, though there are some changes these days, the society gave high value to working abroad than of working at home.
In fact, some scholars argue that, such kinds of viewpoints could emanate from failure to observe the various opportunities at home. If youngsters think twice how they could win their hearts of desiring leaving abroad and strengthen their beliefs on the possibilities of improving their lives working at home, there are in fact a number of possibilities.
One could be using the money they spent to brokers and other expenditures for their illegal travel abroad at home. It is obvious that illegal immigration has a significant economic effect both on the harboring and origin countries.
When the illegal immigrants leave abroad; they spent a lot of money. They collect that money from their parents, their close relatives or loans from other people.
Illegal immigrants, who were disguised by brokers describing going abroad as the only means of alleviating poverty, failed to pay back the money they spent for their illegal travel abroad. In those cases, their parents at home could be liable to further problems: to win their daily bread and pay back in loans their children borrow.
However, from the destination countries’ point of view, illegal immigration could maximize the inflow of foreign labors. Scholars in those countries said that illegal immigrants could reduce the jobs they created for their citizens.
To the contrary, some studies indicated that the economic impact of illegal or legal immigrants in the host countries is rather insignificant than the economic impacts on their origin countries.
Above all, the immigrants severely affected both physically and psychologically due to a number of challenges they faced. One could be language limitations. They couldn’t even beg their predators for sympathetic actions. The incapability of communicating with people they encountered with while traveling or at their destination country coerced them to put their heads in the waters.
The immigrants are also facing problems of securing work. It is evident that most refugees and immigrants are happy to take whatever job available when they first enter the country. However, finding a job and slowly moving up the ladder is also incredibly difficult. It is also known that, immigrants are easy victims of discrimination and exploitation in the workplace; their labor has been extremely exploited.
It is also difficult for immigrants to secure shelters as safe and affordable housing is so expensive, it is hard for them to cover it with such low-paying jobs. Hence, they obliged to use the streets as shelters in some cases and they fall victim to abuse and health problems.
Undocumented immigrants have usually a difficult time accessing health and other services, largely because they are afraid of being deported that they avoid visiting service institutions while they need them badly.
Despite all these challenges, the number of illegal immigrants has been increased from time to time over the past ten years. That is why the efforts of the international community to curb illegal migration need to be consolidated.
Ethiopia is one of the countries in Africa, where number of youngsters illegally left their country. As a result, the need for creating a strong system that could help legalizing citizens who immigrate to other countries particularly to the Arab Nations has risen. It is also essential to work in collaboration among hosting and origin countries to avoid the security threats on immigrants.
The number of Ethiopian immigrants who succeeded in foreign lands is really insignificant. This is due to lack of adhering to legal system or lack of right to move from place to place to work freely. If they are found somewhere particularly in the Arab Countries, they will directly be deported to home without any property.
Recent studies indicate that, a number of illegal immigrants found themselves at a higher risk. Some of them are being killed by their employers. While Others are committing suicide just to shorten the incomprehensible earthly suffering.
That is why, Ethiopia and Kenya agreed to work together in curving illegal migration and deal with human smuggling as hundreds of Ethiopians finding their way into South Africa through Kenya. However, only the government can’t stop illegal migration no matter how hard it tries. It is indispensable for the entire people to come together and effectively tackle the immigration in general and illegal immigration in particular.
Therefore, efforts exerted to create awareness and human trafficking prevention must be strengthened. There is need to have an agreement among origin and host countries to avoid the victimization of immigrants. Besides, there should be a consolidated effort to effectively enforce laws and improve the participation of all stakeholders; thereby, taking actions to curb the vulnerability of immigrants to various aspects, such as conflicts, natural disasters and political turmoil.
Such strong cooperation could meaningfully minimize the human and social consequences of human trafficking. Enhancing consolidated efforts is vital in combating human trafficking and minimizing its social, economic and political impacts.
