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The persistent problem of human trafficking
Bereket Gebru
It is less than a month left of Saudi Arabia’s notification of an impending mass expulsion of illegal migrants. The last couple of months only saw nearly a dozen thousand Ethiopians make it back to their homeland. With some estimates putting the number of illegal migrant Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia at upwards of four hundred thousand, it is clear that the large majority is bracing for a turbulent time ahead.
Considering the window of time the Saudi government has provided ahead of its expected crackdown could be used to leave with one’s family and property safely, the number of returnees should have been much more. The forced expulsions of the Saudis four years ago also set a harsh and fatal precedent that saw numerous Ethiopians lose their lives and their livelihoods as a result of the brutal treatment they faced from the Saudis. By the time set for voluntary departure running out fast, the possibility of another episode of deadly crackdown is becoming more probable.
The Ethiopian illegal migrants in Saudi Arabia need to hold the hand extended to them by the Ethiopian government to get them safe to their country. They need to make the right decision soon enough as the time is running out for them to enjoy the privileges of today. Once the time passes by, it might be hard for them to leave the country peacefully. The life they lead in Saudi Arabia is definitely not worth the danger that is hovering above them.
For those that are tempted by the amount of money they make in the country that obviously does not welcome them, they should bear in mind that they have a country of their own that can provide them with better opportunities than it used to. The economic development in the country has allowed people to enjoy better standards of living with considerable improvements in the level of unemployment. Especially those that have saved some money from their endeavors in Arabia can find it particularly conducive to start their own businesses or organized themselves to set up an organization.
Risking their lives to periodically face life threatening state sponsored schemes of expulsion that effectively rid them of dignity and the property they raised is definitely not worth it. The level of risk involved clearly outweighs the benefits associated with staying back. It is time that Ethiopians wake up to the grim realities of illegal migration and put a stop to their own plight.
Data shows that at least 2,650 Ethiopians from Hadiya zone alone lost their lives as a result of human trafficking between 2013 and 2016. The data further indicate that thousands more are unaccounted for or have physical damages. Neighboring zones are also thought to have similar conditions regarding human trafficking with the youth largely set on their way to South Africa. To make matters worse, those who made it to South Africa are not immune to the dangers as 1,134 of them died there during the same time.
Although the numbers for Saudi immigrants have not been as easy to access, it is a well known fact that Ethiopians die on their journeys to the rich Arabian country. The journey across the Red Sea over some crammed dinghies via Yemen to Saudi Arabia is known to be one of the most fatal ones. With immigrants expected to face fatal campaigns like the impending one, the journey and the stay is as fatal as any other.
Illegal migrants have to risk everything when they set out on their journeys. It would seem irrational for a human to pay a large sum of money for human traffickers just to risk going through harsh circumstances or even lose their lives. However, Ethiopian migrants reportedly pay from 90-120 thousand birr for traffickers to get to South Africa. On their journeys, migrants are often forced to pay additional money or have their relatives send the money at the price of their lives.
It’s no wonder that human trafficking is the third most lucrative illegal business sector in the world preceded only by drug and arms trafficking.
Despite these grim realities though, thousands of Ethiopians make the illogical decision of migrating illegally using human traffickers every month. So what are the factors that force them make these hasty decisions?
The factors behind these risky decisions are generally categorized as push and pull factors. Push factors are local problems that tempt people to consider the option of illegal migration. These include poverty, social attitude to life abroad, war, false promise of traffickers, family and peer pressure and unfair wealth distribution in a country. The pull factors, on the other hand, refer to perceived favorable conditions abroad that attract potential migrants. These include considerable job opportunity and relative peace.
Experts who have studied the issue closely say: “migration accelerates migration.” The stories of the few who have made it are used as recruitment tools by middlemen. This cycle of migration has led to a huge social, economic and political problem in the country. Some of the major problems include:
Loss of the productive section of the population: from mere physical absence in the country to loss of life, human trafficking causes a huge loss of the productive section of the population. With the youth making an overwhelming part of those involved, the productive section of society is the most vulnerable of the economic groups. Shocking data like the one cited above involving Hadiya youth renders the problem concrete.
Exposure to unnecessary economic bankruptcy: households and the nation as a whole are exposed to preventable economic loss as families sell their houses and other assets to send their sons and daughters on the risky journey to preferred destinations of human trafficking.
Dependency Syndrome: the remittance sent by those living abroad also leaves their relatives here develop a sense of dependency. Instead of sorting their own life paths independently, they tend to wait for the handouts from abroad.
Informal route for remittance: migrants who do not have legal status in their host countries do not usually use banks and other formal routes to transfer money. Instead, they send the money through travelers. That hinders the formal route from reaping the benefits.
Exposure to various diseases: the hunger, thirst, lack of hygiene, rape and organ harvesting associated with human trafficking exposed victims to various diseases.
Emigration aspiring generation: the ‘migration accelerates migration’ cycle draws many reeling in the lucrative business of human trafficking. The long term result is a generation aspiring to live abroad instead of earning a decent living locally and working towards a better nation.
Potential to harm bilateral relations: a large number of illegal immigrants make it hard for the host country to plan and implement social welfare policies. Negative perceptions of a social group of the host population could breed distorted image about a country. These perceptions slowly creep into the diplomatic sphere harming bilateral relations. Measures taken by a host country targeting a certain group could also strain bilateral ties.
The remedial actions taken for long are criticized by experts as presupposing that the legal framework is the only source of the remedy. Therefore, they centered on building a legal infrastructure. Although it is vital to have those infrastructures in place, experts recommend adopting a multiple remedial strategy. The recent trends of involving the media, elders and various social institutions are instances of the adoption of this strategy.
The other main point to note is that human trafficking is not a one-time problem to be tackled by a committee. Rather, it needs to be mainstreamed into all stake holding sectors. The commitment required to root out the problem demands that such daunting tasks are carried out fully.
