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Hundreds of migrants are stranded in Bossaso, Puntland, Somalia, as a result of border closures and sea crossings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every year dozens of migrants, mainly from landlocked Ethiopia, pass through Bossaso seeking to cross the Gulf of Aden into Yemen, devastated by the war, and hoping to continue on to the Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that one day last month, approximately 600 migrants arrived at Bossaso in Puntland in a single day.
IOM data shows that migration along the eastern route is still occurring despite new border restrictions in the region. Compared to data collected in the first half of April 2019, there have been 501 more arrivals in Bossaso, but departures have decreased, with 8,261 fewer migrants trying to cross the Gulf of Aden on the same dates.
As more people continue to arrive in Bossaso, more Ethiopian migrants are stranded in the city. IOM estimates that about 400 migrants are currently housed by members of the Ethiopian community living in informal settlements in the city.
Fassil, 19, is a migrant from the Tigray region of Ethiopia, who now lives in the midst of the Ethiopian community in Bossaso. “I have been here for about three months,” he said. “The coronavirus has changed everything. I cannot continue, I cannot return because all borders are closed. “
After a long journey, likely exposed to violence, abuse and exploitation, migrants face precarious conditions in Bossaso, where they often cannot access water, sanitation, shelter or food upon arrival.
IOM, thanks to the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the EU-IOM Joint Initiative and the Migration Resource Allocation Committee (MIRAC), is helping Fassil and migrants like him. These partners in Bossaso provide direct assistance and basic health services through the Migration Reception Center (MRC), a reception center for migrants. Among other activities, water is distributed weekly to migrants stranded in informal settlements.
“We do everything we can to help them in coordination with IOM and local authorities; however, if their numbers increase and they cannot cross the sea due to the closure of the borders, their well-being will be in great danger, “said Ahmed Shirie, president of the Ethiopian community in Bossaso.
Since the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Puntland on April 19, migrants stranded in Bossaso have also begun to face more stigma and abuse due to misinformation. There have been several social media posts blaming migrants for being carriers of the virus responsible for local transmission. So far, no migrant has tested positive in Puntland.
“IOM is concerned about the stigma faced by many migrants since COVID-19 began to spread in the region,” said Isaac Munyae, Program Manager of the Joint EU-IOM Initiative for the Protection and Reintegration of Migrants in the Horn of Africa, which has been helping stranded migrants since 2017.
Fearing the deportation from Somalia and the stigma attached to the increase in COVID-19, many Ethiopian women and children are now trying to return to Ethiopia.
IOM is working closely with the Puntland authorities as well as with the Federal Government of Somalia and the Office of the Special Envoy for the Rights of Children and Migrants to ensure that migrants have access to basic services, including Health. IOM, in close relationship with the Somali Federal Government, also advocates non-deportation and the safe and voluntary return of stranded migrants to their countries of origin.
One of them would be the returnee, Tarik, is a young woman from the Amhara region of Ethiopia.
“I have been stranded in Bossaso for a month,” he said. “Going to the Gulf was my intention, but I don’t have enough money and my family cannot support me. Now I want to go back. “
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Multimedia files Download logo
