Report Investigates Male Smuggling from the Horn and East Africa to South Africa
A new IOM report on the irregular migration of men from the Horn
and East Africa to South Africa finds that increasing numbers of
smuggled migrants, particularly from Ethiopia and Somalia, are
routinely deceived, abused, exploited and stigmatized by various
parties from the moment they leave their homes until they reach
South Africa, where they may settle or travel further afield to
Europe, the United States of America or Australia.
Report
The report, entitled "In Pursuit of the Southern Dream: Victims of
Necessity", is based on in-depth interviews carried out by IOM with
some 800 individuals, including migrants, community
representatives, state officials, members of the civil society and
the private sector in seven source, transit and destination
countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Republic of South
Africa, Tanzania and Zambia).
It shows that male migrants regularly suffer from human rights
violations at the hand of their smugglers, local criminals, and
allegedly, of officials who should be protecting them. Theses
include harassment, beatings, robberies, and in some cases,
rape.
Contrary to the international Smuggling Protocol, which seeks to
criminalize smuggling activities while offering protection to
smuggled migrants, the report says that various countries continue
to detain and convict smuggled migrants while failing to convict
smugglers, who continue to enjoy from near total impunity.
Furthermore, the report adds that some of the factors
facilitating human smuggling are corruption of state officials as
well as weak overall border management.
According to the report, up to 20,000 Ethiopian and Somali male
migrants are smuggled every year from the Horn of Africa to the
Republic of South Africa, although some will not make it safely to
South Africa. On average, they will pay up to USD 2,000 for the
journey, although fees can be higher if migrants fly part of the
way or are directly flown to South African.
However, an overwhelming majority of male migrants are smuggled
overland or by sea, especially Somalis who sail on rickety boats
from the Somali capital Mogadishu or the southern port of Kismayo
to Mombasa (Kenya), Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) or Mocimboa
(Mozambique) and then on to South Africa.
The report notes that few migrants take the direct land route
through Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique and that most will use
convoluted itineraries through Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda,
Burundi and Rwanda before arriving in South Africa.
It notes that migrants are increasingly transported in large
numbers and at great risks in airless containers, especially
between Tanzania and Malawi, within Malawi and from Malawi into
Mozambique.
As for the reasons for the increase in the number of male
migrants smuggled from the Horn and East Africa to South Africa,
the report cites political instability, insecurity and endemic
poverty as the main drivers, with adverse climatic conditions,
including droughts and floods, playing in increasing role in
pushing people to migrate.
Despite the xenophobic flare up of 2008, the report states that
South Africa remains attractive for migrants from East Africa and
the Horn, in contrast to the northern route to Europe, through
Libya and the eastern Gulf of Aden route through Bossaso to
Yemen.
According to the report, exposure to considerable criminal
violence and prejudice in South Africa appears to be the price many
migrants accept to pay for new lives of perceived opportunities.
For some, South Africa is simply a step in a journey they hope will
ultimately take them to Europe, the USA or Australia.
The report recommends that irregular migrants should be provided
with adequate protection in line with international law and should
not be perceived as perpetrators of criminal acts. Furthermore,
legislation should seek to penalize those who organize and benefit
from human smuggling, with more attention being paid to allegations
of official corruption. Finally, a multilateral regional
coordinated response addressing the issues of migrants' rights and
protection as well as border management is also required to reduce
the magnitude and the human impact of the problem.
The report is available online at
"paragraph-link-no-underline-bold" href=
"http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=507">this
link.
For more information, please contact:
Tal Raviv
IOM Nairobi
Tel: + 254 20 4444167 Ext: 217
E-mail:
"mailto:traviv@iom.int">traviv@iom.int
or
Richard Danziger
IOM Geneva
Tel: + 41 22 717 9334
E-mail:
"mailto:rdanziger@iom.int">rdanziger@iom.int