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Extortion, violence and death in the Red Sea migration route

In 2018, more people took the Red Sea migration route and reached the coast of Yemen than made it to Europe via the Mediterranean. They were mostly Ethiopians, departing from the Horn of Africa with the aim of reaching Saudi Arabia. While an average of 12,500 people start the Red Sea migration route every month, around 10,000 are deported monthly back to Ethiopia from Saudi Arabia.
Most of these migrants are seeking to improve their lives with the promise of a better paid job in the Gulf. But they find themselves on an extremely dangerous journey. They walk long distances through Djibouti or Somaliland. They are extorted and abused by human traffickers. They risk their lives crossing the Gulf of Aden in precarious and overcrowded boats. Those who survive must then travel through Yemen, a country destroyed by war, to reach the border with Saudi Arabia.
At the border, they cross, under gunfire. Many of those who make it to Saudi Arabia are caught by the authorities and sent from prison to prison until they are deported. Many detainees suffer violence, abuse and torture, either during the journey, while being detained or as they are deported. Some do not survive the ordeal.
In March 2017, the Saudi authorities started a campaign to return so-called ‘illegal migrants’ to their countries of origin. After a few months of voluntary returns, they began arresting and deporting people in huge numbers. Around 300,000 have been deported to Ethiopia since then. Many migrants land at a hangar in Addis Ababa with nothing.
Since March 2018, MSF has screened the medical and mental health condition of these migrants at the airport in Addis. We have treated gunshots wounds, other types of injuries, and issues related to the poor conditions the migrants have endured. The most vulnerable are sent to a centre where MSF teams provide counselling, food and accommodation.

MSFSTO39752

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