International center: Smugglers control the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups

Arabian Sea - Yemen - Follow-ups: An international center concerned with migration studies has confirmed that smuggling and human trafficking networks control the eastern smuggling route, which extends from the Horn of Africa to the Yemeni coasts on the Red Sea, describing it as one of the most dangerous mixed migration routes coming from the African continent, where migrants are subjected to violence, abuse, and exploitation. According to a report by the Mixed Migration Center, despite the ongoing civil war in Yemen since 2014, the country remains a major transit point for large-scale mixed migration along the eastern route, with approximately 100,000 people migrating irregularly from the Horn of Africa to and through Yemen annually for more than a decade. According to the center, in addition to being the most used, the eastern route is widely considered one of the most dangerous mixed migration routes coming from the African continent, in terms of migrants being subjected to violence, abuse, and exploitation, often at the hands of smugglers and human traffickers. It stated that this route, especially the Red Sea crossing, is mainly controlled by migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks, which distinguishes it from other migration routes, where these networks may not exert the same degree of influence and control over irregular migration. The report explained that in 2024, smugglers appeared to have shifted their coastal access points in Yemen from Lahj Governorate to Taiz and Shabwa Governorates, to evade the Yemeni Coast Guard and a joint military campaign targeting them. It said that as a result of the challenges in accessing these coastal points and collecting data from them, there was a gap in the in-depth comparative analysis of the routes leading to Yemen. Key findings The center, which aims to promote understanding of mixed migration and positively influence global and regional migration policies, confirmed that Djibouti is the main coastal departure point for routes leading to Taiz and Lahj Governorates, and quoted 94 percent of migrants surveyed after arriving in Yemen as saying they used routes through Djibouti. According to these data, the main landing sites for illegal migrants were the coasts of Lahj Governorate (56 percent) and Taiz Governorate (39 percent), while 5 percent of respondents landed on the coast of Shabwa. The center said that this data is most likely due to the ability to collect it in Lahj and Taiz, and the lack of direct access to migrant arrival areas in Shabwa Governorate. According to the report, the journeys were characterized by multiple stops, with almost all respondents (99 percent) reporting stopping on their way to coastal departure points along the Red Sea. The early stops were primarily for rest, and upon reaching Djibouti, they began searching for smugglers and making financial transfers to secure the funds required for the next stage of their journeys. Regarding the choice of arrival location within Yemen, 99 percent of migrants reported that it was largely subject to smugglers, and said that given the fact that most respondents (79 percent) reported being misled by smugglers, this highlights the potential for exploitation during transit and upon arrival, where migrants are forced to hand over their belongings to smugglers. According to the survey results, the use of smugglers was almost universal among migrants, and it considered that this confirms the lack of legal pathways for migrants seeking work and livelihood opportunities abroad, and the difficulty of land and sea journeys, which require the experience and resources of smugglers to cross them, and avoid detection by the authorities. A complex relationship According to the testimony of all survey participants, they used almost only one smuggler to travel from departure locations to arrival locations along the coast of Yemen, which is consistent with previous research on the eastern route. The report warned that this contradicts other routes where the use of several smugglers is common, especially as migrants cross multiple countries. It said that this may be due to the relative ease of crossing the countries of the Horn of Africa independently, but crossing the sea requires the presence of smugglers. It suggested that when moving through Yemen to their intended final destinations, participants will deal with additional smugglers. The international center confirmed in its report the existence of a complex relationship between migrants and smugglers along the eastern route, as 54 percent of participants described smugglers as criminals, while 43 percent described them as businessmen or service providers. While 64 percent agreed that smugglers helped them achieve their migration goal, 79 percent also felt that they were deliberately misled, and this reflects the findings of a previous report issued by the Illegal Migration Monitoring Center, which showed smugglers as criminals and service providers at the same time. Respondents reported widespread deception by smugglers, and most mentioned multiple ways in which they were misled. The results did not differ significantly by route, except that respondents who arrived in Taiz often reported being deceived about the specific route they took, while those arriving in Lahj reported cases of deception in general less often. Given that respondents who arrived in Taiz reported this mainly because their smuggler claimed it was the shortest route, this may indicate that respondents were expecting to arrive in Lahj, which is a shorter sea crossing from Djibouti, the most common departure point. Source: Mohammed Nasser - Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.