Press briefing note 19-7-2011.
Those population movements involve not only refugees and
asylum seekers but large numbers of migrants and pastoralists who
have little choice but to move along numerous complex migration
routes, initially from rural to urban areas and for many tens of
thousands, across international borders to neighbouring
countries.
Although information on many of these routes remains sketchy,
increased population movements have been observed from drought
affected areas in southern and central Somalia towards the capital
Mogadishu, where heavy rains over the past few days have wrecked
havoc among vulnerable displaced persons.
Displaced Somalis are also moving along perilous land routes
from impoverished rural areas towards Somaliland and the self
declared autonomous state of Puntland. Others continue their
journey towards neighbouring Djibouti and across the treacherous
Bab el Mandeb (Gate of Grief in Arabic) to Yemen and the Gulf
States.
Recent reports in the Sudanese press of Somalis drowning in
the Red Sea south of the city of Port Sudan could indicate the
establishment of a new hazardous migration route from Somalia,
Eritrea and Ethiopia to Sudan’s Red Sea State and then onto Saudi
Arabia.
The situation in drought-affected regions of Somalia has led
to a major increase of people seeking assistance in Ethiopia and
Kenya, with some 50,000 new arrivals reported in June. Over the
past three weeks, some 11,000 people have arrived in Ethiopia and
more than 8,600 in Kenya, with daily arrivals now averaging 2,000
in Ethiopia and 1,200 in Kenya.
In Ethiopia, where the drought directly affects an estimated
4,5 million people, pastoralist communities are particularly in
need of assistance because of the weakening or the death of their
livestock. Their cross border movements in search of water and
pasture for their livestock are creating a higher risk for
resource-based conflict and further displacement, particularly in
the drought-affected Northern Kenyan districts of Turkana, Wajir
and Mandera, where Global Acute Malnutrition now exceeds 30% among
children, pregnant and lactating women.
The situation in Ethiopia is further complicated by the return of Ethiopian migrants from Yemen, where evacuation operations started in November 2010 resulted in the return of thousands of individuals to date. Major return areas are Oromiya, Tigray, and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) and Amhara regions, which are experiencing drought, crop failure and a dramatic increase in food and fuel prices.
The impact of these returns to resource-constrained
communities has not yet been fully assessed, but it can be
estimated that about 30% returned to drought affected areas.
“Drought related migration is exacerbating an already complex
situation of displacement and movement, triggered by conflict and
instability and the returns of many Ethiopians and Somalis from
Yemen,” says IOM’s Director of Operations and Emergencies Mohammed
Abdiker. “Drought recognises no borders. The response to the
current crisis has to take into account internal and cross border
mobility as a survival strategy for large populations.”
IOM and UN partners have been working with governments in the
Horn and East Africa to facilitate safe movement of pastoralists
across border regions as a climate change coping mechanism.
The Security in Mobility (SIM) initiative called on regional
governments to develop a policy to facilitate the safe movement of
pastoralists within their countries and across borders using a
collaborative approach that encompasses provision of humanitarian
assistance, provision of basic services, facilitated migration and
comprehensive security initiatives.
“Of all the key mitigation and coping mechanisms, mobility
stands out as the most essential for pastoralists,” says IOM’s
Abdiker. “No country in the region can singlehandedly tackle the
complex challenges of climate change and migration. A concerted
regional effort is therefore urgently needed.”
For more information, please contact Mohammed Abdiker at
IOM Geneva, Tel: +41 22 717 93 79, Email: mabdiker@iom.int or
Jean-Philippe Chauzy, Tel: +41 22 717 93 61, Email: jpchauzy@iom.int
