Women and girls as young as 13 are among the most vulnerable of the tens of thousands of migrants making the long and perilous trek from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia in search of jobs
- Charles Emptaz & Olivier Jobard (France 24)
- Nariman El-Mofty and Maggie Michael (Associate Press)
Every day, thousands of Ethiopians set off on foot on a desperate 2,000-kilometer trek in the hope of reaching Saudi Arabia. Their route takes them across the Djibouti desert, the Red Sea and Yemen, a country ravaged by civil war. Every year, hundreds die of exhaustion in the desert or drown while crossing the Gulf of Aden. Those who make it to Yemen, often having starved for days on end, are easy prey for the local mafia who kidnap them for ransom. Our reporters followed these migrants on their journey and documented, with exclusive footage, the extent of human trafficking.
Determined: Ethiopian female migrants risk all for Saudi – Associated Press
They are among the most vulnerable of the tens of thousands of migrants making the long and perilous trek from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia in search of jobs: Women and girls as young as 13. They endure hunger and exhaustion walking through deserts, the dangers of a sea crossing and, often, rape and torture at the hands of traffickers.
Still, they are fearless and determined to reach the oil-rich kingdom and work as maids and domestic servants in Saudi Arabia’s lavish households. Dreaming of improving their lives, many of them sneak away from home in the night because their parents don’t want them to take the risk.
Around 150,000 migrants made the journey each of the past two years, and the proportion of women and girls is rising. According to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of women making the trip jumped from nearly 15,000 in 2018 to more than 22,000 in 2019. The number of girls had an enormous increase, quadrupling from 2,075 to 8,360.
Associated Press photographer Nariman El-Mofty traveled with a number of women and girls along the trail, in Djibouti and Yemen, capturing intimate moments of their journey and talking with them about their reasons for leaving home and the dangers they are willing to face in hopes of a better life. Continue reading this story at Associated Press
Sources: France 24 English & Associated Press