Mass Exodus Of Tigrayan, Eritrean Youth Gives Rise To Entrenched Human Trafficking Network

NGOs, military and intelligence officers, gov’t officials involved in cross-border smuggling

A human trafficking network stretching from Asmara to Addis Ababa via Tigray and involving government officials, NGOs, and intelligence and military officers has escalated to new heights as tens of thousands of youth desperately grasp at the prospect of a better life abroad in the wake of war and economic stagnation.

Dozens of interviews conducted by The Reporter reveal that a large number of youth crossing the Eritrean border into Tigray, as well as those fleeing the war-torn region, have created fertile ground for an opportunistic and widespread human trafficking trade.

“From Atsbi Woreda alone, 1,200 youth left in a single month. This is not the largest figure. There are other woredas with higher numbers. There are a dozen or more youth who have lost their lives on trafficking routes from every town and village across Tigray,” the Director of a civil society organization (CSO) anonymously told The Reporter.

The routes used by these youth and the traffickers depends largely on the destination. Young people hailing from the central, southern, eastern, and southeastern parts of Tigray make their way to the Middle East via Djibouti, from where they cross the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia.

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Those who are better off financially (typically hailing from Mekelle and central Tigray) often make their way to Libya or Egypt via Sudan and Chad for a chance at crossing into Europe. Some opt to go to Uganda using a route that crosses through Addis Ababa.

No matter the route, the journey is exceedingly dangerous and migrants often face life-threatening situations.

“Many families are being asked to send between one and two million birr as ransom to rescue their children captured and detained in Libya. Those who own homes or property are selling it off and sending the money,” said the Director.

Among the hordes of Tigrayan youth scrambling to get out of the country are former TDF combatants, according to data obtained from CSOs monitoring the situation.

“The youth in Tigray lost hope after the war. Even people who sustained heavy injuries during the war are opting to leave the country and seek work abroad,” said the Director. “The Tigray Interim Administration [TIA] is also intentionally delaying the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration [DDR] process. If DDR went ahead, job opportunities could have been facilitated for the ex-combatants here in Tigray.”

Opposition parties in Tigray have also been closely following the mass exodus of youth, and now they are raising the alarm over unprecedented levels of human trafficking being carried out by what Kibrom Berhe, president of the Baitona opposition party, calls “mafia groups.”

“Human trafficking in Tigray has worsened since the war. Many people lost their livelihoods as a result of the destruction. Farmers lost their farms and entrepreneurs and investors lost their businesses. People are choosing to flee en masse. Meanwhile, other opportunistic people are turning this exodus into a lucrative business. These opportunists are not just individuals, but governments. They operate using networks and systems. They are mafia groups both in Ethiopia and in Eritrea. Those in Eritrea, particularly, have a long history [in the business]. Their ranks include generals and intelligence officers. Now they’ve entered Ethiopia and government mafia from the Eritrean, Ethiopian and Tigrayan side are working together. Of course, there are ordinary people involved, but the masterminds are military officers. Government cadres, including those in Tigray, are also involved,” Kibrom told The Reporter.

He describes the human trafficking racket as having reached “a very dangerous point.”

“Families are unable to locate their children even after sending large sums of money to kidnappers in countries like Libya. They’ve already been killed [by the time the ransom money arrives]. A few are saved by the Red Cross. Some die on the Red Sea,” said Kibrom.

A few months ago, Salsay Weyane Tigray, another opposition party, issued a statement calling for an urgent response to the proliferation of human trafficking in Tigray.

“Salsay Weyane Tigray remains deeply concerned about the ongoing mass exodus of Tigrians fleeing the devastating after-effects of genocidal war. We have consistently urged all stakeholders, particularly the Ethiopian government, Tigray authorities, and the international communities, to take immediate and sustainable measures to curb this disastrous crisis,” reads the statement.

However, the situation has worsened in the months since the statement was issued, according to party officials.

Tigrayan youth fleeing in search of a means to sustain themselves and their families make up only one half of the vast trafficking network described by people like Kibrom. Eritrean refugees crossing into Ethiopia make up the other half.

A growing number of young Eritreans, including members of the Eritrean Defense Force, enter Tigray daily through their shared border. Once in Tigray, the migrants are held in areas prepared specifically for them before they are moved to Addis Ababa. Following a brief stay in Tigray and the exchange of money for identification and paperwork, the migrants move to the capital where they await a chance to travel abroad.

“There are people both on the Eritrean and Ethiopian sides who facilitate the border crossing. If someone crosses the border without their knowledge or approval, the Eritrean forces guarding the border open fire. However, if the people in the smuggling network have been paid off, they keep silent,” a refugee from Eritrea told The Reporter. “Once in Tigray, we are considered Tigrayan and reside at someone’s home, at NGO camps, or in refugee camps. Then they charge up to 50,000 birr to facilitate passage to Addis Ababa. For Eritrean migrants, Ethiopia is only a stepping stone. Once in Addis Ababa, there are other facilitators who send Eritreans to the country of their choosing. But that requires having relatives abroad who can cover the cost. These kinds of facilitators in Addis Ababa and abroad require larger sums of money; in the millions.”

Sources who spoke to The Reporter attribute the prevalence of smuggling Eritrean youth into Addis Ababa not only to corrupt officials on either side of the border, but also to the Ethiopian government’s silence and failure to implement refugee laws when it comes to Eritreans. There are over 146,000 Eritrean refugees sheltering in Ethiopia, accounting for close to half of the 345,000 spread across East Africa, according to reports from UNHCR.

“The Eritreans are basically refugees. Hence, they are the responsibility of the federal government of Ethiopia, not Tigray. Regional administrations have no mandate to deal with refugees from another country. But the federal government has no presence in Tigray. The system in Tigray is responding spontaneously, falling into the hands of human traffickers,” said an individual working for an NGO in Tigray, who spoke anonymously.

Others who spoke to The Reporter say the rising flow of Eritreans into Tigray is not only a case of mismanagement and neglect, but also constitutes a national security threat to Ethiopia.

“The nature of the Eritrean refugee inflow depends on the nature of the relationship between the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments. The bulk of Eritreans crossing into Ethiopia now has to do with their knowledge of all the routes, which they saw during the war. They know every part of Tigray. Now, they are accumulating in Tigray. We do not know whether they are coming into Ethiopia with instructions from the Eritrean government. Shabia is Shabia. But whether the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments are at peace or at war, it is Tigray that always pays the price,” said a TIA official who requested anonymity. “This is very dangerous.”

The network

An investigation conducted by The Reporter reveals the exodus from Eritrea begins with communications between members of the trafficking network in Asmara and in Addis Ababa.

Eritreans who cross to Tigray independently outside of the network are often kidnapped in Tigray. They are kept in houses or camps, where they are detained until a ransom is paid and then granted passage to Addis Ababa. Those who cross using the network see their journey helped along at every step of the way.

“Between 20 and 30 Eritrean youth arrive in a single NGO camp in Tigray every week. They are picked up from border crossing areas and delivered to the camp near Mekelle, every week. Then their paperwork is finalized and forwarded to Addis Ababa, where they await the chance to go abroad. Their every movement is watched from beginning to end,” said another NGO employee.

The CSO Director who spoke to The Reporter revealed just how deep the human trafficking network goes.

“Almost all NGOs and CSOs active in Tigray are involved in the human trafficking network. Local officials, and military and intelligence officers from both Tigray and Eritrea are involved. I suspect opportunistic officials from the federal government might be involved. The operation is run by influential brokers in Addis Ababa, Asmara, and the destination countries,” said the Director. “The NGOs and CSOs provide transportation services for the trafficking victims. They also provide cover and facilitation for the traffickers. They claim to be providing protections but they only protect so long as the refugees pay money. NGO and CSO workers in Tigray are raking in cash working with traffickers. There is no accountability. We are talking about human lives.”

Last week, Getachew Reda, president of the Tigray Interim Administration, brought up his concerns over human trafficking in Tigray.

“Serious human trafficking crimes are being committed in a number of Tigray’s woredas. Crimes that contradict our history and good culture are being committed in Tigray. There are brokers and other people involved. They speculate on prices for trafficking victims based on hawala [remittance] rates. Even our own government structure, from top to bottom, is involved in this human trafficking business. Large institutions are involved. Above all, serious and shameful human trafficking crimes are being committed. We can conduct a detailed study and reveal everything,” said Getachew.

He mentioned that in the trafficking network, the phrase “the luggage has arrived” is used to indicate that victims are ready to be moved.

Other TIA officials declined to comment despite repeated requests from The Reporter.

An inquiry revealed that the Tigray bureaus of Justice and Security, as well as the regional Anti-corruption Commission, have conducted their own assessments on human trafficking in Tigray. However, the officials at these agencies resorted to pointing blame at one another during their conversations with The Reporter.

“The Justice Bureau is working on human trafficking. We conduct investigations into human trafficking and forward it to the Justice Bureau for further legal processing. We do not conduct full investigations on human trafficking. However, due to power divisions, there is no clear mandate,” said Hagos Abreha, an investigator at the Tigray Anti-corruption Commission.

Another TIA official told The Reporter many in the regional administration are afraid to come forward with information about the human trafficking in Tigray.

“There are higher officials and military generals and intelligence officers involved in the human trafficking business. The consequences are grave for anyone who comes forward with information. But because of the power division between the TPLF and TIA, the factions are using the information as a weapon to silence one another. For instance, Getachew recently spoke about human trafficking in Tigray but did not disclose everything. He mentioned the case simply to use it as a card against the opposing faction led by Debretsion [Gebremichael]. They will not expose one another but will use the human trafficking issue to threaten each other. The TIA recently held discussions aimed at exposing and eliminating the human trafficking network. But because it can seriously affect senior officials, they left it as it is,” said the TIA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.