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A DANGEROUS JOURNEY ,  jonas tameru  ( oslo )
I saw a program that was aired on BBC recently about “The most dangerous journey in the world.†The program tries to depict the life threatening journey made by many Ethiopians from the rural parts of Ethiopia, through the deserts of Yemen on to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This journey involves various encounters where the travelers literally come face to face with death. The Ethiopians are betrayed the local brokers and handed over to the Yemeni brokers, who mainly deal in the market of body parts. Once the poor travelers fall into the hands of the Yemeni brokers, they will be asked to pay a ransom for their own life. Those who are lucky enough to have the money transferred from their families to the brokers will be spared and continue their journey while those who were not lucky enough will be slaughtered like animals and have their body parts removed and sold to the highest bidder on the black market all over the world. This tragedy has claimed the lives of countless sons and daughters of Ethiopia and still continues to do so.
The problem of illegal emigration is a headache to virtually all underdeveloped countries in the world. But the case in Ethiopia makes this problem the highest priority that will determine the fate of hundreds of thousands of young Ethiopians that are still preparing themselves for this treacherous journey. This problem requires a solution right away, and as always the key to solving any problem starts with determining the true cause of the problem and then to eliminate the cause itself. To my surprise, the EPRDF did not ignore this case at all. Instead they lied about the cause of the problem in order to shift the blame from themselves. According to the government, the cause for thousands of Ethiopians to flee the country and embark on such a deadly journey is the lack of awareness and the skillful trickery of the local brokers. The government emphasizes that these are the true causes of the problem and the solution is to create nationwide awareness about the dangers of this journey. But I have a different opinion.
It is hard for me to believe that the only cause of this problem is lack of awareness. It might be considered a minor factor but the true question we should be asking is why these youngsters want to flee their country for exile in the first place, when the government is claiming that Ethiopia’s economy is thriving and that it has been creating jobs to millions of Ethiopians. This contradicts with the reality that thousands of Ethiopians flee their country and put themselves in harm’s way just for the sole purpose of finding jobs. I believe that there are other factors influencing these travelers to go through this journey and that these other factors might be impossible to bear that they would rather flee on foot through the desert to escape or die trying in the process.
In the former Derg regime, thousands of Ethiopians fled their country in fear of being arrested and killed. Back then the government denied all those allegations and rejected any accusation of wrong doing. Instead the Derg told the rest of the world that Ethiopians leave their country, their homes, and their families in search of better jobs and earnings. Of course we all know that was a big lie. But what really caught my attention is the fact that not half as much people fled their country in the former regime, let alone undertaking such a dangerous path. Therefore I come to ask you, is it really just economic benefit that is driving all our brothers and sisters to the slaughter houses of Yemen?
I don’t think so. I say the real reason for the flooding of Ethiopians to the ruthless deserts of Yemen is because the kidnappings and killings in the country are getting far worse now than any time in Ethiopia’s history. The only difference is that now the kidnappings and killings are done in a more discrete manner, in order to avoid the attention of the international community. We hear numerous stories of kidnappings and killings especially in the rural parts of Ethiopia, where the public attention is not so much in focus. These are the same areas where most Ethiopians fleeing the country come from. This is the true cause of the flooding youths from Ethiopia, and if something is not done now, we’ll find ourselves missing a generation of young Ethiopians that could serve their country and better their own lives in the process. I assure you that without dramatic change in the country’s leadership, the number of refugees fleeing from Ethiopia will only see a steep increase in the near future until we have lost the entire youth population of our country and we’ll be left with retired parents and grandparents crying for the sons and daughters that they have lost to this miserable journey.
When the EPRDF took power 22 years ago, they were heavily engaged in selling their story of how they “have saved Ethiopians from the butcher government of Derg,†to the rest of the world. But from what we can see now, the only thing that has changed from the past is the tactics put in place to carry out all the kidnappings and killings. The only lesson that the EPRDF has learnt from its predecessors is not how avoid their mistakes and become better leaders, but how to cover their tracks and become betters killers
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