Smugglers make life tough for African migrants

 

IRIN:  “They took my wife and cousin,” said Mohammed Abdullah quietly in Arabic, before our Amharic-to-English translator came in. A 23-year-old Ethiopian, Mohammed has been moving between Yemen and Saudi Arabia for six years, but only recently fell prey to what some aid workers say is Saudi Arabia’s unofficial policy of dumping African migrants across the border, where they are left at the mercy of smugglers.  Mohammed made it to Saudi Arabia three years ago and worked as a jockey, before eventually being deported. Last week he tried to cross again, this time with his 20-year-old wife and 28-year-old female cousin.  Read More…