Many Somalis have been trying to make the trip from Somalia to Yemen recently, in search of a better life. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has been trying to educate the Somalis on the risks involved through radio, they still believe that the freedom and relief from violence they will receive would outweigh the risks. About 135 of 150 people making the trip last week were thrown overboard by smugglers and forced to swim 5 kilometers to land. Only about 47 people made it back on land and the rest are missing. We can assume they are dead in what is becoming a more and more common occurrence. Dozens of bodies have been washed ashore and were buried immediately.
The Gulf of Aden are becoming some of the most dangerous waters in the world due to piracy. This year, about 23,000 migrants have attempted to reach Yemen (a number which has doubled since the previous year), and about 600 of them either died or went missing.
This is obviously a sad situation and easy to criticize these Somalis for their taking in the voyage, but can we really blame them?
3 comments:
Not to compare the Somalis' situation to anything else, but this reminds me so much of the Cubans trying to come to Miami. The Cubans are so desperate to come to the United States that they risk their lives in overcrowded, unsafe rafts which often capsize, throwing its passengers overboard. They are then forced to swim the remainder of the way, and the survival rate is slim. It is just incredible to me how desperate someone has to be to not only risk their lives, but to face an almost certain death if things go wrong just to migrate to another country. It shows how dire the situations in Cuban and Somali are. Is the Somali government doing anything to address this situation?
It seems to me that something needs to be done in order to better inform the people of Somalis of the dangers that face them should they try to escape. What horrible way for people to die... Something needs to be done to let them know what certainly awaits them should they try to leave.
Couldn't the boats be made safer as well? Why are there so many smugglers on these boats? It seems like there should be better security placed on these boats in order to protect the hundreds of people that have ridden them or will be riding on them.
I was thinking exactly what Katie just posted about the Cubans. Seeing how she took the words out of my mouth, I will avoid reiteration and not post any more.
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