SIHMA

Researching Human Migration across Africa

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01 Jul

The Eastern Route: Where Despair Crosses Borders and Hope Dies Quietly

Between 2019 and 2024, the borderlands between Yemen and Saudi Arabia became a stark landscape of peril for Ethiopian migrants navigating the Eastern Route. Along this path, individuals have faced violence, exploitation, and a lack of legal protection. While multiple testimonies and reports have surfaced, international accountability has proven elusive.

 

A 2023 report by Human Rights Watch exposes the widespread use of explosive weapons, firearms, and other forms of abuse by border guards, allegations that point to deeply disturbing patterns in the treatment of migrants. Survivors interviewed by the organisation(Human Rights Watch ) recounted harrowing personal experiences. Among them, 14-year-old Hamdiya described the scale of violence: “We were fired on repeatedly. I saw people killed in a way I had never imagined. I saw 30 people killed on the spot. I pushed myself under a rock and slept there. I could feel people sleeping around me. I realised what I thought were people sleeping around me were dead bodies. I woke up and I was alone.”

A 20-year-old woman named Dahabo shared her traumatic ordeal: “I am pregnant from rape by a smuggler. I am in a mental crisis because of that.”  These firsthand accounts not only reveal the severity of a spiralling humanitarian crisis but also reflect the broader geopolitical tensions and entrenched diplomatic complexities surrounding migration in the region.

 

Among the voices emerging from this journey is that of Yasin Omar, a young Ethiopian man from Dire Dawa. His account traces a route marked by poverty, trafficking, and months in detention. While deeply personal, his story reflects patterns shared by many others who embark on this route. Yasin's experience offers insight into the vulnerabilities that drive migration: decisions rooted not in ambition, but necessity. “Whether I die or not, it’s better I try my chance,”  he told (The New Humanitarian, 2025). A sentiment that echoes across countless others facing similar uncertainties.

This growing migration trend has coincided with political and economic challenges within Ethiopia. While reforms in 2018 brought initial optimism, many including youth movements such as Qeerroo, continue to express concern about persistent unemployment, corruption, and arbitrary detention. Ethiopia's new government initiated a comprehensive reform program to address widespread discontent and economic challenges. Two major political reforms included the release of thousands of political prisoners and the removal of several opposition groups from the list of terrorist organisations, which aimed to foster political dialogue and open up the civic space (US Department of State, 2018). Simultaneously, the government implemented significant economic reforms, such as announcing the partial privatisation of state-owned enterprises in key sectors like telecommunications and aviation to attract foreign investment, and introducing a new, more flexible exchange rate system to alleviate foreign exchange shortages and stabilise the economy. These changes were intended to usher in an era of greater political freedom and economic prosperity after decades of state-led control. In 2024 alone, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) recorded over 234,000 Ethiopian migrants travelling the Eastern Route (IOM, 2025).

 

Interviews with families in rural Ethiopia reveal the profound emotional toll of ongoing migration movements. Farmers such as Negesu Tabse and Bonsai Said expressed a mix of hope and sorrow, describing how their sons urged others to stay even as they themselves stepped into the unknown. Multiple investigations, including eyewitness accounts reported by (The Guardian, 2025), have highlighted harrowing conditions at border regions, detailing allegations of abuse, coercion, and extrajudicial violence.

Human Rights Watch situates many of these abuses within a broader framework of impunity, documenting disturbing behaviour by border officials, including instances where migrants were allegedly asked how they preferred to be harmed. One survivor a 17-year-old boy recounted a harrowing act of sexual violence, alleging that Saudi border guards “forced him and other survivors to rape two girl survivors after the guards had executed another survivor who refused.” Another account detailed a chilling interaction in which guards reportedly asked, “Which limb would you prefer to be shot in?” before firing at close range (Human Rights Watch, 2023). Despite extensive documentation and mounting international concern, formal responses from the governments involved remain scarce (Human Right Watch, 2023). This lack of accountability has cast renewed scrutiny on the limitations of global human rights frameworks, particularly when challenged by powerful diplomatic and economic alliances.

 

The events along the Eastern Route represent more than a regional migration issue; they reflect deeper global tensions about the responsibilities of protection and the reach of international norms. In many cases, marginalised migrants become nearly invisible in wider geopolitical calculations. Stories like Yasin’s and many other survivors speak to the human cost of such dynamics and invite a closer look at how vulnerabilities are shaped, experienced, and too often overlooked.

 

References

Human Rights Watch. (2023, August 21). Saudi Arabia: Mass Killings of Migrants at Yemen Border. Retrieved from Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/08/21/saudi-arabia-mass-killings-migrants-yemen-border

Human Rights Watch. (2023, August 21). They Fired on Us Like Rain”. Retrieved from Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/report/2023/08/21/they-fired-us-rain/saudi-arabian-mass-killings-ethiopian-migrants-yemen-saudi

IOM . (2025, March 6 ). MIGRATION ALONG THE EASTERN ROUTE. Retrieved from IOM : https://dtm.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1461/files/reports/2024_Yearly_Eastern_Route_Report.pdf?iframe=true

The Guardian. (2025, February 28). Saudi border forces accused of killing ‘hundreds of Ethiopian migrants’. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/28/saudi-border-forces-accused-of-killing-hundreds-of-ethiopian-migrants

The New Humanitarian. (2025, April 23). I am going to Saudi Arabia, or my grave”: The exodus of Ethiopia’s frustrated youth. Retrieved from The New Humanitarian: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2025/04/23/ethiopia-frustrated-youth-south-south-migration-africa

US Department of State. (2018). 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ethiopia. Retrieved from US Department of State: https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/ethiopia/#:~:text=Exile%3A%20The%20prime%20minister's%20call,passing%20of%20the%20amnesty%20proclamation%2C

 

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