Migrants cross from Africa to war-torn Yemen in hope of reaching the Gulf states
The sea crossing from Djibouti is only about 20 kilometers, but rough water, crowded boats, and a war on the other side have not stopped nearly 178,000 people this year.
Global News Podcast · Houthis attack Saudi airport for third time in four daysOn a Saturday night, a crowded boat left Djibouti for Yemen and sank shortly after it set off. Almost 140 people died, 84 were missing, and 82 were rescued. The boat went down near the northern Djibouti town of Obock.
Those on board were traveling one of the busiest migration paths in the world, called the eastern route, which runs from Africa to the Middle East, with a short sea leg from Djibouti followed by a land journey across Yemen. The journey usually starts in Ethiopia, with smaller numbers from Somalia, both countries in the Horn of Africa, and migrants travel overland into Djibouti.
The International Organization for Migration, an agency that tracks movement and helps after shipwrecks, counts about 178,000 arrivals in Djibouti between January and October of this year. The same agency reports about 20,000 people crossing from neighboring Ethiopia into Djibouti since September 10.
From Djibouti, migrants make a crossing of about 20 kilometers to Yemen. The water is rough. Survivors of this sinking, as reported by BBC reporter Richard Kagoe, said the boat was overcrowded and began sinking as they boarded.
Yemen has a war going on, but the migrants pass through it toward the southern border of Saudi Arabia in an attempt to reach the Gulf states. Kagoe said they knew about the war and were willing to take the chance anyway.
Some on this boat had tried before. In Kagoe's account of what survivors said, about 150 people on this boat had attempted the crossing before, had been turned back, and were trying again.
Questions people ask
Why go through Yemen if it is at war?
Yemen sits between Africa and Saudi Arabia, so migrants pass through it to reach the Saudi border by land. The source describes migrants as risking travel through a country where war is ongoing in order to try their luck reaching the Gulf states.
What makes such a short boat trip so deadly?
The source points to two problems: rough seas in the strait and overcrowding. Survivors said this boat was overcrowded and began sinking as they boarded, and it went down shortly after leaving Djibouti.
What are migrants hoping to find in the Gulf?
The source says migrants are trying to reach the Gulf states, mostly through Saudi Arabia's southern border, to try their luck. It does not list specific jobs.