From Dreams to Despair: Elili’s Journey on the Eastern Corridor

Ma’rib – Three years ago, Elili left her country, Ethiopia, at the tender age of fourteen. She used to help her family sell clothes before setting off on a journey she dreamed would bring about a better life for herself and her family. 

She heard stories about people who had found success abroad, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but little did she know about the unimaginable dangers on this route. 

Cunning smugglers and traffickers lurk in the shadows, making false promises and deceiving young Ethiopians, like Elili, to lure them on perilous migration journeys. 

“I was not making enough money at that time. I just wanted a better life. I said to myself if many people have done it before, why couldn’t I?” Elili recalled. 

Ethiopian migrants often traverse arid deserts in Somalia, cross the treacherous waters across the Gulf of Aden, and transit through conflict-ridden Yemen on their journey to Gulf countries, most hope to reach Saudi Arabia. 

“I took the chance to run away from home one day when I went to town to buy supplies for my family. Along with other migrants, my friends and I travelled by bus across the Ethiopian borders,” Elili explained. 

“The smuggler dropped us in the middle of nowhere in Somalia and we had to continue on foot under the scorching sun.”   

When she reached Bosaso, a common departure point for migrants embarking on boat journeys from Somalia to Yemen, Elili injured her foot. She had to stay there for 15 days until she recovered from her injury. At this point, she had already spent all the money she had.  

“Due to my injury, I couldn’t keep pace with my friends. They had to move on, and I had to wait for the next boat. I never saw them again,” recalled Elili. 

Stranded without the means to pay smugglers and continue her journey, Elili did not dare at first to reach out to her father to ask for money because she ran away from home. With no other choice, she eventually made the call.  

“To my surprise, he agreed to send me money if I told him I would return home. By the time I had received the money, I had already made up my mind to go on. I didn't want to give up at that point," Elili explained. 

She and other migrants were packed into a small boat. They spent two days at sea, consumed by the fear of drowning. 

“When we reached the shores of Shabwah in Yemen, we were exhausted and famished,” Elili recalled, "But there was no time for rest. Smugglers forced us into pick-up trucks, and we travelled for three consecutive days until we reached Sa'dah.” 

Once in Sa'dah, a key migration transit hub in northern Yemen near the KSA border, Elili and her fellow migrants couldn’t cross the border due to COVID-19 mobility restrictions that were still active in 2021. 

Alternatively, smugglers sold her and the other migrants to traffickers who took them to dens in the desert.    

"We spent three gruelling months in these dens, our primary concern was when we would have our next meal,” Elili said.  

"One night, the smugglers took everyone else to a different tent, leaving me all alone. I had no idea why," Elili added as tears brimmed in her eyes. 

This was the moment when cruelty, in its most extreme form, manifested during her journey. These brutal traffickers assaulted and violated her. She endured months of physical and psychological abuse and chronic hunger. 

Eventually, Elili and the others were moved across the frontlines to Ma’rib governorate.  

They were taken to the Bin Mueli, an informal migrant settlement where they were trapped in an exploitative loop that seemed to have no end in which traffickers force women to do domestic jobs and garnish their wages. 

“At the settlement, I began experiencing fatigue and stomach pain. I was frightened when my abdomen started to swell. I thought it was some kind of illness and sought the advice of an elder, who informed me that I was pregnant. I simply couldn't understand it,” she said. 

With support from the European Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) extended a helping hand to Elili, providing her with the essentials she needed as a new mom: milk, diapers, baby oil, hygiene materials, and clothing, among other items. She was also supported with a new shelter, sleeping mats, blankets and mattresses. 

IOM, with funding from EU Humanitarian Aid, supports migrants in Ma’rib with psychosocial and health services that provide relief to communities who otherwise would not be able to access medical care. 

Elili is now getting back on her feet and making plans to return home and build a better life for herself and her child. She summoned her courage to call her father and explain to him the miserable experience she went through.  

“My father was understanding and assured me that I always have a place in the family,” Elili said.  

“I advise everyone to cherish their homes and beloved ones and make the best of the opportunities available in their home countries rather than seeking uncertain chances elsewhere,” concluded Elili.   

There are nearly 44,000 stranded migrants, living in dire conditions in Yemen, unable to continue their journeys or to return home. 

IOM’s humanitarian assistance and protection services in response to the needs of the returnees are aligned with the Regional Migrant Response Plan (MRP) for the Horn of Africa and Yemen 2023, which aims to address the needs of migrants in vulnerable situations and host communities in countries situated along the Eastern Migratory Route, located between the Horn of Africa and Yemen. 

*Names are changed for protection purposes