Death on the Gulf of Aden: A Teenager Survivor’s Story
Obock, Djibouti — Nineteen-year-old Galgalou Haji Wacho from Ethiopia, survived the boat journey from Yemen to Djibouti this week during which eight people were killed and several others injured by armed smugglers.
Most of the thirty-four passengers on board last Sunday (04 Oct) were trying to get back to Djibouti, having failed to reach the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where they hoped to find jobs. Others were simply leaving Yemen to escape violence and poverty.
Galgalou remembers the moment the violence began.
“The smugglers started hitting us with sticks and iron bars,” he said. “An old man screamed, “If you want to kill me, kill me!” They hit him again and again and again. I swam for one or two hours in the water to reach shore. It was completely dark. I did not know whether I was dead or alive. Some of the corpses of those who were killed washed up on shore. I walked for three hours before I was picked up by IOM.”
Djibouti is a major transit point for migrants from across the East and Horn of Africa trying to reach the Arabian Peninsula by crossing the Gulf of Aden. Now, it has become a point of return for some of the estimated 14,000 migrants stranded in Yemen.
Those who died were forced into the sea at knifepoint by the smugglers and drowned. Galgalou says he is lucky to be alive.
He is now receiving medical assistance and psychological support at the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Migrant Response Centre in the coastal town of Obock, Djibouti.
The teenager can’t believe what he has witnessed and endured in the year since leaving his hometown Adama to change his life, a story similar to that of other young migrants who leave this region of Africa looking for work overseas.
Galgalou paid smugglers who promised it would take only a few days to get to Saudi Arabia where he could find work.
“I believed them. But they lied. The journey took a long time. I walked for 15 days. I was thirsty, I was hungry, and I saw migrants die along the way,” he recalled.
After crossing Ethiopia’s border into Djibouti, Galgalou took a boat to southern Yemen, where he and three other migrants walked for 11 days to reach the capital Sana’a. Yemen shares a border with Saudi Arabia, which thousands of migrants try to cross each year.
“We walked during the night because we were afraid of the war. We were afraid of being taken prisoner,” he said.
“During the journey there were moments I stopped walking because of thirst and tiredness. I thought I might die. But I kept telling myself, ‘I have to save my life’.”
Galgalou’s fears were not unfounded: Yemen is in its sixth year of conflict. Migrants have at times been caught up in the violence. Some have lost their lives in airstrikes or been injured or killed by stray bullets. IOM’s medical and protection teams in Yemen have treated and cared for migrants with conflict-related injuries while providing shelter while they heal.
Many migrants, if found by the authorities, can end up detained; detentions have been on the rise since the outbreak of COVID-19. That’s exactly what happened to Galgalou.
“When we got to Sana’a, we stayed there for five days. The day that we were supposed to leave and travel to the border with Saudi Arabia, we were caught by the police,” he said.
“I was in prison for five months. The prison was a very big hot room, where we received one meal per day. There was no shower. I was eventually able to contact my family, who paid [USD] $325 to get me out.”
Once freed Galgalou travelled to Aden on Yemen’s southern coast, where he received support, including health care, at IOM’s Migrant Response Point.
An estimated 4,000–5,000 migrants from the Horn of Africa stranded in Aden are sleeping on the side of the roads or in dangerous half-constructed and abandoned buildings. Traditional support and charity is dwindling, as local Yemeni communities struggle to deal with the impact of years of conflict, economic crisis and now COVID-19. This means that some are having to rely on smugglers for food, water and shelter, despite the same criminals often having abused, exploited or tortured them for monetary gain at some point on their journey.
IOM and partners are providing emergency assistance to the stranded migrants, but the needs are great.
“I slept on the streets for three months and became a beggar. Eventually, my family sent me [USD] $135 dollars to pay for the boat that would take me back to Djibouti, and home,” Galgalou said.
“I am lucky to alive. When I get home, back to Ethiopia, I want to warn everyone about how dangerous it is. I want to raise awareness”.
IOM is discussing with the Government of Ethiopia ways to facilitate the safe return for migrants stranded in Yemen who want to come home.