Global Migration Conference: Somalia repatriates migrants held in Libyan detention centres

World
Europe

02:08

Still on migration, Somalia is trying to repatriate thousands of migrants stuck in detention centres in Libya. The process is slow but welcome, say those who've returned home already. CGTN's Abdulaziz Billow has more.

In 2016, Ahmed Abdirizak left home, determined to reach Europe. His journey started here - at the port city of Bosaso in north-eastern Somalia. Due to its proximity to Yemen, human traffickers use Bosaso to smuggle illegal immigrants -- mainly Somalis and Ethiopians -- to oil-rich Gulf states. From there, they head to Europe.

AHMED ABDIRIZAK, FORMER MIGRANT "The ship docked near Yemen late at night. The smugglers forced us overboard, into the sea, so they could avoid being detected. We had to swim to safety. We all survived but we had nothing to eat or drink."

The International Organisation for Migration reports that hundreds of people have died trying to reach Yemen. The Arab world's poorest country is currently battling one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. Ahmed found another smuggling ring to help him leave the war-torn nation -- only to arrive in Libya.

AHMED ABDIRIZAK, FORMER MIGRANT "In Libya, smugglers separated men from women, they fed us once a day and beat those who couldn't pay the money they demanded for the journey to Europe."

This video is one of many that raised the alarm about the conditions under which migrants in Libya are held.

ABDULAZIZ BILLOW, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA "Thousands of Somali migrants are still believed to be in various detention centres across Libya. The government in Mogadishu has repatriated hundreds of people, who have been reunited with their families, but the fate of thousands more hangs in the balance."

AHMED ABDIRIZAK, FORMER MIGRANT "If there is one thing I have learned from all of this is never flee your home country. I have learnt my lesson and I hope that those stuck in Libya are brought home to safety."

AB, CGTN, MOG, SOM.