Strangely enough, if you follow developments in Ethiopia, you may spot dozens of raptures of Ethiopians when they see citizens flying back to home with Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed after he pays a visit to African countries, mainly serving as corridors of migrants to Libya and the Mediterranean Sea.
This trend does not only tell a story about a friendly prime minister but also depicts more grim life stories about the people who return with him after so many ups and downs due to the clandestine activities of illegal human traffickers and human smugglers. Some locked up behind bars for years for living in the countries illegally, some others falling in the hands of traffickers and abandoned in deserts, many have suffered due to illicit human smuggling.
The mayhem of migration has been taking its toll on countries seeing significant numbers of their population crossing the Mediterranean Sea every year. East African countries have been hotbed for such illicit acts due to war, famine and instability, what have you. This situation also becomes a blessing in disguise for illegal human traffickers to line their pocket by putting desperate people’s lives at risk.
Ethiopia is no different; the plight of its citizens has been enormous as they faced dreadful challenges when attempting to reach Europe through one of the most dangerous path of the world, the Mediterranean Sea. It is to recall that there have been tragic incidents of boat drowning with dozens of Ethiopian having already lost their lives.
Already a billion dollar business, human trafficking is posing tremendous threat not only to developing countries but also to the developed world. The problem has outsmarted the counter efforts as well. In Ethiopia, there have been attempts to mitigate illegal migration, little progress have been made though. Now that the problems reaching at fever pitch, the country is proposing a tougher law against human traffickers who chase their individual gains in mass suffering. The new law also carries death penalty.
Illegal migration in fact is affecting the low class community who are easily deceived by the cajoling and sugar coated words of brokers and traffickers. Preventive mechanisms have been directed at creating jobs for the growing numbers of youth and also taking punitive action against human traffickers. The proposed bill is expected to take the bar to new height tightening sentences against perpetrators of human trafficking.
Illegal human smuggling has been on the rise on the past few months. That is probably why the Ethiopian parliament after returning from recess immediately discussed the bill and refereed it to Legal, Justice and Democracy Affairs Standing Committee.
This is a long time coming `for a country that paid its fair share of costs due to human trafficking to tighten the punitive bill. The bill is also thought to be helpful in countering the illegal acts that are being done in collaboration with national of different countries.
It has been quite a while since European countries trying to close their borders for illegal refugees making the perilous journeys. The countries have been insisting on cracking down organized undercover human smugglers. Only few individuals have been held responsible for the crime against humanity. And many international and local organizations are welcoming the move and labeling it as icebreaker towards mitigating illegal migration.
The Ethiopian Herald Friday 20 December 2019
BY DESTA GEBREHIWOT
