Young Somali facing dangers in seeking better life overseas

For most of these young Somalis, the common means of getting abroad is a deadly voyage across the Aden Gulf on tiny, unreliable boats prone to capsizing.

Up to now, hundreds of Somali migrants have been killed in the rough, turbulent high seas with only a handful of them luck enough to survive to tell their story.

Abdinasir Adam, from the capital city of Mogadishu, tried the deadly voyage once but had to quit upon reaching Yemen.

He recalled the voyage of life and death, “It was a tough voyage. Problems started when the boats entered the Yemeni waters. We were beaten and all the ladies raped, worse still it rained and our boat was stuck in the deep seas for three days. Upon reaching Yemen, we were arrested.”

Among the victims of such experiences is also the 18-year-old Samia Yussuf, a Somali athlete who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Like most of her friends, she took the dreary voyage across the gulf in search for better opportunities outside. Unfortunately for Samia, her boat capsized and she drowned.

Mohamed Abukar Zubeir, an official from Somali Federation of Trade Unions, said that more job opportunities and secure environment are the main attractions for the young Somalis to step onto the deadly voyage.

“The jobs available in the country are quite limited. The security is actually unstable and even sometimes it’s getting worse. And people actually would like to get, you know, jobs, or otherwise, security so that they can just survive and get better lives in their homes. And due to these reasons, they prefer to go to outside countries, and for the sake of their survival and also security,” said Zubeir.

Source: Reuters