Exposed: How Malawians risk everything to escape poverty in search of a better life, only to face exploitation and danger – Malawi Nyasa Times

It was supposed to be a gateway to economic freedom. Despite the dangers and costs of the journey, the prospects of a good life in Europe after a short stay in South Africa were worth the risk.

From the beginning of the journey, Emanuel Osman (name changed) realized that this would be a dangerous journey. The traffickers were callous and showed all the signs of being part of a syndicate controlled by very powerful people.

“In an ideal situation I could have just hopped on a plane from ADDIS to Europe, but obtaining a passport is a challenge in my country. When I saw how my family was suffering, I decided to come to Europe via the Southern African transit route, the one that many migrants prefer because it passes through countries that are politically stable,” said Emanuel.

Like a relay race, Emanuel recalls how they, along with 29 other migrants, were smuggled from one province to another, from one group of human traffickers to another, until they finally reached Malawi, where he decided he could not continue the journey .

The arrest of former Malawian Minister of Internal Security Uladi Mussa in connection with helping illegal migrants obtain Malawi passports and the arrest of former Malawian President Tadikira Mutharika’s son (who was later acquitted) following the death of 30 suspected Ethiopian migrants are examples of how sophisticated the human smuggling syndicate is.

The migrants are not coerced or forced to use the southern route. Although it would be cheaper to use chartered routes, the migrants, who despite having the means to travel through chartered routes, prefer unfamiliar routes due to the challenges they face in obtaining a travel document in their home country and the immigration and visa rules in their intended country. destination.

Emmanuel, an Eritrean national who embarked on this adventurous journey in 2016 and decided to settle in Malawi after witnessing the death of fellow migrants in a fuel tanker, recalls how he suffered during the long road trip.

“I have never suffered so much as during this long journey; there were thirty of us in a van that under normal circumstances would have to carry ten people,” he recalls.

The journeys are risky and dangerous, some migrants are left behind along the way because they have not paid enough money for their journey, while others die along the way. Death in transit is a common phenomenon among illegal migrants, who are usually transported under the most inhumane conditions.

“We heard stories of how some people died along the way and we indeed witnessed some of our colleagues dying along the way. We also witnessed stranded migrants – possibly abandoned by other traffickers. For those of us who survived, we were passed by several groups of transporters as we crossed each border until we were finally apprehended by authorities in Malawi,” said one of the 52 Ethiopian nationals apprehended by immigration authorities last March.

The person recalled how some community members at the Malawi border – who were paid by the traffickers – helped them gain access; this, according to him, was the situation at all the borders they passed through.

“From one country to another we switched trucks, we were welcomed at every border entrance by a team of other traffickers – the transporters were organized in such a way that we did not have many challenges entering one country from another. We usually entered a country at night,” he said.

The deaths of 29 suspected Ethiopian nationals found in mass graves in northern Malawi were just another reminder of the challenges faced by migrants in search of a better life. The migrants are believed to have suffocated while being smuggled into the Malawian capital Lilongwe. They were found buried in a mass grave in a forest in Mzimba district, about 250 kilometers from the capital.

According to the United Nations, there were approximately 281 million international migrants in 2020, representing 3.6 percent of the world’s population. According to the IOM, an average of 200 to 400 migrants and asylum seekers enter Malawi every month. Between January and September 2022, immigration authorities and police in Malawi intercepted 221 migrants, 186 of whom were Ethiopians. The Government of Malawi is working with its partners UNHCR and IOM to address the situation.

“Malawi records an average of 200 illegal entries per month, which were recently intercepted due to good working relationships between immigration authorities, police and local communities,” Pasqually Zulu, national immigration public relations officer at the time, told Nyasa Times.

He said good working relations between immigration authorities, police and communities have resulted in the interception of about 221 migrants, mainly from Ethiopia.

“It is not just Ethiopian migrants who have been arrested for illegally entering the country, we have also arrested some from Asia, whom we have successfully prosecuted and deported,” he said.

Under Malawian law, illegal entry carries a fine of US$71 or a three-month prison sentence, followed by deportation to the country of origin.

Migrants, mainly from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Tiguary and a cross-section of Burundi and Rwanda who leave their countries due to conflict, food insecurity, religious persecution or economic failure, have preferred Malawi as a transit route to Europe since the late 1990s, because the country has porous boundaries.

Nyasa Times, interviewed with a number of migrants recently apprehended by Malawian immigration authorities, indicates that the country has also been a favored transit route because it is peaceful, coupled with the high level of corruption among security agents, including some immigration officials, makes it a favorite route for the migrants.

Most migrants who pay between $2,500 and $3,000 to be smuggled through Malawi to South Africa do not make it. Some die along the way, while others, especially women forced to travel under promises of good jobs in Europe, end up as sex slaves along the way.

At Dzaleka refugee camp in Dowa District, central Malawi, Nyasa Times met a woman we will call Samira for her safety. In an interview, Samira told Nyasa Times that most women who engage in sex work in the camp do not do so of their own free will.

“Incidents of sexual exploitation are common among refugees in the camp. Most victims are girls trafficked by human trafficking syndicates. These girls have no choice but to accept the demands of their masters. I once underwent the same ordeal.” said Samira.

According to The Borgen Project, human trafficking in the Dzaleka refugee camp takes many forms. Traffickers force men into forced labor, while women and girls face sexual exploitation in the camp, sometimes in the city or in other countries in southern Africa.

According to Inspector Yusuf Shaibu, who at the time of the interview was Karonga’s public relations officer before being transferred to the Mzimba District Immigration Office, the migrants sometimes enter the country through Lake Malawi, but authorities monitor the lake and checked the lake crossings. reduced.

“Sometimes the migrants try to enter the country through the lake, but regular patrols along the lake have brought the crossing points under control,” Shaibu said.

However, he said there are some members of the community who have been assisting the trafficking syndicate due to the financial gains from human trafficking, but through regular sensitization campaigns, these people now understand the security risks of aiding the trafficking syndicate.

“Immigration authorities are working with local authorities to sensitize communities to the dangers of aiding illegal entry of migrants into the country, but some sections of our community continue to support the human smuggling syndicate out of greed and selfishness,” said Karonga village chief Mwakaboko . Northern Malawi told The New Humanitarian.

Pearson Kilembe, a community member at Songwe in Karonga, told Nyasa Times that previously some community members helped the migrants enter the country via the Songwe River and Lake Malawi, but this has since stopped after the awareness campaigns.

“Of course, I cannot rule out that some people are still helping the traffickers, as explained by the interception of some migrants, but village immigration subcommittees have been monitoring the situation and community members who supported the syndicate have been reduced,” said Kilembe.

Malawi Police Public Relations Officer Peter Kalaya says controlling illegal migration is a challenge because the migrants are helped by members of the local communities.

“The challenging part in cracking the human trafficking syndicate is that the traffickers are assisted by the local communities. There are some members of the community who are willing to support the syndicate for monetary gain. The police and immigration authorities. We are working with local chiefs in border districts to sensitize their people to the dangers of human trafficking,” Kalaya said.

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