A growing number of young Ethiopians are risking their lives to reach Saudi Arabia, lured by the hope of better economic opportunities but often met with abuse, detention, and deportation.
Among them is Yasin Omar, who told The New Humanitarian (TNH) that after years of poverty and unemployment near Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, he joined thousands of compatriots taking the perilous “Eastern migration route” through Somaliland, Yemen, and eventually into Saudi Arabia.
“The dalalas [smuggling brokers] tell you only good things about Saudi Arabia,” Yasin said. “They never tell you about the beatings, the starvation, or the torture.”
According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 235,000 Ethiopians attempted this route last year, making it one of the most dangerous undocumented migration flows in the world.
The journey involves crossing borders on foot, facing extortion and abuse from traffickers, enduring cramped boat rides across the Red Sea, and surviving weeks of walking through war-torn Yemen. Many don’t make it. Others, like Yasin, face inhumane treatment in Saudi prisons upon arrival.
“They packed 300 of us in a single cell with barely enough food. We were beaten, humiliated, and tortured,” Yasin recounted. He was detained for nine months before being deported.
While some Ethiopian migrants are able to earn and remit money home, most endure suffering along the way. A recent report by Human Rights Watch accused Saudi border forces of killing hundreds of Ethiopian migrants trying to cross from Yemen in 2023, raising urgent concerns about the treatment of migrants in the region.
The issue has also been exacerbated by Ethiopia’s internal instability, including ethnic violence, economic hardship, and conflict in regions like Amhara and Oromia. Many migrants interviewed by TNH said they had no alternative but to leave.
International aid groups have called for greater attention to these South-South migration flows, which often fall outside global humanitarian focus. Meanwhile, families in Ethiopia continue to send off loved ones, clinging to hope amid increasingly desperate conditions.