Yemen Witnesses Human Trafficking Crisis

Migrants from East Africa cross into Yemen on their way to seek jobs in Gulf countries. (Flickr)

Yemen’s civil war has caused 100,000 deaths so far, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), and stories about the booming market for human trafficking of Yemenis and migrants have come to light. 

Tens of thousands of migrants from East Africa migrate to Yemen each year, hoping to reach Saudi Arabia, where they can work as laborers and servants. They cross the desert in Djibouti and then the Red Sea in crammed boats during the night. Upon reaching Yemen, migrants face abuse at the hands of human traffickers.

Many of the migrants end up in the southwest of Yemen, in the town of Ras Al-Ara. There, the traffickers hide the the migrants in huge compounds, where they face abuse and rape as the families are shaken down for money. In the series “Outsourcing Migrants” by the Washington Post, Zahra, a 20 year old migrant from Ethiopia, tells her story of the abuse she experienced at the hands of traffickers in Yemen. She explains that she was imprisoned for a month in a hut, where she was ordered to call home every day to ask for a $2000 ransom. When Zahra pleaded for her freedom, saying that she did not have family to ask for that money, she and 20 other women were raped. “They used each of the girls, every night there was rape,” she said.

The Yemeni population has also been experiencing a similar crisis with human trafficking. Poverty, lawlessness, and famine have created the perfect environment for human trafficking and black market organ sales. The Yemen Organisation for Combating Human Trafficking, an NGO based in Yemen’s capital, has documented 10,000 cases of organ sales. However, the number is understated, since many cases are unreported.

In a report by Mint Press News, Tawfiq, 35, sold his kidney for $7000, which is estimated at $30,000 in the black market, to bring money to his family. Due to the lack of follow-up care and the crude operation, Tawfiq suffers from complications and is unable to carry heavy objects. 

The Saudi blockade of the country has intensified the crisis, as the Yemeni population cannot flee or work in neighboring Gulf countries. While human trafficking is illegal in Yemen, the government has not taken measures to stop the on-going crisis or enforce existing anti-trafficking laws.