Jul 19 2024 30 mins
Warning: This episode contains references to human exploitation and is only intended to be heard by adults aged 18 and over. If you are likely to find this distressing, emotionally triggering or challenging, please consider carefully how you might want to engage with this episode. We’ve provided links for support agencies in the description below. Stay safe.
Welcome to this week’s episode where I talk to Meron Abdi.
Meron is a former public prosecutor in Ethiopia within the Customs Authority for the Ministry of Justice.
Meron initially discusses how prosecutors in Ethiopia guide the police to conduct their investigations. In cases of human trafficking, prosecutors will regularly go with police to the locations where the trafficking took place to gather evidence.
But in Ethiopia, as with many other countries, some communities don’t always accept police in, especially if the communities themselves financially benefit from the human trafficking and people smuggling taking place.
Some communities in Ethiopia advocate for paying smugglers to send young men and women away to work, who in turn will remit the money back to the community. The community will regularly sell their cattle and other possessions to pay for the journey.
Meron explains the three major smuggling routes out of Ethiopia and the dangers that the migrants face. Many experience being locked in containers, overcrowded boats, and die along the journey through illness, starvation, kidnappings and torture.
The Ethiopian Government are trying to raise awareness to the communities on the risks of smuggling, but the flow of migration seems to be increasing. But was this always the case?
The full video version of this episode is available on our official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@illustroconsultancyltd
If you or someone you suspect is a victim of modern slavery or other forms of exploitation or abuse, please see the list of support agencies and reporting lines below.
Your call could save someone’s life…including your own. Stay safe.
Support agencies and reporting lines
UK emergency 999 / non-emergency 112, Europe emergency 112, US emergency 911 (A full list of global emergency telephone numbers can be accessed on Wikipedia at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...)
UK National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
Childline 0800 1111
Crimestoppers UK 0800 555111
UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline 08000 121 700
Migrant Help 0808 8010 503
Rape Crisis England & Wales 0808 500222
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