Being Stranded En Route: Navigating Ethiopian Men’s Trafficking Experience along the Eastern Desert Route

Author: Bogale, Biniyam

Abstract: The migration route extending from the city of Jijiga to the border town of Tog-wochalle near Somaliland is known as the Eastern Desert Route. This route serves as a concentration hub for many irregular migrants, including trafficking victims, arriving from the Northern and Central parts of Ethiopia, Somaliland, and Somalia without legal documents. Data were collected for this study along this route to understand the major risks and consequences encountered by trafficking victims along en route. Using a constructivist approach, data were collected through in-depth and key informant interviews, focus group discussion, and observation. Theoretical frameworks from symbolic interactionism; thematic and content analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that an increase in the number of irregular migrants transiting via the Jijiga-Tog-wochalle route and growth in the consciousness of the local community on the diverse sources of income and other economic benefits gained from the business of human trafficking have led to the emergence of new social interactions between victims and the local community. The paper concludes with policy interventions and recommendations to better help migrants.

Keywords: Ethiopia-Somali, irregular migration, trafficking, transit, risks and en-route