From Ethiopia to South Africa: The human cost of a neglected migration route
Sometime in October last year, a truck stopped on a quiet road in northern Malawi’s Mtangatanga forest and offloaded 29 bodies. They had suffocated in the back of the vehicle and were hastily buried in shallow graves. The dead were Ethiopian men, aged between 25 and 40 – victims of a lucrative transnational smuggling network that funnels tens of thousands of people into southern Africa each year, with little regard for their safety.
Editor’s note: This ongoing series explores the humanitarian implications of South-South migration. Although South-South migration flows are larger than the numbers of people heading South to North – with all the inherent risks of undocumented travel – these cross-border, intra-regional journeys tend to be neglected by governments and aid agencies.