Thousands of irregular and undocumented migrants in Lebanon have lost their livelihoods due to COVID-19 and the economic crisis. Many have begun to return home to Ethiopia.
Sewasew聽Gereme聽is among the returnees. She chose to return from Lebanon five months ago, at the onset of the pandemic, when she was dismissed by her employer.聽
鈥淲e lost our jobs, we struggled. Some of our friends fell ill,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hings in Beirut are currently bad, and it was getting to a point where our lives were at risk.鈥澛�
Ethiopia received over 15,300 returnees since 1 April 2020:聽
- 4,440 from Sudan聽
- 3,700 from Djibouti聽
- 3,000 from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)聽
- 2,700 from Somalia聽
- 640 from Lebanon聽
- 1,000 from other countries (e.g. Kuwait)聽
Staff from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other humanitarian organizations facilitated the returnees鈥� arrival, directing them to handwashing facilities, and urging physical distancing to reduce risk of the disease being transmitted.聽
The migrants have been screened for symptoms of the disease and given Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by Ethiopia鈥檚 Public Health Institute. The majority are young women who were working in the Middle East, are all now in government-led quarantine聽centres.聽
IOM also is providing travel allowances for migrants to get back to their towns and villages across the country, after leaving quarantine.聽
鈥淭he quarantine聽centre聽is the most critical part of the journey for returning migrants amid the COVID-19 pandemic,鈥� said聽Milun聽Jovanovic, the Head of Operations at IOM Ethiopia. 鈥淲e are doing our best to provide all the necessary items at quarantine聽centres聽together with the government and streamlining efforts by other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations.鈥澛�
IOM is also distributing essential items PPE, bedding, sanitation products, and tents, donated by UNICEF, UNHCR, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Concern Worldwide, Action Aid, Samaritan鈥檚 Purse, and TT Shoe Factory, to quarantine聽centres.聽But,聽more returning migrants are expected in the country in the coming days and weeks, at a time when COVID-19 infection rates in Ethiopia are still rising.聽
鈥淎s per the UN resolution and the African Union communique, one of the ways to get COVID-19 under control is to restrict movement. The recommendation is to assist citizens where they are instead of moving them,鈥� said聽Tsion聽Teklu, State Foreign Minister of Ethiopia.聽
An estimated 460,000 Ethiopians have migrated to the Gulf between 2008 and 2013. Hundreds of thousands of others have migrated through irregular channels, mainly via Yemen.
