Eight Months on From the Houthi Bombing of a Migrant Detention in Yemen: The Cries of Oromo Survivors Remains Unheard

This is the first in a series of articles that will cover the stories of survivors of the March bombing and the traumas faced by Oromo migrants and asylum seekers in Yemen more generally. OLLAA’s goal is to bring attention to this largely unknown and uncovered humanitarian disaster. 

**Warning: this article contains links to disturbing content and images**

The wails of anguished voices fill the smoky air as detainees in what had been a migrant detention centre in Sana’a, Yemen, desperately search for survivors. But amongst the rubble is just the charred, blackened remains of their fellow migrants and refugees. With them goes the shattered dreams of a better life that led these mostly young Oromos to make the perilous journey from Ethiopia to Yemen in the first place: a haunting testament to the devastating end this journey has for so many who attempt it.

On March 7, 2021, the Immigration, Passport and Naturalization Authority Holding Facility (IPNA) in Sana’a was set alight by Houthi rebels, resulting in the death of more than 450 Ethiopian migrants, according to multiple witness testimonies. The conditions inside the migrant centre were extremely poor, with migrants subjected to severe overcrowding, poor to non-existent sanitation and limited food supplies. According to UNOCHA, there were as many as 900 detainees in a facility compound which was only meant to house up to 300 individuals. 

The disturbing footage that emerged in the aftermath of this horrific event is difficult viewing. But it is the fate of the survivors that perhaps most clearly illustrates the abject failure of authorities and the international community to protect its most vulnerable members. OLLAA has received testimonies from numerous survivors who received debilitating third degree burns in the fire. To this day, they have not received adequate medical attention for their injuries and many continue to be persecuted by authorities. Their stories depict the callous reality endured by Oromo migrants and refugees, and the devastatingly little attention their plight receives.

In the wake of the UNHCR’s Global Compact of Refugees 2021 Indicator report released last week, it is clear that much more needs to be done to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers are genuinely afforded their rights under international law. Too many face extortion, torture, targeted violence, and deeply degrading conditions as their vulnerable position leaves them wide open to exploitation and becoming fodder in political football (as recently seen in the Belarus migrant crisis). As things stand, Oromo migrants and refugees in Yemen are left facing two terrible options: remain stranded in one deeply unwelcoming war-torn country, or risk returning to a rapidly escalating civil war back home. For the survivors of the March Houthi bombing, debilitating injuries make even that choice out of reach. 

The UNHCR has described the situation facing migrants and refugees in Yemen as “A Great Unseen Humanitarian Crisis”. In this report, and the ones to follow, OLLAA hopes to tell the stories of these unseen and unheard survivors, who, eight months on, are still suffering deeply.

Sultan and Faisal: When hopes turn to ashes

Sultan and Faisal are two young men from the Arsi region in Oromia. They both arrived in Yemen in September 2019, and their stories are remarkably – and tragically – similar.  Now 19 years old, Sultan began the treacherous journey from Ethiopia to Yemen when he was barely 17 and still technically an unaccompanied minor. Faisal, at 20, is only one year older. Like many young men their age, both Sultan and Faisal describe their reasons for leaving Ethiopia as seeking a better life. Their ultimate goal is getting to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, where they have heard work is plentiful. 

But in the photos and footage that OLLAA has received of these two young men, it is difficult to picture the youthful hope and determination that must have started this journey with them. Instead, peeking out from the white bandages that cover their heads, faces and arms, is the confronting legacy of third degree burns. These are not the sort of burns that heal by themselves, and eight months on since they narrowly escaped being burned alive, the wounds are still raw.

According to the International Organization of Imigration (IOM), most are unaware of the ongoing war ravaging Yemen when they begin their journey. In hard-hit farming regions such as the Arsi zone in Oromia, where up to 400,000 people are experiencing extreme hunger, little information trickles back about the political situation of the Gulf countries. They do not know that Saudi policy has hardened towards migrants since the implementation of the “Saudization” policy in 2015, or that they have been imprisoning Ethiopian migrants since the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic. According to a damning report by Amnesty International released in October 2020, Ethiopians have been “abandoned and abused in Saudi prisons”.

However, even for those that are more aware of the dangers, some are still desperate enough to make the journey. Sultan tells us that the men of his village were also in the ward, but debilitated by his current condition, he does not know whether they made it out. And although he received some medical attention immediately after the bombing, it was by no means enough: he requires operations to his hands and back, as well as his head, face and eyes. It is unclear when – and if – these operations will take place. 

A similar story confronts Faisal; despite remaining in hospital since the event took place, he too has received deeply inadequate care for the seriousness of his injuries. Like Sultan, Faisal requires multiple operations to his head, face and arms, and has also lost an eye. From the images and footage received by OLLAA, it is clear that there is still a long road to recovery for both Sultan and Faisal.

But even before the bombing of the migrant detention in March, these two young men had already faced great trauma in their pursuit of their dream of a better life. Not only is the road to Yemen fraught with danger – from the treacherous boat trip across the red sea, to the intense 40°C sun that beats down along the desert roads these young men must walk by foot – even once they arrive they are immediate prey for opportunistic smugglers, armed groups and criminal gangs who torture, kidnap and extort these vulnerable migrants.

Faisal tells us that he was in the city of Rada’a for two years before he made it to Saada in Yemen’s north to attempt the crossing to Saudi Arabia. With Saudi Arabia imposing a hard border, Faisal didn’t make it past the checkpoint and was imprisoned in Saada, a Yemen border city. There, he tells us, he was physically abused and tortured for a week, before being sent to the passport centre in Sana’a, where the bombing took place just one week later.

Although he was based in another city called Ma’rib for those 2 years, Sultan’s journey closely resembles that of Faisal. After finally attempting to cross the border, he also became imprisoned in the Saada centre for a week. Sultan also tells of the torture he experienced during his time in Saada – before being transferred to the cramped, unsanitary conditions in the Sana’a migrant detention centre in the days before the awful event took place.

For Sultan and Faisal, the events of March 7 that have left their young bodies disfigured and bed-bound, are the culmination of a long journey fraught with tragedy.

Conclusions

The mistreatment of Ethiopian refugees in Yemen and Saudi Arabia has been well-documented, including a comprehensive Human Rights Watch report from 2019, which delved into the trafficking, exploitation, torture, and abusive prison conditions faced by Ethiopians along the Gulf migration route. In the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, this situation has only gotten worse.

It is young, vulnerable migrants and refugees like Sultan and Faisal who are forced to bear the brunt of inhumane border policies and inadequate protections for those who are simply trying to build a better life for themselves and their families. It is their stories and dreams that so easily vanish when the international community turns its ever volatile attention away.

The horrific events of March 7, 2021, when hundreds of Ethiopian detainees were burned alive by those meant to be protecting them, is a truly heinous crime that has repercussions that continue to this day. OLLAA believes that we owe it to the victims and the survivors of this atrocity to continue to call out the perpetrators and urge the international community to do more to not only prevent it from recurring but investigate.

Per survivors’ quest to assist with medical expenses, we humbly ask you to support them directly –> HERE

We express our deep gratitude to Arafat Jibreel and Fayissa Baye for all their hard work bringing these testimonies to OLLAA.