MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE — The UNHCR said it has learned that 8 Ethiopian asylum seekers died on February 2 from suffocation aboard a closed container truck in Mozambique. The UNHCR reported the men were among a group of 26 young Ethiopians trying to reach South Africa.
The UN refugee agency said the Ethiopian asylum seekers had been living in the Maratane refugee camp in northern Mozambique, from where they embarked on their ill-fated journey.
The driver of the truck in which they were traveling reportedly only realized the eight had suffocated when he made a stop at Mocuba, after seven hours of driving from the camp.
UNHCR spokesman, Andrej Mahecic, said the truck also was loaded with oil. He said three other men in the group had to be hospitalized and later were discharged.
He said desperate people from the Horn of Africa increasingly are taking this dangerous overland route in search of safety.
“They are fleeing the situation of the violence and conflict in Somalia and in the Horn of Africa and, of course, some of them are also fleeing poverty and lack of opportunities in their countries,” said Mahecic. “As far as we know, and the information on this is very sketchy, it is not easily available, many of these people have no other option but to embark on a risky journey and this is a service that is often provided by people with a financial interest in it.”
Mahecic said asylum seekers pay smugglers on average about $2,000 to be transported to safety. He said a lot of them head for South Africa, which is the most popular country of destination. South Africa received more than 222,000 asylum seekers in 2009, he said. That is about one-quarter of the global figure.
“Just to give you the idea of the size of the asylum applications in South Africa, if you combine all the 27 countries of the European Union, they do not match up to the numbers that South Africa is receiving,” said Mahecic. “So, there is definitely a flow in that direction.”
Mahecic noted the Maratane refugee camp is a stopping-off point for many asylum seekers whose ultimate destination is South Africa. He said the camp is becoming congested under the weight of new arrivals. He said the UNHCR is working closely with the Mozambique authorities to improve conditions in the camp.
(Source: IndepthAfrica.com)
2 thoughts on “8 Ethiopian refugees died from suffocation in Mozambique”
They are Ethiopians— Expected!
The Tears of Ethiopians
Ethiopia is one of the ancient east African countries never ever ruled by foreigners’ neither locust eaters nor colonialist. It has a famous oldest history, remains uncovered yet. This ancient history of east Africa believed to be an important significant in both Middle East and all African countries, how ever that the vibrant beams of these histories are remain in the poets.
Ethiopians are proud to be an Ethiopian though it is the land of secret. Many scholars believe it that Ethiopians refer to as the cardinal of civilization that the first human being (Adam and Eve) were dwelt and its people are descendants. It gives special meaning for the citizen that much important ancient knowledge obscured from the others that they are a chosen for God kingdom service. Thus, for Ethiopians to leave her/ his own country and go in to exile is not an easy decision. It is usually a choice only taken when the alternatives is a treat to existence itself.
The throng of this people has been challenged by atheist tribalism. It is a trigger doom day for them that they’re managed to flee through every corner of the country, fear of the silent repressions which directly jeopardizing the national identity and its famous ancient history.
Ethnic based government targets the national wealthy and its culture unities wiggled, enforced to divided and destructed. The nations hope, and ancestors depots get depreciated, the hoofs and hooks, deft and blinds were authorized. There is nothing more, left behind and though they are a reasonable to feely out
The educated people, expertise and matured society who may expect to response or protect the country were automatically dismissed or killed by different mechanism; they already vanished, hunted by fascist government. Every prisons were filed by this unfortunate people, hunting the innocent is became a fashion through all Africa and Arab Middle East countries.
These people are flees to escape from the buglers and run for protections. They might be telling about their lost lovely home and the fear. But they are neither a terrorist nor a supporter of any kind of extremist. They do not have a terrorism mind what ever they are challenged. But there government guides them to be a terrorist, to get a huge support from the external powers in order to neutralize the appeal s of the nations. Today, it has no debuts that the refugees in the neighbor countries continue hunted down blindly by unknown authorities at every corner of the countries to satisfy the régime on power
How many of them remain in the Libyan desert, how many of them taken to unknown place by unknown men, how many of them drowned in Medethreian and gulf of Eden seas, how many of them are lost in Sudan in Kenya and Egypt and how many of them are in prison, servitude for locust authorities ? The prison in home country is different from the Sudan, Kenya, Egypt, Libya, Djibouti, Yemen and Israel. The home land prison are not known to the scholars, this means, the prisons are authorized by criminals only.
The seasonal authorities are exuberant , stained with the blood of poor and innocent Ethiopians, the children, the young and the old enforced to servitude and they may those who never come back again to their families where about of them are remain unknown . Dose human body is used secretly for the market?
Ethiopians looking for a great man! ….. He, who is he? He could advocate for this innocent people. He, who is he, at this time and at this current situation? He advocating for this people against the bulky wicked authorities. He who, is he…., freed the grate nations of Ethiopia. Hey man! The golden nations are disgraced, humiliated; they became the son of streets and cheapen. The enemies are coming like floods to set out to destroy .mother of the Candace get disappointed. When the burglars are saluted as a sheep, all authorities kept silence and ignored not to care about this people .they turns there face to far the sky .The religious men astonished .why exceptionally, things are riddled and wrapped against innocent people of Ethiopia?
Syndicated powers are tacitly moves towards for the same mission. They going to fight this weakened people? The foolish leaders of this land, proud to kills own nation and telling about braveness of his patriotic power .He became the grate wolf, sounding a militarized powerful regime organized by colonialist of African land .He is just a gun whole, he think that he was the only intelligent.
Don’t forget your history! The world history is your history, the exodus were challenged just like you, they were crying but ignored by world community. A few people were take part to reversing the strategies .one person (a journalist) that could play the game. He and they scarified, they able to resist the son of Gog
Ethiopians appeal to international communities since the communist government had killed a thousands of Ethiopian people previously, a thousands of families were scattered and the nations were engulfed by crisis and grief.
As the cruel communist downed by the citizen, the ethnic front TPLF became the new government, the new government was another new dictator and updated a new crisis. TPLF is labeled as a ethnic tag and sponsored by external force to govern the horn of Africa without the nation’s interest and the dynamic nations enforced flee by ethnical based tyranny governments. The strange government comes to power and mismanage the country; the citizen is punished one by one. The national unity fail on danger and became strange, the nations experienced suffer and crisis as a daily symptoms of the citizen. It was very easy to reveres this all punishment but west and Arab countries continue support the evil on power rather support the people. They completely ignored humanity in Ethiopia
The interference of USA and UK creates a negative development, rather concedes with the nations interest for democracy. Democracy gets sucked by tribal jinee The Bush administration was seriously affect the citizen and guarantee for ethnic front. It was a grate chance when President Baraka Obama during the presidential election say ‘’we need change’’. The changes were exiting all Ethiopians and all Ethiopians were stand behind the president BARACKA OBABA.Many Ethiopians lost there job during the elections? This activity was, because of the political condition in Ethiopia, not because of the community programs for election. How ever that, What Ethiopians expected from US President BARACKA OBAMA, has not yet done. It seems the Bush administration permitted to continue in horn of Africa. If it is yes, late us know it and prepare for appeal to X Bush again for further his sympathy.
Why the ethnicity is selected for Ethiopia? Why the ethnic front TPLF is kept on power, is TPLF government is the interest of Ethiopian people? Does ethnic based federalism is a solution for Ethiopia?
What is the horn of African strategies, and who is behind it?
If our world politics is turned to ethnical based and counts ancestor, let us go back and look for our ancestors to cope with the present political movements.
African continent was accounted as an Ethiopia and thus Ethiopia was one of the richest with ancient history based on Cush accentors.
According to the ancient history and biblical records since the families of Noah, it was described briefly that the east African was the most historical and original human being home.
The son of Noah were Shem, Ham and Japheth .These three had sons after the floods; this means some of them remains there in or before floods.
The son of Ham; Cush, Egypt, Libya and Canaan were the accentors of the peoples who bear their names .The descendants of Cush were the people of Seba,Havilah,Sabatah,Raamah,and Sabteca .
Nimrod also the son of Cush was the grate hunter and conqueror. He was the first kingdom conquer all the Middle East and Babylon. The most part of Africans were the cushiest descendant
International human laws, Global center for responsibility to protect human rights must take a responsibility without segregation. The dictators splitting the countries in to pieces to weaken the nations, how much they are happy with the repressed people? The quest might be yelled another alternative, rather in to pieces uphold in to unity that horn of Africa countries are the same family and the same blood; nothing is stop them to united. we must brust the dictatoral rule of meles zenawi and renew ethiopian country
by goban gergo