In temperatures in the high forties around 1,000 Ethiopian migrants, sweating profusely, turn their backs to Saudi Arabia and start the walk south - away from the Yemeni border town of Haradh and their dreams of a new life. On the road they silently pass others heading north, still hopeful of crossing the border. Haradh is at the crossroads of these dreams - a potential gateway to a new life in Saudi Arabia, but getting there is becoming increasingly difficult. To get here, the migrants have endured considerable hardship; often taking on debt to fund the journey, walking for weeks to get to the East African coast and then crossing the shark-infested Red Sea. Thousands get picked up by smugglers in Yemen who kidnap and torture them to extract ransom money. Then, they reach what for many is the end of the road and their hopes: a dusty poverty-stricken town, 10km from an increasingly impenetrable Saudi Arabia.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 10:06:20 +0000
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