MOGADISHU (Kaab TV) – Nearly a hundred young people, mostly from Somaliland, who were among the migrant youths returned from Libya, reported that they are struggling in Mogadishu.
The young people who filed a complaint in Mogadishu said that the United Nations Migration Agency (IOM) and the Somali Embassy in Libya had promised them financial assistance—$5,000 to be exact—upon their return. However, they reported that they are currently living in a small room provided by the IOM, with no sign of the promised money.
Yahye Abdullahi Jama, one of the youths from Somaliland, said that upon their arrival in Mogadishu, their identity cards were taken, leaving them with no one to turn to for help.
“When we were in Libya, we were told not to register in Hargeisa, but in Mogadishu. We were promised that we would be paid $5,000,” said Yaxye.
“We are still imprisoned in Libya; we are being detained at 10:00 p.m.,” he continued.
Yasin, another youth, told Kaab TV that the youths from Mogadishu have been separated, while those from Somaliland are now isolated in the city.
“And we are being discriminated against in a special way,” he said.
These young people, now in a desperate situation, regretted agreeing to return. They said they had been less than 14 km from the coast of Lampedusa, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.
They accused Somalia’s ambassador to Libya of deceiving them, making them believe there was hope in Somalia—a hope they now feel they have lost.
“The Somali ambassador belongs to the smugglers [smuggling gangs],” Yaxye said.
The Somali government and the IOM have been arranging flights for young people intercepted on the shores of Libya as they attempt to migrate to Europe.
The IOM has yet to comment on the financial promises that were made and later withdrawn.
Kaab TV has also received no response from the Somali immigration department or the Somali embassy in Libya.