The 5 risks irregular migrants from Nigeria face
The 5 risks irregular migrants from Nigeria face
For Nigerians, moving to Europe has become increasingly difficult. Thousands have tried to travel irregularly, at their own risk. Here, you will find the five main dangers facing irregular migrants from Nigeria on their way to Europe.
Knowledge is power. This information may help you or someone you know. Read and share.
Exploitation by people smugglers
Smugglers are criminals who pretend that both the journey and settling in Europe are easy in order to get money. Smugglers often lie about the safety of the route and modes of transport, particularly boats.
The United Nations sanctioned human traffickers in Libya for their many crimes. Even if they know the migrant’s family and friends, smugglers still exploit them and put them in dangerous situations.
Adora, a 22 year old Nigerian woman, was abandoned by her smuggler along with 50 others in the Sahara Desert and left to die. Only six survived. The rest died of starvation and thirst as smugglers don’t want migrants to carry water, because it is heavy.
Often, smugglers pass on or sell migrants to others en route. Smugglers may also demand ransoms from family members and they can be very violent and even kill migrants. Some smugglers have reportedly shot migrants on the beach in Libya if they refused to get on the boat.
Kidnapping and theft
There are many stories of migrants being kidnapped when crossing Mali, Mauritania and Niger as well as while trying to leave Libya. Kidnappers capture migrants and then call their families and demand a ransom. This often happens in the Sahara Desert and is sometimes planned in advance with drivers selling the migrants to kidnappers for large sums of money. Kidnappers often torture migrants and call their families so they can hear what is happening.
Azam, 30, from Nigeria, said masked kidnappers stormed the truck he was travelling in with about 30 people and shot dead the driver and three passengers. They were tortured by the kidnappers until their families paid the ransom.
Instead of supporting their family, migrants become a burden.
Migrants may also be robbed by bandits as they travel through the desert and lose the few belongings they have.
Abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents
African migrant children are at the most at risk of abuse. More than three in four children and young adults trying to migrate from Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe through the Mediterranean face various forms of exploitation on their journey. The irregular migration journey is extremely dangerous for children. Children go without education and face isolation and abuse.
More than 1,200 migrant children died from 2014 to 2018 as recorded by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly half of whom perished while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
People smugglers in sub-Saharan Africa are now injecting underage migrant girls with a harmful contraceptive, due to the very high risk that they will be raped on their journey from Africa to Europe.
There have been many reports of children going missing during irregular migration journeys who are then at risk of sexual and labour exploitation and are forced to work to pay back smugglers for the costs of their journey.
Violence and exploitation of women
The irregular migration journey is particularly dangerous for women and girls. Many women experience physical abuse, torture, rape, enslavement and other forms of psychological abuse. Perpetrators include criminal gangs, smugglers, traffickers, border guards, police and fellow migrants.
“Sometimes the man would come. The man has many boys, a lot of boys that work with him, so beating us every day, every night… Even raping us almost every night. Rape every night. He say we should pay money. If we don’t pay we don’t go anywhere.”
- Female migrant in Libya
Nigerian women are very vulnerable to human trafficking and can be forced to work in the sex trade in Libya and in Europe. Often women are told they will get a job as a nanny or in a hair salon, but when they arrive in their destination country they are forced into prostitution.
Sometimes Nigerian women know that they will have to work as prostitutes, but they do not know that the smugglers will keep the money or that they will be beaten and raped.
Women risk being raped and forced into prostitution at all stages of the journey. One migrant reported that when they arrived in Qatrun, a village in southern Libya, lots of women were forced to turn to prostitution. If the women refused, guards would lock them up in a room for days without food or water. If the guards didn’t think that the women were productive enough, they would sell them on.
Even in Europe, detention facilities and other accommodation centres do not always meet the protection needs of women and girls, and they face multiple levels of harassment. Rape is common, even in reception centres and refugee camps in Europe.
Rejected from Europe, Nigerians return
Once in Europe, thousands of Nigerians are being forced to return, because they have no legal right to be there. Many arrived irregularly and applied for asylum. However, as Nigeria is not at war and the government is not systematically persecuting citizens, Nigerians are often not eligible for asylum. Nigerian applications for asylum have one of the highest rejection rate of all African nationals arriving in Europe.
In 2016, over 20,000 Nigerians were denied asylum in Europe and told to return home. In 2018, Germany announced it would be sending tens of thousands Nigerians home. The German government added that 99 per cent of Nigerian asylum claims would likely be rejected, because Nigeria is not at war and the government does not politically persecute its citizens.
Are there other options?
There are three legal options to migrate regularly to Europe, you will find all the information you need about the legal avenues to Europe here: Alternatives to irregular migration for Nigerians
An increasing number of Nigerians return to the country or decide to stay given the risks and price of irregular migration. Find out more about Nigerians returning home: https://www.themigrantproject.org/migrants-nigeria/
The good news: there are a growing number of opportunities for young Nigerians to build the successful life they wish for. Discover them here: Ten alternatives to irregular migration for Nigerians.