why are Ethiopians leaving Ethiopia?
and surveillance by way of confiscation
Hi there,
It’s good to be back home in Addis, where the weather is now comparatively as hot as Djibouti. That’s an exaggeration, but it does feel like it’s getting there.
This week’s edition features some great reporting on migration. Not included in the updates below, but worth mentioning here, is the 76 million Birr in fines that the city administration has collected from individuals and companies found polluting rivers in Addis Abeba.
The regulation just came into effect last month, and it looks like they’re not playing about this new Addis they’re building over here.
My name is Maya Misikir, and I’m a freelance reporter based in Addis Abeba. I write Sifter, this newsletter where I send out the week’s top 5 stories on human rights and news in Ethiopia.
Now, to the news.
Labor rights: migration continues, unabated
In the past two editions, I wrote about (lawful yet questionable) migration of workers from Ethiopia to Gulf countries. Not enough are going to get the targeted and much-desired USD for the government, and those who are there are working in abominable conditions.
But there are far more Ethiopians making their way out of the country using irregular routes. I usually write about the Eastern route in this newsletter. The route goes from Ethiopia through Somalia or Djibouti, then Yemen, and ends in Saudi Arabia (home to 750,000 Ethiopians). I came across many Ethiopians last week in Djibouti, in rural farming fields, as well as everywhere else, where they came looking for work.
Belay, an Ethiopian man I met in Djibouti’s Riyad Market, told me about his trip from Ethiopia’s Amhara region, where he fled conscription by the region’s armed fighters, the Fano (more on that below).
He had arrived a month ago and worked in the market pushing deliveries around in his wheelbarrow (‘I haven’t even changed the shoes I had on when I came’, he told me, pointing at his plastic sandals).
The Djiboutian government announced last month that Ethiopians without permits have a month to voluntarily return home (3 April to 2 May).
Here’s an excerpt from a story on The Reporter:
The latest edict from the Djiboutian government could affect thousands of Ethiopians, many of whom have called the tiny coastal nation home for decades. The Ethiopian embassy has advised those without residence permits to leave the country before the end of a one-month grace period…
This new enforcement ‘coincides’ with a ‘visit to Djibouti by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’, adds the story (‘budding relations between Cairo and Djibouti come as Ethiopia continues its efforts to secure maritime access’.)
‘Numberless’ young people in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, where another conflict with an armed group (OLA) is in its sixth year, are also making their way out, convinced that ‘they must reach Saudi Arabia at any cost’.
Here’s an excerpt from a story on The New Humanitarian, on this:
Overall, at least 234,015 people left Ethiopia in 2024 and headed towards the Red Sea coastline – a 27% increase on the previous year…
And while Ethiopians of other ethnic groups, including Tigrayans and Amharas, are also migrating in large numbers, Oromos appear to account for a large share of the crossings, particularly those leaving from Bosaso [Puntland region of Somalia].
While the route itself is one of the most dangerous (rife with human traffickers), the conflict in Yemen has made it deadlier.
A ‘U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis’, killed 68 people (‘one of the deadliest so far’) when it struck the Saada migrant center, which housed ‘100 undocumented African migrants’.
The full story on The Reporter, here, and on The New Humanitarian, here.
Press freedom: surveillance concerns
I wrote about some of the major events happening in the media sector last week: legal amendments, media house raids, and a report on journalists’ safety. You can take a look here.
The raids happening in media houses are concerning because of the mass confiscation of electronic devices. This ‘raises grave concerns about potential misuse of sensitive data’ says a statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published last Tuesday.
Publishers of Addis Standard media house had announced that police had taken several work laptops, desktop computers, mobile phones, flash disks, and storage devices from their premises and a staff member's home. Police then ‘demanded and were given passwords’.
Here’s an excerpt from CPJ’s statement:
The police, who said they had warrants but did not produce copies, told staff that they were under investigation on suspicion of preparing to produce a documentary that might incite violence, Tsedale said, adding that the allegation was untrue and outlet does not have the capacity to make documentaries.
The media house representative says that they’re still waiting to see if there will be any court proceedings.
The full statement, from CPJ, here.
Security: we don’t know her (XLV)
The 44th update on the conflict in Ethiopia’s Amhara region was about how teachers and humanitarian workers have become targets of armed fighters in the region.
While several humanitarian workers were released after paying ransom, five teachers were killed for continuing to do their jobs. You can find the full list of updates since fighting started between the region’s informal militia, the Fano, and the federal government here.
All signs indicate that the fighting, close to its two-year mark, has intensified. The Ethiopian military says it has killed ‘more than 300 fighters in a single day’ in Gojam, according to a report on Addis Standard.
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
…recent developments suggest the conflict is entering a new phase – one security analysists characterized by the increased deployment of regional anti-riot militias and police units.
A few weeks ago, over 10,000 members of these regional forces graduated from the Bir Sheleko Basic Paramilitary Training Center in a ceremony attended by Amhara region president Arega Kebede…
Earlier this month, government forces were accused of killing more than 40 people on the streets and during house searches in Gojam.
The full story on Addis Standard, here.
Funding: cuts to malnutrition support
A ‘massive funding shortfall’ could force the World Food Programme (WFP) to cut off food and nutrition support in Ethiopia.
How many people does the WFP support in Ethiopia? From the more than 10 million people who are facing hunger and malnutrition, the WFP managed to reach 3.6 million in the first quarter of 2025.
How soon could these cuts happen? About ‘650,000 malnourished women and children’ will stop getting support next month.
Who else will this affect? Refugees in the country. Ethiopia is host to one of the largest numbers of refugees on the continent (and in the world), next to Uganda, with over 1 million refugees mostly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan. The cash and in-kind food support provided by the WFP for up to one million refugees will stop in June.
What are the factors driving Ethiopia’s growing humanitarian crisis? Conflicts in multiple regions within the country, as well as ‘escalating violence’ in neighboring countries like South Sudan, and poor rainfall (drought).
Was the WFP affected by the US’s cuts to foreign aid? No, according to this story by the BBC. There’s just not enough funding from donors in general (countries, institutions, individuals).
Development assistance is ‘dropping worldwide’, and fell by 7.1% between 2023 and 2024, the first decline in six years, according to another story on Le Monde.
How much is the WFP’s funding gap? 220 million USD.
The full statement from the World Food Programme, here.
Tigray: more appointments
The interim administration in Ethiopia’s Tigray region was established after the Pretoria peace deal ended the war between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The administration has a newly appointed president, Lieutenant General Tadesse Worede, and its new cabinet members include, ‘three senior Tigrayan army members sacked by his predecessor’.
Here’s an excerpt:
Lt Gen. Tadesse downsized the number of Cabinet members from 27 to 21 and slimmed the number of Deputy Presidents from two to one.
Although the name of his deputy has not been officially disclosed yet, sources close to the matter told Addis Standard that he has picked Amanuel Assefa, deputy chairman of the TPLF under the leadership of Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD).
I wrote an update on the changing political dynamics in the region and the split in the TPLF since the Pretoria peace deal; you can check that update, here.
The full story on Addis Standard, here.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!
In the meantime, feel free to share this with anyone you think can benefit from keeping up with what’s going on in Ethiopia.
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When are you gone do a segment on Ethiopian health professionals?
Thank you, My.