A reported 150 Somali migrants were able to travel back to their home country from Libya with the support of UN agency International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the European Union. It was the fourth and largest such initiative as part of the program concerning the voluntary return of Somali citizens to their home country.
IOM, the International Organization for Migration, in collaboration with the Libyan and Somali governments, with support from the European Union, helped organize the voluntary return to Mogadishu of 150 Somali migrants stranded in Libya.
The UN agency said that the majority of migrants had been held in government-run detention centers.
IOM said in a statement that, "migrants in Libya are exposed to numerous risks, including smuggling, trafficking, kidnapping, abuse, detention and torture." "Through the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), IOM has tracked over 660,000 migrants in Libya," although, the "true number could be closer to one million people," the UN agency noted.
Mohamed, a 23-year-old who left Somalia to search for a better future, said he lost "everything in Libya, time, health and money." "But I will return to Somalia and start from scratch, build a better future away from the day dreams of illegal migration," he added.
IOM has expressed its gratitude to the Somali government for allowing the return of the migrants. "The support to these Somali nationals wishing to go back to Somalia is the positive result of close collaboration with the Somali government and UNHCR," said Othman Belbeisi, IOM Libya Chief of Mission.
Fourth humanitarian return
Representatives from the federal government of Somalia and IOM welcomed the returnees in Mogadishu. IOM said in the statement that it will be screening all returnees and providing group psychosocial sessions in the immediate days after arrival. The migrants will be subsequently assisted in the reintegration process through general support and complementary aid, according to the project's selection criteria, the UN agency said.
The trip on May 30 was the fourth and largest voluntary humanitarian return of migrants from Libya to Somalia. The reintegration assistance in Somalia is part of the larger EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration.
"The EU recognizes the importance of supporting stranded migrants who wish to return to Somalia and reintegrate with their host communities and I believe that, through this initiative, returning migrants will be able to lead meaningful lives and contribute to a rising Somalia," said Pencho Garrido Ruiz, chargé d'affaires at the EU Delegation to Somalia.
SOURCE: Info Migrants
