More than 1,600 migrants released from smugglers' hands

Since April 7, Yemeni authorities have released 1,620 migrants who were held by smugglers in farms – some of them for months – in Haradh region, in the north of the country. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is assisting these migrants, including 62 children and 142 women, and has referred 71 severely ill people to the MSF-run hospital in Al-Mazraq village, close to Haradh town. Most of the migrants referred to the Al-Mazraq hospital were victims of human trafficking, forced labour and slavery. They showed signs of torture and verbal, physical and sexual abuse from their captors. Some of them have had their nails pulled off or their tongue partially cut off, others have been severely beaten. MSF staff have also treated people who suffer from life-threatening diseases like pneumonia, complicated malaria or dengue fever. Yemen 2013 © Anna Surinyach/MSFHaradh town, Yemen, where many migrants from the Horn of Africa pass through on their way to Saudi Arabia, whose border is just a few kilometres away. MSF is providing medical assistance to migrants, including referring severely ill people to a nearby MSF-run hospital. MSF has provided mental health assistance to the migrants after their release and transfer to a compound on the outskirts of Haradh town. “Many of them are physically and mentally exhausted and suffer from severe mental trauma due to the horrific conditions and treatment they experienced during their detention,” says Angels Mairal...
Source: MSF News - Category: Global & Universal Tags: Yemen Frontpage NEWS Source Type: news