Yemen: Migrants Abused, Tortured by Smugglers

Yemen 2013 © Anna Surinyach Many migrants pass through Haradh town on their way to Saudi Arabia, whose border is just a few kilometers away. SANA’A, YEMEN/NEW YORK, MAY 1, 2013—Authorities in Yemen have freed more than one thousand migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia, many suffering from torture and sexual abuse while forcibly held by human smugglers, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which has treated the migrants, said today. Since April 7, Yemeni authorities have freed 1,620 people held by smugglers in farms in Haradh region in the north of Yemen. Some of the migrants had been held for months and displayed signs of torture and other physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Some had their fingernails pulled out or their tongues partially cut off. Others had been severely beaten. “Many of the migrants are physically and mentally exhausted and are suffering from severe mental trauma due to the horrific conditions and treatment they experienced during their detention,” said Angels Mairal, an MSF psychologist in Haradh. Many of the migrants treated by MSF were suffering from life-threatening diseases, including pneumonia, complicated malaria, and dengue. Most of the migrants referred by MSF to its hospital in Al-Mazraq, located near Haradh town, were victims of human trafficking, forced labor, and slavery. The majority of those receiving psychological s...
Source: MSF News - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news