Sub-Saharan Migrants Face Exploitation and Violence on Journey Through North Africa

The results of the survey conducted by the Spanish branch of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), on a sample of 1,340 migrants from 39 African countries, reported by the Huffpost, shed light on the hell experienced by the latter, in the main transit countries to Europe, particularly in Morocco and Algeria.

Indeed, more than half of the migrants interviewed admitted to having been victims, at least once, of exploitation, kidnapping, physical assault, rape, or even organ trafficking, at the hands of armed individuals or non-governmental groups, in the regions of Tamanrasset and Timiaouine, in Algeria, and Tangier and Nador, in Morocco.

"Nearly half (48%) of the people surveyed reported having had at least one direct experience related to trafficking, exploitation or abuse while traveling along the Western Mediterranean route," the survey report states, before continuing: "Migrants and refugees have described violence related to kidnapping by the Tuareg, Toubou and other nomadic groups in the desert areas."

The length of the route taken by migrants plays a predominant role in the incidence of violence and aggression suffered, reveals the ILO. The further the country of origin, the greater the probability of being a victim of trafficking, exploitation and violence, which explains the low rate of recorded cases among migrants of Moroccan, Algerian and Mauritanian origin.