Examining onward and mixed movements along the Western Indian Ocean Route
Evidence to Action Brief
This report examines the drivers of movement for refugees and migrants, their routes and intentions, smuggling dynamics, and key risks along the Western Indian Ocean Route.
It is based on 54 interviews and five focus group discussions with refugees and migrants along the route and in Mayotte and 25 key informant interviews with mixed movement stakeholders.
Congolese, Burundians, and Somalis identified conflict, violence, persecution, and terrorism as shaping their movements and limiting decision-making and preparation for their journey. At the same time, some also reported economic drivers, noting the insecure environment had negatively affected their livelihoods.
Comorians and Malagasy expressed moving mainly for economic reasons and access to better education and health services, as well as socio-cultural ties.
The Western Indian Ocean Route is comprised of several routes or branches, some of which involve long, complex, and unsafe journeys over land and at sea. For people from the Great Lakes, key countries of transit include Tanzania and Comoros, while another segment of the route involves transit through Madagascar. Somali respondents engaged in the longest sea journeys, with some travelling at sea for over a month and one reporting a brief stop at the Kenyan coast.
Smuggling networks between Tanzania and Comoros appear well established, primarily targeting people from the Great Lakes. Contrary to other African mixed movement routes where smugglers play a limited role in influencing movement, Congolese and Burundians reported being influenced to move onward along the Western Indian Ocean Route by smugglers in Tanzania, in Kigoma and Dar es Salaam, in particular Kariakoo market, which appear as smuggling hubs.
Arrest and detention in Tanzania were cited as key risks while transiting the country. Moreover, a majority of interviewed Congolese and Burundians believed they could not access asylum in Tanzania, based on information received from co-nationals and Tanzanians with links to smuggling networks, which spurred them into engaging in onward movements.
Perilous sea journeys pose great risks to the lives of refugees and migrants, and respondent testimonies included the witnessing of deaths of fellow passengers. Some respondents noted additional dangers linked to abuse and robbery at the hands of smugglers.
Refugees and migrants reported facing considerable constraints in Mayotte with regard to access to livelihoods and housing, and the risk of xenophobic violence. A number of respondents noted direct experiences of xenophobia in school, at work, and in other public spaces.
See also
Snapshots and Infographics
Mixed movements to Mayotte along the Western Indian Ocean Route
Snapshots and Infographics
Mixed movements to Comoros along the Western Indian Ocean Route
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Snapshots and Infographics
Mixed movements to Comoros along the Western Indian Ocean Route
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