Senait Mebrehtu’s heartbreaking story highlights the perilous routes used by smugglers as families risk everything for freedom.
**Tragic Loss Amplifies Outcry Against Human Smuggling on Lake Turkana**
**Tragic Loss Amplifies Outcry Against Human Smuggling on Lake Turkana**
Mourning mother demands justice for her daughter who drowned while fleeing Eritrea.
Despite the allure of safety and security, many families are forced to confront the deadly risks associated with human smuggling in search of a better life. This is the painful reality for Senait Mebrehtu, a Pentecostal Christian from Eritrea, who recently mourned the tragic loss of her daughter, Hiyab, during a harrowing attempt to reach Kenya. Last year, Hiyab, just 14 years old, drowned in Lake Turkana while trying to escape oppressive military conscription and religious persecution in Eritrea.
Accompanied by her surviving sister, Hiyab's journey had started in Eritrea, where Senait had fled with her two younger children three years prior, seeking asylum. At the time, her older daughters were left behind due to their imminent threat of conscription. Amidst pleas from the teens to reunite, Senait reluctantly turned to smugglers based on family advice—compounding her heartbreak with the knowledge of their dangerous trade.
"The smugglers told me nothing of dangers like Lake Turkana. Had I known, I would never have let them go,” she stated, tears streaking her face as she scattered flowers into the very waters that claimed her daughter’s life. Through a clandestine interview, a female smuggler corroborated that the treacherous lake, with its strong winds and flimsy boats, is now the latest route chosen by traffickers trying to circumvent law enforcement patrols on land.
"They became the prey of those who take advantage of their desperation,” Senait lamented, as Osman, another Eritrean migrant, recounted the fateful moment when Hiyab's boat capsized, ultimately resulting in seven tragic casualties. The overloaded vessel, launching from Ileret towards Lomekwi, quickly succumbed to the elements, marking the grim reality of smuggling’s consequences.
In July 2024, reports from fishermen surfaced, citing sightings of bodies in the lake, underscoring the lethal risks associated with these crossings. Many migrants, fleeing Eritrea's military regime, are now viewing Kenya, along with Uganda, as potential safe havens. However, translating hope into reality continues to involve perilous routes through oppressive and expansive networks of smugglers.
One smuggler spoke out about the harrowing consequences of the journey, revealing the frequent abandonment of victims lacking funds for continued travel and the dark realities of abuse faced by women during the smuggling process. While some may make it safely, countless others find only hardship, neglect, and loss along the way.
Senait's grieving heart reflects the profound struggles faced by her fellow Eritreans as they seek safer lives, hoping for a day where families are not torn apart by conflict and despair. “May God heal our land,” she whispered, reminding us all of the urgent call for justice and a solution to the human smuggling crisis that continues to plague vulnerable lives across the globe.
Accompanied by her surviving sister, Hiyab's journey had started in Eritrea, where Senait had fled with her two younger children three years prior, seeking asylum. At the time, her older daughters were left behind due to their imminent threat of conscription. Amidst pleas from the teens to reunite, Senait reluctantly turned to smugglers based on family advice—compounding her heartbreak with the knowledge of their dangerous trade.
"The smugglers told me nothing of dangers like Lake Turkana. Had I known, I would never have let them go,” she stated, tears streaking her face as she scattered flowers into the very waters that claimed her daughter’s life. Through a clandestine interview, a female smuggler corroborated that the treacherous lake, with its strong winds and flimsy boats, is now the latest route chosen by traffickers trying to circumvent law enforcement patrols on land.
"They became the prey of those who take advantage of their desperation,” Senait lamented, as Osman, another Eritrean migrant, recounted the fateful moment when Hiyab's boat capsized, ultimately resulting in seven tragic casualties. The overloaded vessel, launching from Ileret towards Lomekwi, quickly succumbed to the elements, marking the grim reality of smuggling’s consequences.
In July 2024, reports from fishermen surfaced, citing sightings of bodies in the lake, underscoring the lethal risks associated with these crossings. Many migrants, fleeing Eritrea's military regime, are now viewing Kenya, along with Uganda, as potential safe havens. However, translating hope into reality continues to involve perilous routes through oppressive and expansive networks of smugglers.
One smuggler spoke out about the harrowing consequences of the journey, revealing the frequent abandonment of victims lacking funds for continued travel and the dark realities of abuse faced by women during the smuggling process. While some may make it safely, countless others find only hardship, neglect, and loss along the way.
Senait's grieving heart reflects the profound struggles faced by her fellow Eritreans as they seek safer lives, hoping for a day where families are not torn apart by conflict and despair. “May God heal our land,” she whispered, reminding us all of the urgent call for justice and a solution to the human smuggling crisis that continues to plague vulnerable lives across the globe.
