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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Sally Hayden

Droughts in Somalia are partly our fault. We could at least let more migrants in

A water distribution point in a camp for internally displaced people in Baidoa, Somalia, February 2022
A water distribution point in a camp for internally displaced people in Baidoa, Somalia, February 2022. Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

Somalis call the dangerous journey towards Europe “going on tahriib” a word mostly associated with illegal activities such as trafficking or smuggling. Those who attempt it travel by road through Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya, then by boat across the Mediterranean to Europe – if they’re lucky enough to make it that far.

Their families often pay thousands of pounds to unscrupulous smugglers, who may break their initial promises, upping the prices or abandoning victims too early. Yet people still try. And increasingly, climate change is one of the reasons.

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