Grief and Outrage: Eritrean Mother's Heartbreaking Mourning for Drowned Daughter

Senait Mebrehtu, an Eritrean mother, mourns her daughter, Hiyab, who drowned while crossing Lake Turkana as a migrant. The dangerous conditions of the crossing, exacerbated by overloaded boats and negligent smugglers, reveal the perils faced by those fleeing oppressive regimes in search of safety.

As the sun dipped behind the horizon at Lake Turkana, Senait Mebrehtu, mourning the loss of her 14-year-old daughter Hiyab, scattered flowers into the vast, greenish-blue lake waters. Hiyab tragically drowned last year while attempting to cross with her sister, who survived. For Senait, the journey to the shores of Lake Turkana in north-western Kenya marked a painful pilgrimage following their harrowing escape from Eritrea, where she had fled three years prior seeking asylum from religious persecution.

Senait’s journey began when she arrived in Nairobi on a tourist visa with her younger children, while her older daughters remained behind due to the risks of conscription in Eritrea's militarized society. After much pleading, she sought the help of smugglers to bring her daughters to Kenya. The girls embarked on a treacherous journey facilitated by traffickers, traveling on foot and by vehicle through Ethiopia before arriving at Lake Turkana, now alarmingly becoming a prominent route for illegal crossings.

A female smuggler, speaking to the media anonymously, confirmed the growing trend of using Lake Turkana, now associated with fishing villages like Lomekwi, as a transit point. With heightened scrutiny on road transport within Kenya, smugglers have shifted to exploit this body of water, often cramming boats with migrants while ignoring safety concerns.

Osman, an Eritrean migrant who witnessed the debacle, shared the catastrophic moment when Hiyab’s boat capsized due to mechanical failure and strong winds, resulting in the drowning of several individuals. Senait held smugglers accountable for negligence, citing they overloaded the frail vessel beyond its capacity.

Recent reports from Lomekwi indicated that bodies of drowned migrants have washed ashore, as the UNHCR highlighted a concerning count of 345,000 Eritrean refugees within East Africa amid ongoing conflicts. Legal experts believe that Kenya and Uganda serve as key destinations for these individuals escaping political turmoil.

With the long, dangerous journey costing migrants an average of $5,000, smugglers commonly deceive desperate families. Risks compound for women, who are often subjected to sexual abuse or coerced into marriages with their traffickers. Echoing her grief, Senait expressed hope for a safer future free from the grasp of such criminal networks, while lamenting the loss of her daughter and the toll such tragedies impose on countless families escaping their homeland. "May God heal our land and deliver us from all this," she said, encapsulating the struggle faced by many in her situation.