Dignity in Your Motherland: Opportunity for Aadan in Hargeisa

In a busy market in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Aadan Yusuf Jama calls out to customers from his modest wheelbarrow business, selling clothes and shoes. His smile hides the scars of a painful journey – a failed attempt to reach Europe in search of a better life. In January of this year, Aadan started his small business with a grant from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a new beginning after his traumatic experience as an irregular migrant.  

“I do not have much money yet, as my business is still new,” Aadan says. “But I am incredibly happy. There is no place like home, no matter where you go in the world. As the saying goes, ‘Haybad waxaad ku leedahay dhulkaaga hooyo’ — you can have dignity only in your motherland.’’

Aadan was born in 2001, in Ali Aadan, a rural part of Somaliland's Sabowanaag district. He is the youngest of 11 children in a family that struggled with the challenges of rural life, including frequent droughts. Aadan has no formal education beyond basic Quranic studies. When he was nine, the family moved to Hargeisa, seeking better opportunities. Aadan’s father opened a small restaurant that became their primary source of income, but when his father passed away, 14-year- old Aadan had to step up to support his family. 

He found odd jobs in Hargeisa’s Waaheen market, before landing work in a tailoring shop, where he gained skills to start a women’s clothing business. However, due to limited funds, the business failed, and he became a mechanic. Despite his hard work Aadan, who had also started a family, could barely earn enough to support his wife and child or save for the future.

A turning point came when a former colleague living in Europe shared stories and photos of success abroad, sparking Aadan’s dream of migrating in search of economic opportunities. He contacted a migration broker who promised to take him to Libya without any upfront payment. “But It was the worst phone call of my life,” he recalls. “I went through hell for a year and a half, and it destroyed everything my parents had built over decades.”

Since the early 2000s, irregular migration has become widespread in Somaliland, where more than 70 per cent of the population is under the age of 35. Exceptionally high unemployment rates, affecting up to 70 per cent of the urban population, drive many young people to risk their lives through migration in search of a better future. Instead, many become stranded between their departure point and intended destination. 

In 2022, Aadan embarked on a grueling 16-day journey through the deserts of Ethiopia and Sudan before reaching Libya. “What kept me going was the hope of reaching Europe and supporting my family,” says Aadan, now 23. “But everything got worse once I reached Libya.” 

Aadan was placed in a secret migration camp known as “Magafe”, where he was beaten daily with steel pipes and barely survived on a glass of water and a loaf of bread. The emotional toll on his family back home was equally devastating. Migration brokers called his mother daily, letting her hear Aadan’s cries as they beat him, threatening to kill him if the family did not send ransom money. Desperate to save him, his family sold everything they owned, including their land and livestock —spending over USD 19,000 to secure his release. “I regret leaving my wife and daughter behind, thinking the trip would take one month,” he reflects. 

Twice, he managed to escape from migrant detention camps, but each time, he was apprehended and returned. He realized that migration brokers were often working hand-in-hand with local authorities, making escape nearly impossible. After 16 months of unimaginable suffering, Aadan’s nightmare finally ended. He and 89 other young migrants were finally able to return to Hargeisa with the help of Migrant Protection, Return, and Reintegration in Sub-Saharan Africa project.

Funded by the European Union and implemented by IOM, in collaboration with the National Displacement and Refugee Agency (NDRA) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the project assists stranded migrants with voluntary return and reintegration. 

“I had given up on life, but this gave me hope, for the first time in years, I felt like I could rebuild my future,” Aadan explains. Faisa Barre Ahmed, an IOM Somalia Case Manager, believes that Aadan has the resilience and drive to succeed. “He is always busy, always smiling,” she says. “I am confident he will grow his business and achieve his goals.” 

Currently, Aadan is happy that he is reunited with his family and able to run his small business. “There is no better life than the one you have in your own country; I have decided it is better to face hardship here than gamble everything at sea.” 

Since 2018 IOM and NDRA have assisted with the return and reintegration of over 5,056 individuals.