Girum Tehalmanot is an Ethiopian journalist and refugee who left Ethiopia nine years ago. On Jan. 9, his first book, “The Dead Journey,” was published in Yemen

“THE DEAD JOURNEY”

Girum Tehalmanot is an Ethiopian journalist and refugee who left Ethiopia nine years ago. On Jan. 9, his first book, “The Dead Journey,” was published in Yemen. It was published in Ethiopia a few months prior.

The book was written as “a warning to those thinking of coming to Yemen,” Tehalmanot said. It is based on his experience at sea, but also on 53 interviews he has conducted with those who made the journey.

The book is the first to be published in a three-part series about the dangerous conditions migrants and refugees face coming to Yemen.

In the book, Tehalmanot describes watching a woman drown in front him. He also interviews those who are trafficked once they arrive. Migrants and refugees describe being tortured by traffickers while their families in Ethiopia listen over the phone.

“They call the families of the people they’re torturing so that they can hear them scream in agony,” he said, leaving the families no choice but to gather enough money to send to the traffickers.

Source: http://www.yementimes.com/en/1859/news/4884/%E2%80%9CThe-Dead--Journey%E2%80%9D.htm