Nigerien stranded at Ethiopian airport since November 2018

Niger

A Nigerien national expelled from Israel has been stranded at Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport, in the Ethiopian capital, since November 2018, after his home country refused him entry.

Eissa Muhamad dreamed of a better life in Israel, but that dream has turned into a nightmare when he was expelled from the Middle East state for staying illegally in the country for nearly 8 years.

However, the 24-year-old’s country of origin refused to receive him, and he has been stuck at the Ethiopian airport for nearly 4 months since.

According to Muhamad, he paid traffickers to enable him across Libya and Egypt before entering Israel on foot.

Once in Tel Aviv, Muhamad survived by doing odd jobs in hostels and a candy factory until April 2018, when he was arrested for being in Israel without proper documents.

After several months in detention, the Israeli state issued him an emergency travel document before putting him on a plane to Niger in November, but when he arrived in Niamey, Nigerien authorities refused him entry, claiming that he had used false documents to enter the country.

Israel has denied allegations that the emergency travel document was fake.

Please let the world know that i'm here for more than four months.#Lettheworldknow BBCAfrica guardian CNNAfrica Refugees UNmigration BowlerDerek canadacaring AlJazeera_World abcnews RT_com ntvkenya nytimes pic.twitter.com/VCeFBgPz7w
— Eissa Muhamad (@EissaMuhamad2) February 13, 2019