Coronavirus border closures and restrictions have stranded nearly 3 million migrants around the world who want to return home but cannot, the U.N. migration agency said on Friday, adding some had been 'warehoused' in unhygenic settings.
FILE PHOTO: Migrants from Bangladesh stand in the woods near Velika Kladusa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, September 30, 2020. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
The International Organization for Migration report is the most comprehensive to date on the issue, covering more than 100 countries. It includes only migrants who want to return but are unable to do so because of the COVID-19 restrictions -- such as seafarers stuck on decommissioned ships, miners or construction workers.
Some stranded migrants have been confined in unclean quarters and where social distancing was impossible, placing them at risk of disease. Others face abuse, exploitation and neglect, the report said. IOM spokesman Paul Dillon said that 648,000 stranded migrants were in the United Arab Emirates and were often construction labourers from East Africa and Asia, while 280,000 were stuck in Saudi Arabia.
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