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“For too many young Somalis, reaching Europe means never looking back. But a nation cannot build its future if its youth see leaving as their only hope.” Asha Elmi
It is 7:30 in the morning at Aden Adde International Airport. An immigration officer holds my passport without looking up.
“Why Nairobi? Who is hosting you? Who in your family knows you are travelling?”
“Everyone knows,” I say.
He looks up. “Sister, we are not playing. Have a family member record a video saying they know?”
I call my younger brother. He works nights and does not answer. I call my mother. She is not home. She walks back to the neighbourhood and asks a neighbour to record a message so I can board.
I am the Editor-in-Chief of Dawan Media. I have a ticket, a professional purpose and an institution behind me. At that counter, the officer sees none of that. He sees a young Somali with a Somali passport, the same profile as thousands who leave the country irregularly every year. For one hour, I find myself inside the story I edit for a living.
I did not enjoy that hour. But standing there, I understood why the question was being asked.
I was travelling to Brussels for the Connecting Media Communities forum, representing Somalia and Dawan Media. The Belgian embassy responsible for Somali applicants is in Nairobi, so Somalis seeking Belgian visas must travel there to apply.
Nairobi is also a hub for the networks I was being mistaken for. An IOM report described smuggling operations that organize journeys from the Kenyan capital and hide travellers in Eastleigh. Young Somalis head north through Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya. Others travel south toward South Africa or fly to Brazil before attempting to reach the United States.
The routes differ, but for many, the destination is the same: Europe. EU ministers noted in June that irregular arrivals of Somali nationals more than doubled between 2024 and 2025, with many journeys facilitated by smugglers. The danger is real: nearly 1,300 people died in the Mediterranean during the first nine months of 2025.
Research shows this is predominantly a youth movement. A Rift Valley Institute study for UNICEF found that smugglers lower the barrier with a “go now, pay later” arrangement. This leaves young people indebted to those controlling their journeys, creating conditions in which smuggling can turn into trafficking. Those unable to pay may be detained, exploited or forced to work off their debts.
An IOM study found that these travellers are not necessarily the poorest, because the journey itself costs money. They are often young people who have saved or whose families at home and abroad provide financial support. The drivers include a weak economy, poor-quality education and peer pressure. Balqiis Insights warned this year that irregular migration is likely to rise again.
The cost is national, too. Somalia loses the hands that could build it and the minds that could lead it, while other countries benefit from their talents.
The Federal Government has taken action on several fronts. It approved a National Labour Migration Policy in July 2025 and a law regulating private recruitment agencies in August 2025, both intended to expand legal pathways to employment. At the airport, officers question young travellers heading to Nairobi, ask who is accompanying them and require evidence that their relatives know about their journeys.
I understand the intention. Officers are trying to protect people who may not fully understand where they are heading. But these questions also delay legitimate travellers, and they cannot replace the real solution: jobs at home.
By contrast, the legal route is long and slow. For a Somali traveller with every document in order, it looks like this:
1. Fly to Nairobi to apply. There is no other option.
2. Undergo questioning at Mogadishu airport. My flight was at 10:00 a.m., and I was told to arrive at 7:00. Other young travellers bound for Nairobi faced similar questions, and anyone travelling with a companion had to explain who that person was.
3. Submit your passport. The embassy copied mine and returned the original.
4. Wait. My visa took 14 days, although the EU has extended standard processing for Somali applicants from 15 to 45 days.
5. Fly back to Mogadishu, then book the journey to Europe.
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6. Arrive at the airport hours early. I arrived five hours before my flight and waited another two hours for check-in.
7. Transit through Addis Ababa for four hours before flying to Brussels.
On October 27, my flight to Brussels was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. I arrived at the airport at 1:00 p.m., five hours early, expecting another round of questions.
But they never came. Check-in opened at 3:00 p.m. At immigration, officers took my fingerprints and photograph, and we exchanged a few words. At the next desk, an officer asked where I was going. I showed him my passport and Belgian visa. He examined them and let me through immediately. No family video, no phone calls, no second round of questioning. The entire process took less than five minutes.
Same airport, same passport. The only difference was the visa, which told the officers I was not taking the route used by irregular migrants. When I returned from Nairobi, nobody asked me those questions either, because nobody travels to Mogadishu to migrate illegally.
The EU imposed visa restrictions on Somali citizens in June 2026, citing insufficient cooperation on the return of Somalis staying illegally in member states. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud rejected the criticism and said Somalia would accept its nationals.
That suspicion also affects invited delegates. Some people who received scholarships or invitations to seminars in Europe have reportedly claimed asylum elsewhere, although reliable figures are unavailable. Every such case risks making the journey harder for the next Somali journalist, student or entrepreneur.
From 2007 to 2026, the EU spent approximately €5.7 billion in Somalia, most of it on security, including African Union and EU missions. The remainder supported development and humanitarian assistance.
This year, the emphasis appears to be shifting. In January, the EU and Somalia signed a €102 million agreement under the Global Gateway programme. In October, Mogadishu hosted the EU–Somalia Business Forum, focusing on agriculture, energy and digital services.
I believe this is a more effective way to stabilise Somalia. Soldiers can hold ground, but a salary can keep a young person from paying a smuggler. If these investments create real jobs, they will do more to combat irregular migration and trafficking than border controls alone.
When I returned home, many people asked me: “How did you go to Europe and not take the opportunity so many young people dream of?”
The question reveals a mindset worth confronting. For some, reaching Europe means never coming back. The journey becomes a one-way ticket, and returning feels like failure. Peer pressure reinforces this belief, and I suspect it also traps people already abroad who feel ashamed to return without achieving success.
That pressure comes at a cost to everyone. Sometimes, the real opportunity lies not in abandoning the profession you have spent years building, but in continuing to develop it. I had a reason to return, and I still do.
I thank the EU Delegation to Somalia and the European External Action Service for the opportunity to attend the forum and for supporting independent media in Somalia. I will share what I learned in Brussels with my colleagues at Dawan Media because Somali voices belong in global conversations.
My hope is simple: that European investment creates jobs for young Somalis, so they never have to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean, and no airport officer ever again needs to ask a Somali traveller, “Have a family member record a video.”
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About the Author
*Asha Elmi is the Editor-in-Chief of Dawan Media, a communications strategist, editorial leader, and media producer.
**The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dawan Africa.