IOM Reunites Somali Family in Slovenia

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- IOM Somalia, in coordination with the Somali immigration department, has conducted its first family reunification from the south central region of the country.

The operation reunited a mother and her three children who had been living in Mogadishu for 12 years with their husband and father in Slovenia.

In the past, all family reunification and resettlement for Somalis living in the south central region used to involve a long and dangerous journey to the Kenyan border, Dadaab refugee camp and Nairobi.

IOM organized Nimca Abdi and her children's “fit-to-travel” medical exams, travel documents, flight bookings, tickets and airport assistance in Mogadishu.

It also contacted her husband in Slovenia and provided pre-departure information on transit assistance and exit visa arrangements.

Mrs. Abdi and her family transited Istanbul, where IOM provided them with accommodation, meals and airport assistance. The following day they left for Slovenia, where IOM reunited the family.

To date, IOM has conducted some 300 family reunification and resettlements from other parts of Somalia, including Puntland and Somaliland.