~The two Ethiopian Kedir Osama Musa and Tilahum Assafa Bruke joined the boat in Sint Maarten ~
CAYMAN — Two Ethiopian men smuggled to Cayman by people traffickers may have fled the country, it was revealed on Wednesday.
It is believed Kedir Osama Musa and Tilahum Assafa Bruke made an illegal escape from Cayman with 10 Cuban nationals.
A government spokeswoman confirmed, “The Customs and Border Control Service are currently investigating a report that 10 Cuban national migrants and two Ethiopian national migrants have left the jurisdiction illegally.
“CBC is working with partner agencies to investigate this matter.”
It is not known how the 12 managed to get off the island without the authorities being alerted, but it is understood that they are believed to have left by sea in the last few days.
They were left in limbo after the 52-year-old skipper of the boat was earlier this month jailed for four years and his wife, 39, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for human smuggling after a Summary Court trial.
The two, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were also convicted of illegal entry to Cayman and failure to complete a disembarkation card.
The refugees told the court they were forced to escape Ethiopia in fear for their lives amid political unrest and conflict.
Summary Court heard the Ethiopian men had suffered cruel and degrading treatment while on board the boat.
They were shouted at, forced to sleep on deck, subjected to racist taunts such as “monkey” and kept short of food and water, despite having bought their own supplies.
The court heard Musa had travelled from Ethiopia to Cape Verde off the coast of west Africa and had paid the boat’s captain US$1,500 and €500 to take him to Brazil.
Bruke joined the boat in Sint Maarten. He handed over a total of US$2,500 to be delivered to Honduras.
But the yacht stopped off in the US Virgin Islands before it sailed to Cayman Brac, where in mid-May Customs officials raided it and found the two Ethiopian men locked in the cabin.
The skipper and his wife, who had been questioned after they went ashore, leaving the two Ethiopian men locked in the yacht’s cabin, were arrested.
The principle of non-refoulement, an international standard for refugee protection, prohibits jurisdictions from returning people to their home country if there are “substantial grounds” to believe they would be at serious risk if transferred back.
The Cayman government was left with the problem of what to do with the men, who were understood not to be facing the prospect of criminal proceedings against them.
The Governor’s Office said immigration was a devolved responsibility, but that it was working with the Cayman authorities to find a solution to the problem.
