Somalis told to get IDs

The Ethiopian Security, Immigration and Refugees Affairs Authority has urged Somalis living in Ethiopia to obtain temporary identification cards in order to access remittances from relatives from legal banks and organisations engaged in money transfers, Ethiopian radio reported on Wednesday. The call to get new identity cards comes three days after Ethiopian authorities closed all Somali remittance companies based in the country. The companies affected included Dahabshiil and Al-Amal, the second- and third-largest remittance companies after Al-Barakaat. The two were not on the US list of organisations with links to terrorism. A Somali source in Addis Ababa, told IRIN that most Somalis would probably never go to get the cards. "Some are afraid that there something behind this call. Others simply don't how to deal with banks, and will therefore never go near a bank," he said. The source estimated that more than 12,000 Somalis had probably been receiving remittances in Addis Ababa, with average transfers amounting to US $150. He said the closure "will affect most acutely the elderly and mothers with children", adding that the young Somalis would probably leave for countries in the region where some money transfer companies were still operating. However, most of the Somalis were hoping that the closures would be temporary, and the companies would be allowed to reopen soon, said the source.