Migrations: Tanzania’s Conflict with the Masai and the Situation of North Koreans

In Tanzania, authorities are relocating indigenous Maasai people from their ancestral lands to areas designated for “nature conservation and tourism.” The government plans to move over 82,000 individuals from the Ngorongoro protected area, where the Maasai have lived for generations, to the village of Msomera, approximately 600 km away. There have been reports of authorities using force against the Maasai community during clashes and disagreements.

In China, a record number of North Korean defectors are being deported, causing fear and desperation among the community. In October 2023, 600 North Koreans were deported in the largest repatriation in years. Human rights groups have expressed concerns for the defectors, as they are at risk of being imprisoned, tortured, subjected to sexual violence, or even murdered upon their return to North Korea.

In a separate incident, Ri Il Gyu, North Korea’s No. 2 diplomat in Cuba, fled from Havana to South Korea with his family last November. This information was only disclosed in July. Ri is the highest-ranking North Korean to defect to South Korea since 2016 and is currently under a government protection program. This defection comes amidst growing hostility between the two countries, reaching some of the highest levels in history.