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SHIMBIRO, SOMALIA- DECEMBER 2007 .As smugglers make final preparations, migrants and refugees are lined up into rows, ready to board three waiting doons. Under a bright blue sky, the well-practiced military-style operation will see the passengers placed into groups of one hundred and twenty, before being ordered out to tiny former fishing boats in rows of ten. Armed militia stand guard in the background as the smugglers work quickly. The migrants and refugees who have been sitting in the sand for the past few hours must suddenly grab their belongings as they are marched quickly into the sea. In less than one hour, the beach will be almost empty again. The leaders of the smuggling gangs stay on shore, waiting for the crew to tie-up their human cargo before the boats slip anchor and are finally bound for Yemen. They can feel happy now. Each of the tahrib on board has paid a million Somali shillings for the journey; in total they have made $18,000 from this single operation. (KEYSTONE/NOOR/Alixandra Fazzina)