YEMEN: Somali refugees continue to flock to Yemen

Refugees fleeing war-stricken Somalia continue to arrive in Yemen after risking their lives to cross the Gulf of Aden each year, crammed into rickety boats in search of a better life. Fleeing conflict and poverty in their homeland, thousands of Somalis risk their lives to cross the Gulf of Aden each year, crammed into rickety boats in search of a better life. Many never make it, thrown into shark-infested seas by people-smugglers. Those who survive are dumped on the beaches of Yemen, which grants them refugee status but, as one of the poorest countries outside Africa, can offer little more. "We were at sea without food for three days. After we reached the shore, we went hungry for three more days and slept on the shore," recalled Somali refugee Mohammed Nour of his journey to Yemen. At a refugee camp run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Yemen's Shabwa province, refugee Mariam Sawaa recalls the horrors she experience during her voyage across the Gulf of Aden. "Seven men died on board. They died because of the heat and lack of water. We were very tired. There was no air, nothing," she recalls. Since last decade, Somalis have fled to Yemen from conflict at home. With U.S.-backed Ethiopian and Somali troops battling Islamist and clan fighters in Mogadishu -- the worst violence in 16 years -- the refugees' plight is now back in the spotlight. The UNHCR says it knows of at least 60 boats that have arrived in Yemen this year. While last month, at least 56 Africans died trying to cross from Somalia to Yemen within a period of 10 days, and others were beaten and doused with acid on a failed journey, the United Nations refugee agency reported in September. Mohammad Taher, a UNHCR Assistant Field Officer, told Reuters that thousands of refugees have arrived in Yemen from Somalia over recent months. "Since July, we have received and registered seven thousand refugees in this camp," he said. In its latest update on smuggling activity across the Gulf of Aden, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said more than 10,000 people had arrived in Yemen so far in 2007, and 282 died and 159 are presumed dead after the dangerous journey. In one case, a vessel carrying at least 100 Somalis ran into trouble on the way to Yemen, and was adrift for six days before returning to Somali shores. Smugglers usually operate in the Gulf of Aden from September to June. In 2006, nearly 29,000 people made the crossing to Yemen, at least 328 died and 310 were recorded as missing. Aid agencies including the UNHCR are running an information campaign along Somalia's coast to warn people of the risks they face using smugglers. "According to UNHCR estimates, Yemen today has approximately 102 to 107 thousand refugees. Ninety to ninety-three per cent of them are Somali," says Samer Haddadin, a UNHCR Representative In Sanaa.

ITN Source | October 12, 2007

Tags:. .failed. .representative. .assistant. .worst. .poorest