YEMEN: Tens of thousands of people have fled war-torn Somalia in recent months to find refuge in Yemen, straining the fragile economy of the impoverished Arab state

Tens of thousands of people have fled war-torn Somalia in recent months to find refuge in nearby Yemen, straining the fragile economy of the poor Arab State. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) said last month that between 55,000 and 60,000 people have been uprooted by the recent military escalation in Somalia. Many refugees flee on small fishing boats, spending up to forty hours at sea to arrive in Yemen. A large number of these boats capsize due to overcrowding or people simply die onboard due to dehydration. Others jump off the boats before arriving at the coast fearing arrest by Yemeni authorities. But even those who do survive the dangerous journey arrive only to be met by more humanitarian and economic hardships due to the lack of facilities and aid available to assist the growing number of refugees in Yemen. In al-Basatin, on the outskirts of Aden, large numbers of refugees gather in the streets, some seeking employment, others simply waiting for medical and humanitarian assistance. "The reason that I arrived in Yemen is the other side of the Somali problem. Because there is no government at this time which can govern all the Somali regions, where ever," recently arrived refugee Ibrahim Issa told Reuters Television. "Honestly, Yemen was the first country to accept us. The entire world refused us with the exception of Yemen. We've been living in Yemen for fifteen years. No other country has accepted us the way they did here. These boats arrive in the hundreds and thousands (to Yemen) and they are allowed to enter. No other country has been as welcoming," Somali refugee Abdi Hassan Omar said. Yemen has also hosted talks between Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and Somali parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh in Aden, in an attempt to mediate between Islamists and the interim government. On Saturday (January 6), some leaders of Somalia's ousted Islamist movement arrived in Yemen, creating an opportunity for talks with Somalia's interim government, Yemen's foreign minister was quoted as saying. News of their presence coincided with a visit to Aden of a senior U.S. official -- Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer -- for talks with Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Frazer called for dialogue between Somali groups, including "remnants" of Somalia's Islamic Courts Council, ousted by Ethiopian-backed government forces last week. The Islamists took control of much of southern Somalia in June but have been forced into hiding after being routed from their strongholds by Ethiopian military defending Somalia's interim government in two weeks of full-scale warfare. They have vowed to fight on, melting into the hills in Somalia's remote southern tip where Ethiopian and government forces are hunting hundreds of their fighters. The UNHCR said more than 25,800 people have been recorded as arriving in Yemen from Somalia in 2006, but according to Aden's deputy governor, the number is much higher. "Yemen is suffering from the (Somali refugee) problem more than any other country. It is known that this is a problem that has been weighing upon societies throughout the Horn of Africa, but there is an especially large influx of refugees to Yemen. Yemen has officially accepted over 700,000 refugees but there are many (refugees) who are not registered. The province of Aden alone hosts about 40,000 refugees. And these are just the official figures. Many remain unregistered despite government efforts to register and account for these refugees," Abdel Kareem Sha'ef said. The UNCHR has completed a number of residential and other facilities to accommodate the growing number of people arriving from Somalia and governments and other organisations such as the World Food Programme (WFP) have donated money to help refugees seeking shelter in Yemen. But many say that the help they receive is still not enough. While many are given shelter, others choose to scatter across the country seeking employment or move on to other parts of the Middle East and Europe. But with Yemen suffering from its problems of poverty, about 35 percent unemployment, illiteracy and a high population-growth rate, a new influx of refugees means more competition for work.

ITN Source | January 9, 2007

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