Desperate Somali Refugees Seek Solution in Yemen

Desperate Somali Refugees Seek Solution in Yemen
By Zaid Al-Alaya’aNov 16, 2005 - Vol. VIII - Issue No. 45
Dozens of African refugees protest for four days now in front of the UNHCR in Sana'a. YO Photo/MASSANA’A - “The UNHCR has offered us nothing since we arrived in Yemen,” said Ahmed Mohammed, a 28 year-old Somali refugee. “That was 15 years ago.” Mohammed is only of up to 500 Somali men, women and children who have gathered outside the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNCHR) headquarters to protest at their treatment.In the past few days the desperate group has gathered in long lines outside the entrance to the walled compound, off Algeria Street in Sana’a.Many have settled down with mattresses, blankets and cooking pots demanding a solution to their problems. Esaa Othman Far’a, a Somali English teacher, said: “All we have is a card that helps us to not get arrested by the police.“But there are many Somalis here who don’t even have this card. Most have been unable to gain any education, while those who are educated can’t get good jobs,” he said.“There are educated men who are washing cars and women are working as housemaids for as little as 8-10,000 Rials month. But even they cannot cover the expenses of life - their food, rent, transportation and more.”Some reports estimate there are up to 70,000 Somalis in living Yemen, the majority of whom are forced to live in difficult circumstances.Ahmed Mohammed said: “We are given nothing by the UNHCR. No money, no food, no medical treatment or anything, and are treated in a bad way.“We would love to go back home to our country, but the circumstances there are still very difficult. Some of our children are starving to death but UNHCR does nothing to help them,” he claimed.Many of Somalis in the large crowd carried signs. One said: “We are looking for our rights to education, medical care, food and a place to stay.” Another sign had the slogan, “We want to leave Yemen”.Hawa’a, an elderly Somali women, said that they did not want to appear ungrateful for the reception that the Yemeni government and people had given them, but that they struggled every day to survive.“We want to thank the Yemeni government for receiving us here in Yemen, but life here is very hard for us,” Hawa’a said. “It is also difficult because many Yemeni people believe we receive money from the UNHCR, but this is not true. We have to survive on our own.”She said the UNHCR gave the refugees appointments for interviews, where their needs would be assessed, but claimed even these were a problem.“We are given appointments for interviews, but when they come close they are delayed,” Hawa’a said. “You might have to wait seven or eight months for an appointment.”Ishaq Haji, 29, another Somali protestor, said his most simple needs were ignored.“The worst problem is that we are deprived of our basic rights,” he said. “I don’t even have any traveling documents. “Yet we seem unable to meet with the people in charge at UNHCR to talk about our problems. What then is the job of the UNHCR if they do not help refugees?”
Anwar Shiekh, 28, was also protesting outside the building. “There is no help from the UNHCR, and the workers do not treat us well while we wait,” he said. “It is difficult to be a Somali here. When you get inside the building, you can see instructions on what to do in Amharic and Oromo, the languages of Ethiopia.“But I couldn’t see anything in Somali. Why is that? It seems to me that they don’t care about Somali refugees.”Shiekh even claimed that other nationalities received better treatment. “Most of the secretaries there are from Ethiopia so they help refugees from their own country. But why are we not helped?” he asked. “I don’t think that there are any Somalis in the UNHCR, yet there seem to be many Ethiopians. Is this discrimination?”Others say they have been helped, but still have problems. Hussan Ali Matnan said his family was sent to the USA by UNHCR without his knowledge when he was outside Sana’a looking for work.He said he is now suffering alone and wants to join his family. However, he claims he has received no response to his request to join them from UNHCR.“I want to join my family very badly”, he said. “My wife and two daughters need their father and I am worried because they need somebody to look after them.”However the UNHCR disputed the refugees’ claims and said they are already doing all that they can.Firas Kayal, the UNHCR’s Associate Protection Officer said: “The Somali refugees have more privileges here in Yemen than other refugees.“Somalis are accepted as refugees as soon as they lay their foot on Yemeni land, and they don’t have to go through the procedures other refugees do,” he said.“Our registration exercise found that the number of Somali refugees in Yemen, up until 2004 reached 47,000, but we believe the actual number is higher.“We are going to establish a new registration center that will help in the issuing of identity cards for Somali refugees and renew the cards that have expired.”Kayal added: “The resettlement that the Somalis are demanding is not one of their rights. “It’s just a solution that we suggest alongside other solutions, which include voluntary repatriation and local integration. Each country that accepts resettlement has certain criteria, and we are working to meet them.”Kayal also tried to explain the difficulties that the UNHCR faced in dealing with the vast numbers of problems. “Unfortunately our doors cannot always be open for every refugee,” he said. “Our capacity is very limited and our resources are short, while the number of Somali refugees is huge. “We provide assistance to urgent cases and refer them to NGOs that work with the UNHCR. We pay monthly visits to the heads of female households to see what they need and we do try to find jobs to those who have education.”Kayal added that some Somalis were not listening to the UNHCR’s advice. “The Somalis insist on staying in the urban areas, but there is a camp in Kharaz where they are asked to go,” he said. “There, they will be given all necessary assistance they need. However some want to stay in Sana’a as the chance of finding a job is better. “There is an initiative that is adopted by the UNHCR, in cooperation with European Union, Britain, Netherlands and Denmark, with countries who receive Somali refugees. This initiative is called the Comprehensive Plan of Action and will help to better address the problem.”Kayal said he appreciated the difficulties that they faced, but that his hands were tied. “I understand the situation that Somalis have, but I can do nothing,” he said. “Some of them are given appointments that are seven months later but we have to go by the conventions.”He added that Yemen has worked hard to help the refugees too. “Yemen has demonstrated their generosity by accepting a large number of Somalis,” he said. “I would like to thank the Yemeni government for this. We are sharing the burden of these refugees with them, and we try to do as much as we can.”The protests come as Yemeni coastguards arrest 750 more refugees off Yemen’s coast. Almost 90% were arrested off the coast of Shabwa governorate and came from various countries, including Ethiopia and Eritrea.According to the UNHCR, the number of total refugees registered in Yemen until 2004 were 49,784. Of those, 47, 672 were Somalis.The other refugees were made up of 1,229 Ethiopians, 440 Palestinians, 219 Iraqis and 101 Eritreans, with the rest from various countries. The UNHCR have estimated that 5,274 refugees arrived in Yemen in the first quarter of 2005 alone. The majority are from Somalia.However, Abdul-Malik Abood, the UNCHR’s foreign relations assistant in Sana’a, said that the actual number was expected to be much higher.
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Yemen Observer Newspaper