SANA'A May 28. 2023 (Saba) -For many years, Yemen has been a major destination for African refugees fleeing the scourge of wars و looking for better living conditions, and migrants for economic reasons. Despite the deterioration of conditions in Yemen during the aggression years, the reality on the ground, along with the language of numbers, indicates that access to Yemen is still A favorite destination for those seeking asylum or immigration from African Horn .
The exceptional reality, in that Yemen is in a state of war, suffering and at the same time is a haven for thousands of refugees, must stop all countries “international and regional” organizations, according to many reports issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “through hundreds of thousands of refugees and immigrants from the Horn of Africa to Yemen during more than three decades.
It is noteworthy in the UN reports that the asylum route linking Yemen and the Horn of Africa "Gulf of Aden - Arabian Sea - Red Sea" is considered one of the most crowded maritime migration routes in the world, especially after it exceeded in previous years the asylum route in the Mediterranean and reached the European shores, and the “available” data revealed, for example, that the year 2019 witnessed the crossing of more than 138 thousand people to Yemen from the Horn of Africa, while the Mediterranean Sea crossed to Europe about 110 thousand people.
What must be said out loud is that Yemen, for many years, has been a preferred destination for African refugees, especially from the Horn of Africa "Somalia - Ethiopia - Eritrea". The reality, despite its clarity, does not reflect itself on the reports issued by specialized international organizations, even if numbers exist in some reports, however, they remain only numbers without real support or action by the concerned parties from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.
Observations on the ground indicate that the figures issued by international organizations on the number of refugees in Yemen, estimated at 387 thousand immigrants, represent only a small part of the real numbers of “illegal” immigrants or refugees. Especially with the exacerbation of economic burdens, in addition to the increase in security risks and the growing social challenges within Yemeni society.
However, the risks imminent due to the increase in the number of refugees and immigrants did not affect the conviction of the Yemenis that there are rights imposed by the Islamic religion and the praiseworthy customs and traditions that must be fulfilled, and many testimonies over the past decades confirm that Yemen - government and people - was a pioneer in dealing humanely with arrivals from abroad. Those looking for security, stability and job opportunities.
The official and popular dealings have always been “and still are” based on the fact that the refugee did not come of his own free will, but emergency circumstances forced him to leave his country of origin, and risk his life in immersing himself in the immersion of asylum with all its deadly dangers.
That what the Yemenis are well aware of that the good treatment is based on the fact that the newcomer is nothing but a guest who has all the rights imposed by Islam and customs in such cases, and the humane treatment by the Yemenis is consistent with what came in the Islamic law of rights, which are legal costs for all Muslims, and in Introduction to these rights:
The right to enter Muslim countries, to reside there as long as needed, to preserve his/her religion, to learn and to move around, to preserve him/herself, to preserve his/her mind, to preserve his/her honor, the right to adequate housing, the right to deal with people by selling, buying and owning property, and the right not to be returned to a state of persecution.
With regard to the accession of Yemen and Arab countries to the Convention on Refugees and the Protocol annexed to it, it must be recalled that accession was limited to only 9 Arab countries out of 22 Arab countries, and Yemen was the only country from the Arab countries of Asia after it signed the accession in 1980.
According to available data issued by specialized international organizations, particularly the International Organization for Migration, the number of migrants in the first five months of last year 2022 is estimated at more than 27,000 migrants, a number that exceeds the total number of migrants in 2021.
The number represents "according to the Organization for Migration" a decrease from what was the situation during the previous years, which estimated the number of immigrants at 138,000 in 2019 and about 27,000 in 2020, and these reports indicate that Ethiopian immigrants top the lists, at a rate of more than 90%, and the rest carry Somali nationality.
In a related context, we know that after their arrival in Yemen, many of the migrants seek to move between the Yemeni provinces in order to reach the northern border with the aim of entering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the belief that the good treatment of the Yemeni people towards them.
Migrants and refugees will be repeated with their entry into the lands Saudi Arabia, but the reality tells otherwise, especially as they approach the border separating the two countries, they are surprised by the firing of shots by the Saudi border forces.
According to UN data, there were reports by the partners of the International Organization for Migration and the local community, "that more than a thousand migrants, including women and children were injured or killed as a result of attacks and deliberate targeting at the border,” in addition to “every month, hundreds of gunshot wounds are treated in an IOM-supported hospital near the border town of Sa'ada".
In conclusion: the language of numbers indicates that the deterioration of economic conditions during the aggression years did not affect the fact that the Republic of Yemen is still a major destination for African refugees and immigrants, and the exacerbates the burdens on the one hand, and multiplies the challenges presented in the present and the future.
J.A
resource : SABA
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