Yemen: a rise in immigrants puts resources under strain

Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries, has unexpectedly become the destination of many destitute immigrants from the Horn of Africa, Yemeni security sources have revealed.

During October, coast guards seized 750 illegal immigrants, including 180 women and children. They said the majority of the immigrants carried Somali documents and a few came from Ethiopia and Eritrea. The immigrants are mainly intercepted at the western shores of Yemen on the Red Sea after undergoing a dangerous voyage in usually rough seas packed in small dinghies, many of which capsize before reaching safe shores.

Journalist and social researcher Nizar Abbadi cited miserable living conditions, authoritarian rule, persecution and an absence of safety and security as the main reasons driving the immigrants to seek refuge in a poor country like Yemen. He said: 'Yemen is among the poorest countries in the world, and yet it has become a strange destination for immigrants and the scene is of one of the most terrible humanitarian tragedies that need to be tackled and dealt with closely by the international community.'

According to the UN High Commission for Refugees in Yemen, around 50,000 refugees have been registered, while unofficial figures estimate that more than half a million unregistered immigrants are now living illegally in the country. The first batch of Somali refugees arrived in Yemen following the outbreak of the civil strife in Somalia in 1991. They increased gradually as the conflict in Somalia intensified and reached a climax in 2001, raising the annual average of incoming refugees to 14,000.