MMTF

In March of 2012, Ethiopian asylum seekers released from captivity by Yemeni smugglers and traffickers operating along the Red Sea coast shared harrowing tales of torture at the hands of their captors. Najash Muse, a fifty five year old man broke down in front of the DRC Red Sea...

Since the start of the year Yemen has faced serious political turmoil, initially mirroring the wave of protests across the Middle East and North Africa calling for social, economic and democratic reforms in respective states. The Danish Refugee Council and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in consultation with the Yemen MMTF, has been monitoring how the situation would impact mixed migration flows from the Horn of Africa to Yemen. Many migrants and refugees told DRC that they were aware about the civil unrest in Yemen as well as the risks involved. Despite the unstable situation, more than 43,000 refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa arrived on Yemeni shores during the first six months of 2011. This represents twice as much in 2011 compared to the same period in 2010, when 21,592 people reached Yemen.

DRC YEMEN commissioned a study on the mixed migration, prompted by the finalization of the European Commission project that started in 2008 entitled, Support to Individuals, State and Non-State actors to manage Migration and refugees across Somalia/Yemen gap. The study is intended to gain an overall picture of the protection situation during migration from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, as well as the situation migrants faced upon arrival. This report is based on a three-week research mission to the south of Yemen by the external consultant in January 2011. It is also based on registration data of new arrivals in Yemen gathered systematically by the Danish Refugee Council, as well as DRC protection reports from interviews it conducts with new arrivals on the Red Sea coast.

UNHCR Yemen is selling photo-book on Somalis' journey to Yemen with proceeds benefiting refugees. Across the Horn of Africa, war, abuse and poverty make millions miserable and drive thousands to attempt to flee. With land borders cut off or closed, and surrounded by conflict on all sides, one of the only means of escape is by sea. This book follows the journey of desperate emigrants, or tahrib, to their embarkation points with smugglers on the coast of Somalia, on a perilous voyage across the Gulf of Aden, and onward in the search for a better life. The cost is just $50, or one million Somali shillings. With a one in twenty chance of not making it to the other side alive, it is a price they must risk their lives for. Even then, it is a journey which for many will remain unfinished.

On 2nd January 2011 a small boat carrying thirty-seven migrants departed from Obock port town in Djibouti and capsized near Bab Al-Mandab on the Yemeni coast. Only three Ethiopians and two Somalis survived. Omar and Mohamed, the two surviving Somalis, are brothers. In February 57 Somali refugees drowned when their boat capsized en-route to Yemen. There was just one survivor. Ahmed had swum for 23 hours before reaching the Yemeni coast near the port town of Bir Ali, some 400 kilometres east of Aden. Including the latest and tragic deaths, 87 people have drowned or gone missing in the waters between Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen this year.

Aisha, her eight siblings and mother left their troubled hometown of Merka and arrived on Yemen’s Red Sea Coast at the start of this month. Shortly after registration by the Danish Refugee Council, Aisha and five of her brothers and sisters were enrolled in school in Kharaz refugee camp. For the first time in three years, they were able to join other children and attend classes; their excitement as they swapped classroom stories was evident and contagious. The desire to protect their children and provide an opportunity for a better life has seen increasing numbers of Somali families fleeing their homes and travelling to Yemen. In 2010, 2335 families were registered by DRC representing a 46% increase in family arrivals since 2009.

In November 2010, the INTERSOS risk assessment team assessed 474 most-at-risk new arrivals in Mayfaa reception centre and Kharaz reception centre. Amongst them women/girls at risk and unaccompanied/separated children make up the largest portion of most-at-risk New Arrivals (NAs), respectively 54% and 38%. 3 NAs reported GBV incidents during flight (respectively 1 sexual assault, 1 rape and 1 physical assault), whilst one NA talked to INTERSOS about a sexual violence taking place before she left Somalia. In November 2010, the rate of reported rape incidents during flight recorded a decrease in comparison to the previous month when 4 rape incidents taking place during flight were reported. From January to November 2010 an overall of 37 GBV incidents were reported during flight.

Aziza was interviewed and identified as a victim of trafficking. In close coordination with UNHCR, she was then referred to IOM’s shelter for protection, where she is slowly recovering. Aziza experienced acute stress reaction and went through a couple of hysteria attacks. At the shelter, she has been provided with medical and psychological care. Aziza is one of the 22trafficked women assisted by IOM and its partners since the first of July. Figures in the same period highlight that another 23 children, of a total of 35 persons, mainly Ethiopian, were also identified as victims of trafficking. Most of them have received psychosocial and medical care as well as shelter. With an effective identification system now in place in Yemen, reports of trafficking cases are expected to increase. The most vulnerable people are women, children and the economically disadvantaged.

Protection monitoring and registration trends for 2010 have highlighted that an increasing number of women travel to Yemen on their own. Fatima is one of 16 unaccompanied minors who reported being victims of rape and gender based violence during their journey to Yemen in September 2010. Between January and August this year, another 56 refugees and migrants were victims of sexual and gender- based violence, including rape, sexual assaults, and battery during their journey. Second hand reports indicate that the number may be higher, however many women choose not to report it because of various cultural reasons, such as poor perceptions of women who have been sexually abused.

A refugee's kindly gesture in her native Somalia was repaid years later with betrayal in Yemen when her teenage daughter was abducted. It was Khadija's* worst moment in a lifetime of pain. Then her luck changed dramatically. She was reunited with 16-year-old Khadra,* and, on UNHCR's recommendation, accepted for resettlement in northern Europe. What's more, in a landmark court case, her former friend and two accomplices were tried and jailed for 10 years for human trafficking, the world's fastest growing criminal industry.

The new sailing season for civilians desperate to cross the Gulf of Aden from the Horn of Africa to Yemen has resumed, but already at least three people have lost their lives in the attempt. So far this year, 32,364 African migrants and refugees are known to have arrived in Yemen from the Horn of Africa aboard 677 smuggling boats fleeing situations of conflict, instability, drought and poverty. During this period, some 50 people have lost their lives at sea trying to reach Yemen – due to poor health and sanitary conditions during their journey, drowning or fatal injuries at the hands of smugglers.

Since early 2010, Obock has become increasingly recognized as the principal departure point in Horn of Africa for migrants attempting to reach Yemen. It is estimated that 99% of registered new arrivals in July came to Yemen via Obock, due to the hazardous sailing conditions on the Arabian Sea.

Fardousa is a 30 years old Somali refugee. She recently arrived by boat in Yemen for the second time in her life, bringing her baby daughter with her. Fardousa explained to the Danish Refugee Council staff who registered her that she left Mogadishu where she was born at the age of 14. She has been on the move ever since. Her story, of displacement after displacement and of difficult journeys, reflects that of many Somalis.

The 10th annual Trafficking in Persons Report was released in June by the US State Department. It outlines the continuing challenges in this field across the globe, including the Yemen and Horn of Africa region.

Ismail is 25, and comes from Ethiopia’s Oromia region. Ismail had never left his home town before coming to Yemen. He is one of nearly 9200 mixed migrants of non-Somali origin estimated to have arrived on Yemen’s coast in the first four months of 2010.

A brand new Yemen Mixed Migration Task Force website was launched on 9th May, to function as a valuable resource about the mixed migration phenomena from the Horn of Africa to Yemen. The Danish Refugee Council, Yemen MMTF member since the groups beginning in 2008, has been leading the project to design and launch the site. The site aims to inform about the work of the Yemen MMTF, which comes in response to the mixed migration taking place from Africa’s Horn to Yemen’s coastline and beyond.

The boat, which departed June 11 from the Somali village of Marera, east of the northern port of Bossaso, sailed for four days across the Gulf of Aden prior to reaching the shore of Yemen's Hadramout region Monday morning. The boat, reportedly carrying 88 people, capsized after taking on water while still far from shore off the Yemen town of Bourom, some 500 kilometres east of Aden.

Despite such a vivid lesson in the risks of the Gulf crossing, Hoda plans to make the journey herself, leaving her youngest children in the care of her eldest daughter, who is just ten.