We’ve written before about the Middle Eastern country of Yemen. It regularly tops the rankings of the Middle East unrest charts but is also situated in a geographically unenviable position just across the Gulf of Aden to Somalia and Ethiopia.
Yemen is a dangerous place to be for a refugee, asylum seeker or one of the majority who use it as a transit to a more stable Persian Gulf country. Violence from the traffickers occurs even before the refugees have landed. Somalians and Ethiopians are the most common refugees arriving here. Somalis are in a better position as they are automatically recognized as refugees, negating the need for documentation and allowing mostly free movement.
Somali Refugees
Ethiopians on the other hand are not seen as refugees. This is largely because they are economic migrants and heading on to another Gulf state. It also means their movement in Yemen is restricted and their access to documentation is limited. It also means they are often detained, forcing many to avoid the authorities but increasing the likelihood they will fall victim to robbers, blackmailers and extortionists.
The backdrop to this is an almost 100% increase in the number of refugees making the dangerous trip across the water. 103,000 refugees made the journey in 2011, in 2010 it was 53,000. 2011 was the highest total of any year on record. Ethiopians also account for 75% of that total with Somalis making up the rest – however only 20% of these Ethiopian refugees actually apply for asylum in Yemen.
One can only surmise that these East African refugees regard Yemen, however harsh it might be, as better than where they are coming from. Somalia has been a war-torn, chaotic country for several decades now and the famine of recent months had made the situation worse. so perhaps anything is better at the moment. Ethiopia has also had it’s own issues in 2011 although it has largely escaped the famine affecting Somalia. In fact it has some of the largest refugee camps in the region to house fleeing Somalis.