Nov 20, Sanaa – Tens of Somali refugees continued their staged sit-in in front of the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees office in Sanaa for the second week and threatened to start a hunger strike.
The demonstrators demanded from the UNHCR office and the Yemeni authorities an improvement in their living conditions or have them transferred to any country other than Yemen and Somalia.
“You are fed up of us, and we are fed up of you. We simply can’t afford to stay here any longer.” one of the demonstrating Somalis told NewsYemen.
In a mixed Somali-Yemeni accent, which demonstrates the many years he probably spent in the country, the demonstrator appealed “Just take us to any place in the world away from Yemen and Somalia.”
The naivety was evident in the protesting Somalis, who came with their families, children and some pregnant women, as they weren’t able to communicate their message to journalists to maximize public awareness of their plight. They admit they were unable to get their message across for many years due to lack of leadership. But occasionally, a person comes forward with a written statement about conditions of Somali refugees.
One of those was Mokhtar Mohamed, who attempted to use the press to send a message to the Yemeni public. “They [Yemeni people] must know that we don’t receive any allowances or any stipends from the Commission [UNHCR]. There are some rumors saying that we receive 200 US dollars a month. All we have are expired UNHCR cards.” he said.
Hassan Othman, another demonstrator who pushed his way through the masses to give an opinion about the situation told NewsYemen that the demonstrators “have been sitting here for seven days but no one gave a damn about them”. Hinting that the next step could be a hunger strike, Othman added, “I have arrived to Yemen as a refugee from across the Red Sea and received an UNHCR card but received nothing in the last 15 years from this Commission.”
He did express his appreciation to the Yemeni governments for apparent efforts trying to help, but he added that “the recent hike in prices has added to our miseries.”
Othman tried to self-appoint himself as the leader of the sit-in group and strongly condemning the lack of concern by the commission, to whom he complained several times to no avail. “We talked about the problems that drove us to leave our homes in Somalia, and those problems are basically the lack of the basic living needs and lack of security. But here we have suffered from the same problems. We have no homes, no education, and the increase in prices because of the deteriorating economy in Yemen has added insult to injury. Hence, we started this sit-in in front of the Commission, and would begin a hunger strike until our demands are met.”
He did quote however, a response from the UNHCR, which according to him, said it will not be able to handle “such a large number of refugees but will consult the Geneva headquarters and will come out with a response in a month’s time.”
“But so far, we received nothing.” he added.
Othman hoped that the Yemeni government, which he said is not his foe, would pressurize the Commission to “meet our demands.”
He said he feels strongly about the need to be served justice, especially as Somalis have been subject to favoritism because, as e explains, Ethiopian refugees were ‘better served and many were transported to a third country’.
This comes after dozens of similar protests arranged by Somali refugees, who complain about the lack of cooperation from the Yemeni authorities and the UNHCR.
It is worth noting that some similar settings did end up turning violent in the past. Security forces detained some of Somali protestors including some women and children, who staged a lengthy sit-in a few years ago, after the UNHCR expressed concern to the authorities about safety and security of its staffers.