With the number of refugees arriving in Yemen increasing daily, demand for jobs is also rising.
"I have a bachelor's degree in education from Somalia but jobs are hard to find," said Saeed Mohammed, 41-year-old refugee who has spent more than eleven years in Yemen. Saeed has six children, none of whom attend school. "I teach my children at home because my financial situation won't allow me to send them to school. Sometimes I resort to locking them up with a chain when I leave home to find a job and come back with food. Their mother ran away from us years ago and I have nobody to take care of them while I'm gone."
Saeed fills out applications for people who want to apply for documents at embassies or washes cars to earn a living. In the past he used to receive financial help from his brother in Norway, but he has since passed away.
There are almost 134,000 refugees in Yemen, the majority of which are Somali. They are distributed among three locations: Basateen neighborhood in Aden, Kharaz camp in Lahj, and the urban areas of Sana'a. There are currently around 24,000 refugees based in Sana'a, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refuges (UNHCR).
Yemen is a party to the Geneva Convention of 1951, and its 1967 Protocol, which grants refugees automatic asylum in Yemen. They are allowed to work, attend public schools and receive healthcare and social services.
There were around 188,000 new graduates looking for jobs, yet the government could only employ 16,000 individuals, according to a 2006 report by the Ministry of Public Works.
Yemen is the poorest country in the region, with an estimated unemployment rate of 20 to 35 percent, according to the World Bank.
Refugees are mostly engaged in work for humanitarian agencies, trading, door to door selling, service work, macro businesses and some production work like handicrafts and goats rearing. In Basateen neighborhood in Aden refugees rely on some trading and service activities as sources of livelihood. For example, they work in mobile shops, small restaurants, hairdressing, carpentry, money exchange, electronic repair, groceries and transport services. Refugee workers have no contracts, rights or protection. They receive very low wages when compared with local Yemeni staff, according to a new report by the UNHCR and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
"In Kharaz, 87 percent of the population of working age is unemployed. In Aden the unemployment rate among refugees reached 66 percent," said Claire Bourgeois, UNHCR's Representative in Yemen, during a workshop about livelihood assessment in the Kharaz camp and Basateen neighborhood. "Of the employed persons, 81 percent in Basateen and 63 percent in Kharaz are classified as daily wage workers in temporary jobs, such as car cleaning and domestic work," she added.
Ali Mahmoud, 23, a Somali refugee who arrived in Yemen in 1992, has studied computer science on a scholarship from the "Deutsche Akademische Flüchtling Initiative" or Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative Fund (DAFI). He works as a registration assistant at the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in Ahwar, Abyan governorate. Mahmoud was
lucky enough to receive a scholarship, but he feels sorry for those refugees who completed high school and can't go to government universities, such as his brother. "My brother has completed high school, but now that he wants to study accounting in Aden University, he can’t afford the USD $1200 fees," he lamented.
Mahmoud advised refugees to first improve their qualifications, and not give up in their quest for work. “Refugees should apply to a number of NGOs and companies, and if lucky they might find a job.�
Although refugee families have free access to primary and secondary public education, some cannot afford to send their children to school. Some students leave school in order to work and find a source of income for their families. However, university fees for refugees are set 50 percent lower than those for international students.
Only 16 percent of the total refugees at Basateen have more than a primary level education, and in Kharaz that number is little better, at roughly 25 percent. Illiteracy figures amongst women are alarming, with 65 percent in Basateen and 62 percent in Kharaz camp unable to read or write.
In addition to language and computer courses and literacy classes, the UNHCR Implementing Partners in Yemen have offered refugees vocational training in sewing, weaving and carpentry among other things. They aim to equip refugees with expertise that will help improve the likelihood of their finding work.
In Sana'a, the UNHCR has three main partners, the Interaction Development Foundation (IDF), the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW), and Al-Takamul Association for Development.
"Through these local NGOs we provide refugees with training programs in areas as diverse as household electricity, cosmetics, incense production, and information technology. We try to avoid duplication in the training programs; each NGO specializes in their own fields of training," said Marious Buga, programme officer at the UNHCR.
Naima Hassan, 22, a married Somali refugee, works as a housekeeper for a Yemeni family in the morning, and takes sewing and English language classes in the afternoon. Five years ago she came to Yemen, but couldn't find work because at that time she could speak neither Arabic nor English. "After I became tired of leaving my son home alone while I worked, I sent him to my mother in Somalia." Hassan earns about YR 20,000 ($100), and from this she sends money back to her son and family in Somalia.
Hinda Hashi, 20, another Somali refugee spent only one year in Sana'a where she studied English with IDF. Back home in Somalia, Hashi was only able to complete primary school. "I really want to work but the only jobs available here in Yemen are as housemaids and I don't really like this sort of work," she complained.
Job opportunities for refugees are limited, and a national legislation provision concerning access to employment is not in place. Refugees have to be issued work permits, are compelled to work in specific occupations where no Yemeni workers are available, and must have a Yemeni partner for business registration. The Yemen Labor Law restricts the employment of non-Yemenis to 10 ten percent of the total staff for every firm. In addition, those who work with humanitarian organizations receive relatively low wages.
Because refugees have limited employment opportunities, they risk getting involved in less desirable coping strategies, such as begging or garbage collection. Women rely primarily on domestic work for their livelihood, where they are often subject to various forms of exploitation and abuse. Some women even turn to prostitution to earn their living, the report commented.
Ekram Al-Qadasi, a human resources secretary in Sana'a said that huge numbers of Yemenis graduate every year, but most of them don't find jobs. "Priority should be given to Yemenis in the job market, like in any other country," she said. Al-Qadasi agreed that refugees should receive training to help them find work in Yemen, and also when they return to their own countries.
Alawi Bafaqih, the Vice Minister for Technical Education and Vocational Training strongly supports the idea of training and recruiting refugees. He does not believe that refugees symbolize competition for Yemeni jobs. "We are not talking about importing laborers to the country, refugees already exist. So why not benefit from their stay in Yemen and let them contribute towards development.
It's better to give them the chance to work and support themselves rather than depending on aid from international organizations."
Bafaqih believes that unemployed refugees represent a danger to the country, stating that "jobless refugees are a time bomb in this country."
by Khaled Al-Hilaly