[dehai-news] (YP) Somalis Awaiting Either Tough Solution or Safe Journey


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From: Yemane Natnael (yemane_natnael@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Oct 20 2008 - 12:48:51 EDT


Somalis
Awaiting Either Tough Solution or Safe Journey

October 20,
2008
 

Written By:

Abdul Rahim Al-Showthabi

                
                Yemen called on the International community to find a political solution
                to the Somali crisis, insisting on solving the Somali refugees' issue in
                Yemen, as it has become a hazardous phenomenon that effects Yemen
                economically and socially.

                
                
                Likewise, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), called
                on donors to support international efforts and put an end to the Somali
                conflict, as very difficult living conditions encourage people to take
                hopeless measures like risking their lives in a boat journey to Yemen..

                
                
                Yemeni Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Mothana Hassan told media outlets
                that Yemen has expressed its concern for the Somali crisis. Further he
                indicated that UNHCR stressed the need for practical protection of
                refugees.

                
                
                Unfortunately, in a country where economic disparities, scarce sources,
                and open conflict are ongoing, thousands of Somalis come to Yemen 
                seeking to live a better life.

                
                
                Over the years, Yemen has been generous in receiving refugees, and more
                than 88,000 registered refugees, mostly Somali, reside in Yemen.

                
                
                The problem does not start there, as thousands die trying to come to
                Yemen. "Thousands of people, looking for refuge or better economic
                situations, are believed to drown every year when they are exploited by
                smugglers," said UN refugee's agency in Yemen representative Adel Jasmin.

                
                
                Following the hazardous journey from Somalia to the Gulf of Aden,
                dramatic stories are told by some survivors. Ifto, an illegal African
                immigrant to Yemen said that he began his journey which starts at
                Bossaso port in Somalia. During his trip, he mentions that we was
                exposed to inhumane treatment a number of times by the boat crew.

                
                
                UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told AFP news agency that only 47 out of
                150 Somali and African emigrants survived a boat ride in a single
                occasion this month, after smugglers threw most of them out of their
                boat 5 kilometers off Yemen's shores, revealing that his agency watched
                Yemeni coastguards burying the corpses.

                
                
                From its part, UNHCR reported that 31,192 illegal African immigrant
                arrived to Yemen this year, among whom 21,201 were Somali and 9,854
                Ethiopian. It further added that 228 were demised and 262 are still
                allegedly lost.

                
                
                Despite the different warnings of taking this path and the different
                disasters seen at sea, more and more   Somali and African emigrants
                still undergo this risky and hazardous journey paying no attention to
                warnings.

                
                
                Political analysts note that Somalis are warlike people, as they are
                driven by poverty to intense struggle trying to find access to water and
                food.
 
                
                
                Internationally, observers agreed that power-sharing and political
                reunion is the most urgent solution to the current crisis in Somalia,
                revealing that such solutions would not be easy as long as Ethiopian
                troops are visible in the streets of Mogadishu. "As soon as the
                Ethiopian troops start departing out of Somalia, expect better and
                faster change”, noted one international observer. He further added that
                Islamists groups and militants should not be excluded if serous talks
                take place.

                
                
                From her part, the United States Foreign Affairs Minister Condoleezza
                Rice, warned the international community from the continuing war in
                Somalia, stressing that ending the war in Somalia would contribute to
                the peace and stability of the Horn of Africa, and to the African
                continent as a whole.

http://www.yemenpost.net/52/Reports/20082.htm

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