Monday, November 26, 2007
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For the first 10 months of 2007, UNHCR estimated that 18,757 people had crossed the Gulf of Aden by boat. Many end up in miserable conditions in Yemen.
Image Courtesy: © Muhammad al-Jabri/IRIN
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SANAA (IRIN) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) will begin to construct new shelters for African refugees in Kharaz camp, 150km west of Aden, according to a senior UNHCR official. The project is funded by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).
Saado Akram Qoul, head of the UNHCR office in Aden, told IRIN the project would initially comprise building 300 housing units and that it was scheduled to be completed in six months' time at an estimated cost of about 800,000 euros.
Quol said that in addition to the new housing units, classrooms would be built and new arrivals in the camp would be given psychological support.
"The facilities will address the needs of new arrivals, some of whom currently live in tents around the shelters," he added.
According to Qoul, Kharaz camp is home to around 9,000 refugees of whom about 650 are Ethiopians and the rest Somalis.
"UNHCR, together with its partners, provide shelters, education, food, water, medical services, counselling and other services to Kharaz camp residents," he said, adding that the services provided include essential non-food items, drugs and medical materials.
Qoul explained that the numbers in the camp fluctuated: Some Somalis had been able to return home with the help of the UNHCR, but right now there was a need for more shelters, he said.
Latest incident
On 21 November 65 African migrants, mostly from Somalia, drowned in the Gulf of Aden when their boat reportedly capsized as they were trying to reach Yemeni waters.
The Yemeni authorities managed to retrieve 50 bodies from the sea near Redhoum in Shabwah Province and found another 15 bodies on the beach.
According to Qoul, so far in 2007 about 23,000 migrants have arrived by sea from the Somali port of Bosasso. "Many engage the services of smugglers to make the dangerous journey to Yemen. The trip has claimed the lives of hundreds of people so far," said Qoul.
Yemen grants Somalis refugee status as soon as they arrive on its soil. The country is party to the 1951 refugee convention and its 1967 Protocol.
Source: IRIN, Nov 26, 2007