Three African refugees lie down to rest after washing their children's clothes near a shabby camp in Khur Maksar in Yemen. They laid out the clothes to dry on the street near the camp, the tents of which are made of tree branches and threadbare clothes.
Thousands of Ethiopian refugees live on a piece of land in Aden's Khur Maksar. The majority were forcibly displaced by the Iran-backed Houthi militias, who burned down their Sanaa detention center, which housed some 900 migrants. The migrants were held at the prison for refusing to fight for the militias in the ongoing conflict.
The refugees in Khur Maksar rely on donations from the residents and they have offered to wash cars. They complain of the meager donations provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Conflict in Africa has pushed people to resume taking the trip of death from the continent across the Gulf of Aden to reach Yemen and eventually the Gulf countries. The illegal activity spiked in late 2021 after a notable dip.
One refugee, who identified herself as Mariam, angrily told Asharq Al-Awsat in broken Arabic that she was tired of journalists reporting on their plight. "We want money and food for us and our children," she said.
"Every day an organization comes to take our photos and promises to provide us with aid. It goes and never returns," she complained. She also complained of diseases spreading among the migrants.
At a nearby restaurant, refugees clamor for a meal paid for by a benevolent client.
One refugee told Asharq Al-Awsat that they are Oromo people and that they had fled death in Ethiopia where war was raging.
He demanded that the UNHCR transport them to a country that accepts them as refugees.
"Here, in Yemen, there is no work, but at least we are safe from death," he added.
Yemeni authorities have stressed that they were working with international organizations to combat human traffickers and smugglers.
The IOM in Yemen has said that in spite of the raging conflict there, the country is still a main crossing for migrants from the Horn of Africa. It registered the arrival of 27,693 migrants in Yemen in 2021. The main crossing points in Yemen are dotted along its southern coast in the provinces of Lahj, Shabwa, Hadhramaut and Taiz.
Migrants from Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia often risk death by riding in boats from their countries, seeking safer shores in Yemen. They begin their dangerous journey from Ethiopia, stopping in the port city of Obock in Djibouti before departing towards the Mandeb Strait and reaching the Lahj and Taiz shores.
A secondary route, crossing through Somalia, has emerged after patrols were intensified on the primary route between Djibouti and Yemen.
Migrants departing Somalia's Bosaso arrive on the coasts of Shabwa and Hadhramaut. The second route is longer but just as dangerous.
The majority of migrants are seeking safety in the Gulf countries, but often their journey - as observed by the IOM - ends in Yemen.
There, the migrants are the most vulnerable and marginalized segments of society. They are often exploited and abused. They live in dire conditions with limited access to the most basic services, such as shelter, food, water and healthcare.
Yemeni authorities have cracked down on human traffickers, who cooperate with smugglers in Africa to exploit the migrants and extort their families before being allowed to embark on their dangerous journey.
The Houthis, meanwhile, exploit the migrants for their war effort. They have forcibly recruited some migrants to their ranks and those who refuse are abused and detained. The situation came to a head with the arson of the detention center that housed some 900 refugees.
After the international outcry, the Houthis sent the migrants to areas held by the legitimate government. Herded like cattle in trucks, they were left at the edges of regions controlled by the government.
