Africans drown in Yemeni Waters, UN concerned [Archives:2005/876/Local News]
SANA'A- Sept.11- The rising death toll of African refugees drowning in the Red and Arab seas on their way to Yemen is causing waves at the UN. The UN high commission for Refugees (UNHCR), have appealed to international organizations and local government to stem the flow of desperate families who make the crossing each year.
From Sunday, over 330 African refugees have been reported drowned or missing in the Arab Sea, south of Shabwa. According to Yemeni military and coast guard sources, up to 160 of these have been Ethiopian. However this statistic is hard to verify as there is no credible means of identifying the many bodies found in the straight or washed up on beaches.
The increase in refugee numbers and the high number of dead has precipitated a belated reaction from the UN. The high commissioner for refugees has called for an international response to the crisis.
Realistically however, the prospects are grim as the massive and desperate tide of refugees will not be turned back by paperwork. Terrible insecurity and deplorable prospects in Somalia, Somaliland, Eritrea and Ethiopia contribute to the desperation which causes families to risk their lives in the attempt at a better life.
“With the sailing season just starting, we cannot simply stand by for the next several months while hundreds or thousands more desperate people go to their deaths in the Gulf of Aden at the hands of smugglers,” said Antonio Guterres, a UNHCR official. “The international community has to help – and put pressure on – local authorities in Puntland and Bossasso to crack down on the smugglers,” he added, referring to the coastal area of Somalia's northeast region.
“We need to get information to those being exploited by the smugglers as well, so they know the dangers,” he continued. “We're also appealing to international skippers to keep an eye out for boats in distress in the Gulf, and on governments in the region to do all they can to help those who need it on their shores.”
According to the UNHCR, the number of Ethiopian mortalities crossing the Red Sea has reached 150 in the last few weeks alone. Twenty-five Somali nationals were reported dead on Friday off the coast of Yemen, while at least 75 bodies washed ashore last week after smugglers on four boats carrying some 400 people forced the passengers to jump overboard as they neared the coast. Another 39 people were rescued from their drifting boat by a Danish ship on Wednesday night, but one man died before he could receive proper medical attention.
In the latest incident on Friday, two boats run by Somali smugglers and carrying about 250 people were found offshore by the Yemeni coast guard. Ten people were found dead in the engine room of one boat, and two others died after being taken ashore. Survivors said another 13 had died during the voyage and their corpses thrown overboard.
On Wednesday night, the Danish tanker ship Eli Maersk rescued 39 Somalis and Ethiopians who had been drifting in the Gulf of Aden for several days after their boat engine failed. A UNHCR spokesman commended the Maersk company and the ship personnel. In his statement, High Commissioner Guterres also praised the captain and crew of Eli Maersk, and thanked Djiboutian authorities for their help.
Every year, thousands of people cross the Gulf of Aden in unsafe vessels run by smuggling rings between the months of September and March, when the weather is generally calm in the area. Many of them set sail from Bossasso in the Puntland region, trying to reach the Middle East and beyond in search of safety, refuge from persecution and economic opportunity. Hundreds are believed to be lost at sea every year, their deaths unreported. Those who survive the hazardous journey often arrive in Yemen, where UNHCR runs a reception center and a camp.
The Yemeni coast guards deployed in B'er Ali, Shabwa Governorate seized last Friday a trafficking boat and arrested three of its crew while others fled the scene.
The issue is symptomatic of the consequences of unequal development, a problem exacerbated in third world nations where resources are stretched to their absolute limit. But until Africa attains a comparable degree of prosperity, security and individual opportunity don't expect the boats to stop arriving, with or without their cargo.
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