Defending Refugees’ rights [Archives:2003/637/Local News]

Fahmia Al-Fotih
“War is a devilish seed that is easier to be planted and more difficult to be uprooted whenever it breaks out. War is a crazy idea for irresponsible leaders when there are many alternatives.” That's how Ms. Amal al-Basha, Chairperson of Sister Arabic Forum (SAF) for human rights, started her speech addressing the two-day national symposium entitled “Peace and war and refugees problems and how to protect female refugees form violence” held on Sunday 18 May 2003.
She said “The third millennium has begun with its first wars; the war against terrorism in Afghanistan and then the heinous war against Iraq under pretext eliminating alleged weapons of mass destruction. War results in painful reality. Those who have experienced war shocks need a long time to forget their sorrows and loss of their beloved ones.”
She added “Today we are going to shed light on one of the war results represented by refugees problem, that is the beginning of a long tiresome journey in foreign countries. It is true that female and male refugees suffer from living away form their home and continuous loss and their dreams of going back to their homes. However, the female refugees are affected much. Reports of human rights organization have proved that there is unusual violence aiming at girls and women during war. Thus, the women bodies become an aim the soldiers to stoop upon and rape and kidnapping becomes one of the most dangerous crimes in the battle”
The symposium displayed a number of field researches and detailed studies on reality of refugees particularly female refugees in Yemen.
It is worth mentioning that a study submitted by Dr. Abdualhakeem al-Shargabi about the refugees' situations in Yemen considered one of its kind as it is the first study tackles the refugees problems here in Yemen.
A large number of international and local civil society associations, human rights organizations, and ministries representatives attended and enriched the symposium with their comments on the submitted papers and studies. Consequently, a number of recommendations were issued. The recommendations concentrated on issuing laws and regulations to ensure refugees' rights, providing programs for social merge, providing them with basic requirements, launching awareness campaigns to inform them about their rights, and a number of other recommendations.
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