Employment Offices in Yemen:  Are They Selling Illusions? [Archives:1999/42/Reportage]

Abdulkareem Hashem 
It’s crystal clear that the economical status in Yemen is decaying and is by all means unpromising as we could see extreme indigence, high living expenses and worst of all the absence of job opportunities among those who have high certificates and those of intermediate education. These conditions enabled some devious charlatans to make use of those people who are in need of job opportunities. These frauds use Visa’s and job contractions as a decoy to lure their victims into their traps. 
Worth mentioning is that getting the information was difficult because the victims found it embarrassing to talk of being swindled by these frauds. These people do not want to be though of as naive and credulous people, therefore, only a few number of such cases were reported to the police. 
In the following lines we will try to give you some pictures of this tragedy. We will begin with this story which shows how people who disparately look for an escape from these deteriorating conditions soon find themselves in worse conditions. 
The victim stated: “We thought that we finally found the solution to our problems when we finished all the necessary procedures for emigration to Saudi Arabia. We were supposed to work for a wealthy business man who owns a factory in the Saudi Arabia Kingdom. He promised us excellent jobs and tempting wages but once we arrived there, we soon discovered that all his promises were nothing more than a pie in the sky. He made us work like slaves let alone that treated us badly and scolded us all the time.”


This is not the only story of its kind. Every day an unaware citizen falls into the trap and becomes a victim of one of these employment offices. Here are some more stories. 
1. Mr. Amin Al-Najar, an engineer, said in the interview: “I heard of an employment office which provides excellent jobs in the same field of my profession. I was promised a high salary and many other privileges which one of was that the work will be in the United Arab Emirates. I first went to their office in Taiz which was located in Gamal street near Al-Jodyri police station. The name of the office was Job Finder for Employment and Businesses. I paid them 1100 YR Then they asked me to prepare a file containing my certificates, a guarantee and a medical report. I prepared the file spending 3000 YR and therefore totaling a sum of 4200 YR. Later on, they gave us membership cards of their office. We, then, waited for days and months but unfortunately we came to know that the office had closed. At this point, I did not know what to do or who to ask for my lost money.” He also said: ” I was not the only one, there were tens of people who registered and prepared files but …. every thing was over.” 
2. Mr. Mohammed Mansour Al-Hemiari, a worker, said telling his story: “Just like every body else I applied to the Job Finder for Employment and Businesses. They asked for a personal ID along with some personal photos. After we prepared our files, they gave us ID s which belong to their office. We paid them approximately 1100 YR. Of course, this incident took place a year ago but we had received nothing. They had told us at that time that we will travel to Qatar or the United Arab Emirates in stages and that an advertisement will be published in Al-Thawrah newspaper telling the names of those who shall travel first.”Those were some stories but there are more to tell. There were many other advertisements calling for people to travel and work in Sultanate Bronway. These advertisements spread widely along with the application form assuring that they prefer Yemeni workers in that country. 
Moreover, some of these fakers used a more alluring decoy. They promised those needy people of finding them jobs in the Saudi Arabia Kingdom and in the United States. We could notice that this kind of activity is prevailed by secrecy. They tell people that there are only limited chances to make it even more alluring. Take for instance this story about a person who promised people to give them entering Visas to the United States. He took $ 5000 from each person and when those people started demanding their money back he gave them forged checks. After a couple of days, one of the victims filed a complaint to the police department. The general manager of the department sent and official message to Aden’s branch to arrest this person who, apparently, lived in Aden. The General Administration, sana’a, which is still investigating this case, had got lots of other complaints from different people in regards of the same person. 
These offices are found everywhere and you could see their signs in all places. They also distribute papers in minibuses, coffee shops and in any other place where these needy people assemble. For this reason we interviewed some of these offices. 
1. Job Finder for Employment and businesses: We searched for hours all along Al-Qiadah Street until we left no stone unturned to find this office. Later on, we found out that the office had closed and had removed the sign which shows where their office were. We asked about them but no body seemed to know where they had left to. However, we were able to interview a relative of the building owner where this office was located. The man said that the owner still has some problems with those who opened the office because of some unpaid electricity and telephone bells. He also added that the case is now in court but then he refused to give us any further details or to tell us his name saying that it was of no use to do anything because the owner of the office was a well-connected person. 
2. Al-Kawtari Office for Emigration Procedures: We tried to find this office in the address shown in their advertisement but all our tries went in vain. A while later, we found out that this office had another name which was Al-Dalil office for Real Estate. Then, we headed for this office which was composed of a small room, a telephone and one man. We asked this man about the kind of business they run and he answered: ” Our office is specialized in making emigration Visas to Canada. The rules we follow are: first the applicant must pay a 200 YR fee for the application form. After he fills in the application form we ask him to prepare a file containing their certificates and a medical report. Then, they pay for the mail and we send the file to Canada. If we receive a positive answer the candidate must pay $2000 for the office and another $500 tax for the Canadian government. At this point he has to wait until an agent comes from Canada to interview him. Once the interview is over he gets the Visa and he pays the office another $2000. Then, he can travel to Canada on his own expenses knowing it is non of our obligation to find him a job their.” He also added: ” The person who gets this Visa could get the Canadian Nationality whilst his stay there. We also require from the candidates to have good command of either the English or the French Language. I would also like to add that we give $100 commission to anyone who brings us a client.” 
3. Al-Helal office for Employment: This office is composed of a ground-floor room which is divided into two sections by a piece of cloth. There are three employees in this office , two women and a man. We talked to Mr. Ahmed Al-Sanabani, Public Relations Representative. He said “The documents we ask for are the highest certificate the applicant has obtained, a photocopy of the personal ID and personal photos. After he pays 200 YR we register his name in our lists. We, then, try to find him a job and contact him if we found any. When we get him a job we sign a contract with him in which makes a commitment to pay the office 50% of his first salary and another 50% of his second salary and in case he delayed the payment it will be doubled,” he also said: ” The field of our activities is broad. We provide all that the job market needs in both sectors, the private and the governmental, inside and outside Yemen. Moreover, our activities are not limited to finding jobs we also help those people who want to move or change their jobs because we have good connections in the work market.” We then asked him to give us some examples of what they have done and he told us that they had found jobs for many workers in Al-Babeli Companies, drivers in Al-Wedian Company for Paints, secretaries in some private companies and nurses in private clinics. Then he continued that they give commissions to any one who bring them a client and that they had a license from the Ministry of Construction. We asked him if the Ministry of Work supervises their activity but his reply was that he was not aware of such a supervision. 
After hearing all these statements, we went to the Ministry of Work to investigate this matter. The staff there told us that the Ministry does not supervise such activities. We also tried to meet the manager several times but he was constantly absent. Then we talked to one of the employees who refused to give us his name. He said that these activities are illegitimate according to the work law number five that was released in 1995. He also added that such offices must get their license from the ministry of work before they can proceed such an activity. 
Finally, Why does not the government do something to protect its citizens from these deceptions though it is the one to be blamed for their conditions? If this the case, then, on what bases do these offices open and who is responsible for supervising such activities? These are important questions which seem to have no clear answer. 

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