The Refugee Crisis In Yemen 🇾🇪
- Konrad Tillman
- Jun 14
- 3 min read
Intro
Before I wrap up this Yemen series, I wanted to chat about one thing that really surprised me when I was in Yemen. However, before I do, I just want to point out that I am NOT an expert on this matter, I am simply trying to shed a little bit of light on what is a tragic situation on all fronts.
Illegal Migrants
With so much instability in East Africa, in the likes of Somalia, Ethiopia, and especially Sudan, a lot of people have sought to hopefully find a more stable and safe life in the Gulf Region.
However, it is a very difficult path. With Saudi Arabia and Egypt mostly closing off their borders to those looking to flee the horrific war in Sudan, this has left people fleeing for their lives to Yemen, a country in a deep civil war, in hopes of gaining entry to the Gulf Countries through land.
It's an extremely tough and harsh route, filled with crossing an open ocean on boats that are packed to the brink. Just last year, a boat carrying 260 migrants sank in the middle of the ocean on the way to Yemen, resulting in 49 deaths. Tragic.
As I mentioned, I am not an expert in these fields, so I'd recommend doing some independent research into this on your own.
On The Ground Thoughts
But what I can give you are some on-the-ground insights from this ongoing crisis. Throughout my time in Aden, I was approached multiple times by women who were not from Yemen (as my guide told me) but from countries in East Africa.
He began to tell me a little bit about the process and why it is becoming more and more prevalent in Yemen at the moment. Apparently, people save enough money in order to take a boat illegally into Yemen, since Yemen does not police this matter much, and when they arrive, they have no money to make it up to Saudi Arabia.
Now, to me, I don't know how to respond to that. I sit in my bubble in the West, observing, but never living what they have to live. The only thing that goes through my mind is trying to imagine how difficult it must be that the only way out of your country is to go into one in a civil war. It's heartbreaking. And I'll leave it there, but I encourage people to do some research on this.
Final Thoughts
Throughout my time in mainland Yemen, I encountered something I never would have expected to encounter: a refugee crisis. For the time being, Yemen isn't policing this matter very much, but the only thing that I could have was empathy here, as try to imagine having to leave your home and the only way out was to a country in a civil war. Heartbreaking.
Yemen Series:
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