Recent fire highlights plight of Sanaa slum-dwellers

Scores of families have been displaced after a recent fire destroyed their makeshift homes in a slum area in southeastern Sanaa, Yemen's capital.

Slum leader Salem al-Badwi said about 25 families (175 people) were living with host families as their small hut-like houses had been burnt to ashes.

The two-hour fire destroyed around 30 houses as a result of an electrical spark. No one was injured or killed in the incident.

"The houses were adjoining one another. That is why the fire spread rapidly. People's property and furniture was destroyed," al-Badwi told IRIN.

He said local non-governmental organisation (NGO) al-Saleh on 26 April tried to provide tents and food for the affected families, but fighting broke out during which one person was killed, and the NGO cancelled the exercise. "Only 10 tents and some dates were distributed among the affected families."

The situation deteriorated further when local landowners refused permission for the tents to be set up. "The owners of the land seized their land and surrounded it with a wall," al-Badwi said.

He called on the government to provide them with decent housing. "The government has not done anything as we are viewed as a marginalized black stain."

The slum

The slum is known as Dar Salm, and is home to 400 families. They are known as 'Akhdam', which means "servants" in Arabic. Most came from the Tehama region, western Yemen, which is one of the poorest and hottest places in the country. Al-Badwi said they had been in the slum for around 22 years.

Photo: Mohammed al-Jabri/IRIN

Dar Salm slum dwellers live in very squalid conditions

The houses are made of cardboard, shreds of fabric, old tyres, and tin and are liable to disintegrate in heavy rain. "The best time for us is when there is no rain or wind," al-Badwi said.

There is no sewage system, no formal electricity network and no piped water. The locals get water from a nearby well. Flies and mosquitoes are in abundance, and locals, especially children, are prone to diseases. According to al-Badwi, common diseases in his area include chicken pox, diarrhoea, cholera, malaria, and chest infections.

"A lot of children are malnourished. They just eat basic food, bread and rice. Our children are underweight and wasting," he said.

Most of the locals work as government-employed street sweepers. Some collect scrap metal and sell it. "We are helpless and cannot do anything for ourselves and our children," al-Badwi said. Government officials in the area were unable to comment.

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