Number of boat refugees double last year, UN says

Twice as many Somalis and Ethiopians crossed the Gulf of Aden in September and October this year than the same period in 2006, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday.

These particular months are known as the high season for human smugglers sailing from Somalia to Yemen as the seas are relatively calm. But cramped conditions on poorly constructed, small boats cutting through shark-infested waters make the journey perilous and hundreds of lives are lost every year as a result.

Just over 11,000 Somali and Ethiopian migrants arrived on Yemen’s shores between September and 27 November this year, according to UNHCR. This is equivalent to the total number of arrivals between January and July. Over the year to date, UNHCR said 23,000 people have arrived in 188 boats run by smugglers.

Of these, 291 drowned on the way, 34 died of other causes and 152 are missing.

"Some of the Somalis and Ethiopians arrive on Yemeni shores in small boats. Some die because of the strong sea waves that cause their boats to capsize,” said Colonel Ali al-Subhi, deputy head of the Yemeni Coast Guard Authority (CGA).

“Also, when smugglers notice a guard patrol, they force people [throw them overboard] to continue their journey by swimming. Here some die and some survive,” he said, adding that while one of the roles of the CGA was to catch these smugglers, so far, none had been arrested.

Migrants typically pay around US $50 each to smugglers to get them across. The vast majority of those crossing are Somalis, adding to an already burgeoning Somali community in Yemen.

“While UNHCR’s regular statistics at the MRC [Mayfa'a Reception Centre] indicate that there exists approximately 90,000 Somalis in Yemen, this figure is much lower than what the government of Yemen always speaks about - 500,000,” Adel Jasmin, UNHCR representative in the capital, Sana'a, told IRIN.

Somalis receive automatic refugee status on arrival in Yemen whereas Ethiopians and Eritreans must apply. UNHCR provides basic food assistance, water, medical care and other non-food items to the new Somali arrivals at MRC.

Jasmin said that most of these people are young men from southern Somali cities including the capital Mogadisho, Baidawa, Kismayo and Lower Juba.

“They are arriving together with a number of Ethiopians, the majority of whom expresses crystal-clear willingness to move forward and cross the borders on foot in search of better job opportunities in the affluent Arab states in the Gulf region, and sometimes beyond,” Jasmin said.

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