SOMALIA-YEMEN: Mohammed Hassan Ali,
Somalia-Yemen: "What can I do with this kind of life?"
Source: IRIN
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ADEN, 24 October 2007 (IRIN) - Mohammad Hassan Ali, a 27-year-old Somali, is one of 3,800 African migrants who arrived by boat in Yemen in October. He is living in al-Basateen, a poor
neighbourhood in Aden. He sleeps rough and has no job. "On the night of 10 October, as our boat was approaching the Yemeni coast, smugglers threw me into the sea along with 110 other passengers. I
could hear some female passengers crying as the smugglers were beating us with sticks to leave their boat. We swam for about five minutes until we reached the coast. Fortunately, none of us died. It
was a horrible moment. We were in a miserable condition and very hungry as we had nothing to eat for hours. "Early in the morning, some passengers and I headed for Kharaz camp, which I had heard
about from some of my fellow passengers. But I did not like to stay there and so I decided to come to al-Basateen area so that I can get a job or go to another place. The journey took two hours by car
and I was helped by other Somalis who paid for my fare. But now that I am here in al-Basateen I find that I cannot go anywhere else. I have no money and no relatives to stay with. Every night I sleep
rough, in the open with cardboard as a blanket. I feel very cold at night as I have no blanket or any other pieces of warm clothing. "When I lie on the cardboard, I gaze at the sky thinking of my
wife and three children, whom I left behind in my country. I wonder what they are doing. I am sure they are waiting for me to send them something from here. "I get up very early in the morning and
immediately start searching for a job. But I always return empty-handed. My dream is to get a job and I am ready to do any work but my Arabic is very poor. That is why I cannot speak to the locals and
ask for their assistance. Here in al-Basateen some refugees give me a loaf of bread for my breakfast and others for my dinner. Some other refugees also give me rice for lunch. But what can I do with
this kind of life?" maj/ar/mw© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org
