HARADH, 25 November 2009 (IRIN) - Ali Saleh Ahmad, 45, and his family arrived in the Al Mazraq camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the northwestern Yemeni province of Hajjah after fighting between the Saudi army and Houthi-led Shia rebels in the northern Saada governorate forced them to flee their home in Ghafri village, Dhahiri district.

The family made the three-day trip on foot before reaching the camp, with Ahmad carrying his 10-year-old disabled daughter Zaraa on his back. Sitting in his tent, Ahmad, a father of six, told IRIN his story:

"I carried my handicapped daughter on my back throughout the three-day trip until we reached this camp. We begged villagers we passed for food and water along the way. We took shelter under trees at nights. It was a hard trip with Zaraa on my back.

"My other five children were scared by the sounds of warplanes while we were at home and during the trip, particularly at night. We came to this place empty-handed; we had to leave everything, our clothes and furniture, to save our lives. I don't know what has happened to our house and what it looks like now.

"We had a car drive only when we were just 15km away from the camp in Hajjah governorate. During our journey from one place to another in Saada governorate, we hardly saw cars driving as almost all the roads were blocked by the army and al-Houthis."

"While we were on the move, villagers who saw Zaraa and her condition didn't hesitate to help us and they gave us food and water, and they showed us the way to the camp.

"Zaraa is our main concern; she hasn't uttered a word since she was born. Her condition continues to worsen by the day. She cannot eat, but we try to feed her. We try to speak to her but she doesn't respond.

"Zaraa is going to die because she is so weak and cannot eat, and we have no money to get medicine and food for her. While carrying her on my back, I couldn't feel whether she was asleep or awake.

"Even before we fled our home, we didn't have enough money to buy food and medicine for Zaraa. Being the only breadwinner, I used to work as a day labourer in farmlands for YR300 [about US$1.50] a day, sometimes I would be paid YR400–500 [about $2-2.50] by some generous farmers. That was not my regular or stable income, as I sometimes would spend an entire week without any work.

"We are waiting for aid workers to visit our tent and see if they can help us relieve our sufferings. Until now, we have received nothing except for three mattresses and this simple cot, which isn't even covered with cloth."

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