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Mogadishu, (Insidesomalia.org) The Federal Republic of Germany's donation of $75,000 to the Maifa'a Refugee Reception Center located in the Maifa'a district of Shabwa province was handed over by the German Ambassador to Yemen, Michael Klor-Berchtold, last Thursday, Said Yemen Observer.
Ambassador Klor-Berchtold said that he was the special envoy for the horn of Africa from the European Union, and was traveling around the region to learn more about the Somali crisis.
"We spoke to the Yemeni authorities in the foreign ministry and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees office about this donation. I also saw in the Yemeni newspapers how sad the situation of the refugees who arrive on the Yemen coast was, having spent many hours in boats on the sea without clothes and being not very well-treated," said the German Ambassador.
Germany is one of the biggest donors to the UNCHR of funds that go directly to Geneva, Klor-Berchtold said. "Germany also is one of the biggest donors of humanitarian aid for Somalis," he added.
Mr. Klor-Berchtold confirmed the strong relations between Yemen and Germany, adding that Germany is still the biggest European donor for development in Yemen. "Germany has a long-standing, in-depth relationship with Yemen," he stated.
The German donation to the Maifa'a center comes in the form of a small bucket for every refugee who arrives on the Yemeni coast, both males and females. "It includes the basic things that human beings need like blankets, bed sheets, dates, T-shirts, soaps, veils for the women and other personal effects for females," said Mr. Klor-Berchtold.
"The political background of the exercise is that we want to show that Germany has not forgotten the situation in the horn of Africa and the situation in Yemen because Yemen is the country that receives most of the refugees," he stated.
The phenomenon of smuggling Somalis worsens day by day, and there is no solution to stop this serious problem. "We must continue to [work towards] stopping the smuggling of human beings. We are cooperating with the Yemeni government and taking all necessary measures to fight smuggling," Ambassador Klor-Berchtold said.
The German Ambassador handed over the donation to the UNHCR office in the center, expressing his hopes that such projects must continue to promote more collaboration.
The German donation will supply basic human needs such as clothing, food and blankets.
He made a round of the center's different areas that UNCHR supervises, which are managed by the Society for Humanitarian Solidarity (SHS). The center also has a section of World Food Program (WFP) donations that includes oils, flour, wheat and rice.
The center has other sections which include a food store, bakery, pharmacy and a clinic that treats most of the refugees who have injuries. The doctors at the clinic perform only minor operations; major surgeries must be transferred to a hospital.
Two rooms next to the clinic are equipped with good beds for the patients. Another section holds a Dutch donation from 2005 full of clothes for refugees who arrive on the coast naked.
"The center is very well maintained, they have everything they want and the UNCHR is doing their job extremely professionally," Ambassador Klor-Berchtold said.
Regarding Yemen's role in fighting the smuggling of refugees and finding a solution in Somalia, Mr. Klor-Berchtold said, "Yemen is playing a very good role in trying to find a solution to the Somali crisis; perhaps Yemen could play a stronger role because it has access to all parties involved in the situation."
He said that they are in very close contact with the Yemeni authorities in order to coordinate and collaborate to find a solution, to allow these refugees the possibility of returning to their homes and living peacefully. "We should not forget that we want to support Yemen politically to end the Somali crisis," he stated. "Yemeni people are very kind and tolerant for receiving these refugees."
The Maifa'a Refugee Reception Center was built in 1996, and became ready to receive refugees in 1999. It was established to receive refugees from the coastal areas to give them assistance such as food, medication and registration, which is a very important thing to them, according to Aouad Baobeid, UNHCR field specialist at the center.
The registration process occurs at the center for Somalis as well as other nationalities. "We give them registration forms so that they can move around the country and follow-up with their cards in the center offices in Aden or Sana'a," Baobied said.
During the German Ambassador's visit to the refugee center last Thursday, Baobied expressed his thanks and welcomed the German donation to the center.
Baobied said that the number of refugees who arrive at the center depends and that sometimes they receive more Somalis and at other times more Ethiopians, but the overall majority of refugees are from Somalia.
Statistics from the center show that there is an increase in the number of Somali refugees that the center has been receiving before transferring them to other camps. The number of Somali refugees passing through the center in 2007 totalled 14,483, and already in the first part of 2008 there have been 1,375. The overall number of Somali refugees taken in from 1999 to 2008 is 114,917.
The center also receives other nationalities, with those from Ethiopia being common. From 1999 to 2008 about 11,716 Ethiopian refugees have been welcomed into the Maifa'a camp.
The refugee process of the center begins when they are met and gathered at the coast and given assistance, food, medication and water. They are then transferred to the refugee center in UNCHR cars. "When they arrive at the center they are registered, get rested, and receive medication and food. Then we transfer them as they want to the camp at Kharaz or to the urban centers," said Baobied.
There are many refugees who die off the coast, especially when the boats capsize. "We proceed in coordination with the local authorities with their burial after we take photographs of them. The photos are then shared with the other offices in Aden and Sana'a," Baobied stated.
Dr. Adel Jasmin, representative for UNCHR in Yemen, was one of the people who received the Germany Ambassador during his visit to the Maifa'a center. Dr. Jasmin said that the refugee situation in Yemen does not differ from any other country; however, he added that the difference is that Yemen has adopted an open door policy.
"Yemen has received a lot of Somali refugees, and this is will reflect on its internal situation," Dr. Jasmin said. "UNHCR's role is trying to bring international attention to the situation in Yemen, and trying to get aid for Yemen to deal with the refugee situation."
Dr. Jasmin said that when the problems and the war began in Somalia in 1991, there were about 2,500 to 3,000 Somalis that came across the sea to Yemen every month. "[Because of this] the UNHCR decided to open an office for cooperation with the Yemeni government on the basis of burden-sharing, because the Yemeni government's reources are limited."
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