The influx of thousands of African refugees to Yemen continues in the absence of camps to accommodate them.
The Houthi militias have also deported thousands of them to areas under the control of the legitimate government, and they are now living in extremely dire humanitarian conditions.
A number of refugees managed to build camps of tin and trees in areas of land near the seacoast in Aden, while others remained with no shelter, sleeping in gardens and traffic islands instead. They are using water fountains and tree irrigation pipes to shower and wash their clothes.
Refugees are seen in the temporary capital at the main intersections washing, especially in the Khor Maksar district, where most of the offices of international organizations are located.
Women can also be seen giving their children a bath, washing clothes, and spreading them on trees, and so is the case in the Mansoura district, where refugees deported by the Houthi militias end up staying.
Salim, a food vendor in Aden, told Asharq Al-Awsat that these refugees live in misery, get simple meals from restaurants and cafes, while some of them wash cars and complain about the lack of aid delivery by relief organizations since several months.
“We sympathize with them and give them clean drinking water,” Salim said, in reference to other shop owners as well.
However, he stressed that there are thousands of them and they cannot find a shelter.
Bashir, who lives near refugee groups, said that the shops selling vegetables, foodstuffs, restaurants, and philanthropists help them as much as they can, but they suffer from the absence of aid for long periods.
He noted that the camp, which is made of trees and pieces of cloth, has water tanks and only a limited number of toilets.
Bashir stated that they are exposed to insects and reptiles and have no access to food, yet they fight every now and then because of their religious belief, and residents call the police to disperse them.
Director of the Cleaning and Improvement Fund in Aden Qaid Rashed, for his part, complained about the refugees' use of traffic islands and intersections as a shelter.
He asked the directors-general of the directorates to preserve “street intersections and green spaces.”
