The consequences of the monetary division of the local currency experienced by the Yemenis are endless, such as the living situation that prompted people to migrate internally from the countryside to the cities, as a result of their inability to use the local banknotes currency of the new edition as is the case in Taiz Governorate (southwest of Yemen). Ansar Allah (Houthis) controls the Kadaha area in the south, and Dimna in the east, while the internationally recognized government controls the areas of Hajdah, the western coast, Mokha, Dhubab and Bab al-Mandab, in which banknotes with old editions are circulated in these areas.
Thus, between the "two versions", people's dreams and aspirations die, and families migrate in search of a single place to reside and work, in order to avoid the price difference between the editions of the national currency in circulation, leaving their homes and lands to the unknown. Because of the difference in the local currency, Assem Saleh, a forty-year-old from the village of Shar'ab Al-Rawna, decided to move with his family to the city, due to his inability to send his monthly financial support to his family.
Assem told "Khuyut": "I work in a bakery, and I receive my monthly wages in the new currency banknotes, while the people of my area deal with the old currency, therefore, when I transfer to my family an amount of 100,000 riyals (90 dollars at the exchange rate in the city), they receive it in the village at exchange rate of 50,000 riyals (about 80 Dollars at the exchange rate in rural areas) which is a tiny amount not enough for anything, with the continuous inflation in prices. Consequently, Assem confirmed that he decided to rent a small house in the city, sell their livestock and distribute their agricultural lands among the family and relatives, in order to avoid the problem of the monetary division of currencies and differences in its value.
The existence of two different versions of the Yemeni currency banknotes has become an imposed reality, through the new version circulating in the governorates under the control of the internationally recognized government, and the old version circulating in the Houthi-controlled areas, in light of the government's inability to bridge that gap.
Similar to Assem, Abdullah Ali (50 years old), a resident of the Al-Odain district of Ibb Governorate (central Yemen), who is currently an expatriate working in Saudi Arabia, says that the deteriorating economic conditions were the reason for his emigration outside the country, especially after the employees’ salaries were cut off in 2016.
Assem added to "Khuyut", saying: "The money I earn from my work, I send it to my family, but the exchange rate is deteriorating due to the increase in the prices of commodities. My friends in exile advised me to transfer my family residence to the city, where kids can get a better education, and also "the exchange rate in the city is high. Indeed, my family left the village and now lives in the city of Taiz. It is true that our agricultural land has been neglected, but we have no choice in view of the difficult living conditions."
Expanding Gap
In late December of the year 2019, the (Houthis) group issued a decision to permanently ban the new edition of the local currency in its areas of control, which led to a major monetary crisis that caused the fragmentation of the local currency and the deterioration of the value of the Yemeni riyal in the areas controlled by the internationally recognized government.
Economic researcher Abdul Wahed Al-Awbali confirmed that the (Houthis) decision to ban the circulation of the new edition of the currency in their areas of control has exacerbated the humanitarian and living conditions of the Yemenis, and disrupted their interests, as large groups of citizens who own new editions of the currency have been greatly affected, and found themselves unable to meet the needs of their families especially in the countryside as a result og banning the new currency edition.
Al-Awbali considers this crisis to be one of the most serious catastrophes that afflicted the Yemenis, exacerbating their living conditions, adding many restrictions and burdens to local financial transactions, as the gap in exchange rates widened between the Yemeni governorates, north and south. Additionally, the existence of two different versions of the Yemeni currency banknotes has become an imposed reality, through the new version circulating in the governorates under the control of the internationally recognized government, and the old version circulating in the Houthi-controlled areas, in light of the government's inability to bridge that gap.
It is known that people move since ancient times, within groups or individuals; in response to the urgent circumstances. However, the monetary division and the fragmentation of the national currency between the old and the new at two different exchange rates contributed to the growth of many invisible phenomena, such as rural migration to urban areas, which is being noticed recently in Yemen.
Yemen is characterized by agricultural terraces, which grow coffee trees, corn, wheat, and other crops, while the growing process of migration from rural areas to cities exposes them to a significant deterioration, and thus the disruption of agricultural production in a way that exacerbates the decline of the national economy.
Such internal migration will negatively affect the agricultural lands and the climate in the villages, and in Yemen as a whole, through the abandonment of agricultural lands and livestock. In addition, the citizens' movement will cause a dramatic rise of the urban population and consequently lead to scarcity in the vital services provided by the local authorities.
Lujain Al-Wazir (animal and poultry breeding specialist) believes, in her interview with "Khuyut", that the Yemeni farmer loses effort, money and workers, at a time when the demand for Yemeni agricultural products is not high, and because the villages have no other job opportunities other than caring for the land and raising livestock, the citizen finds himself unable to provide a living.
She said that citizens resorted to cities in order to improve living conditions, and this thing is offset by the deterioration of agricultural land and livestock; as there are families who left their upbringing in rural areas because of the high cost of transporting it to the city.
Moreover, the absence of the government’s role in achieving a balance of services between rural areas and cities, in addition to its failure to support farmers and encourage them to pay attention to the agricultural business; played a major role in exacerbating this phenomenon, and thus a decline in agricultural and animal production as well as contributing to transforming the country into a consumer state that relies on importing everything.
It is noteworthy that the International Organization for Migration of the United Nations announced the displacement of about 78 Yemeni families from several Yemeni governorates during the current month alone.
In its report on displacement cases, the organization said that between February 26 and March 4, 2023, the displacement matrix tracked "78 families, including (468 individuals), who were displaced at least once." Noting that they have moved to the governorates of: Taiz, Hodeida, Ma'rib and Hadramout.
According to the statistics of the UN organization, the total number of displaced persons from January 1 to March 4, 2023 reached 1,612 families, representing (9,672 individuals), who were displaced at least once.
Environment and Climate Change
Dr. Abdul-Qader Al-Kharraz, former head of the Environment and Climate Authority in Yemen, said in a statement to Khuyut that the phenomenon of internal migration from villages to Yemen has an impact on agriculture, the environment and climate change, not only on Yemen but on the region as a whole, as well as on the coastal environmental climate and the desert, and the mountainous, in addition to the war and its negative effects, which accelerated the process of climate and environmental change even more.
Yemen is characterized by agricultural terraces, which grow coffee trees, corn, wheat, and other crops, while the growing process of migration from rural areas to cities exposes them to a significant deterioration, and thus the disruption of agricultural production in a way that exacerbates the decline of the national economy.
The growing neglect of agricultural lands, in addition to climatic changes, is reflected negatively on the environment. Al-Kharraz asserted that the monetary division, security chaos and exposure to aggravation and blackmail all contributed to the high rate of internal migration to cities. These cities too were originally rural, such as Marib, which currently a residence for large number of displaced people from various Yemeni cities and regions estimated at about 4 million.
At the end of his statement, Al-Kharraz called for the necessity of resolving the crisis of monetary division in Yemen, addressing its economic, living and social impacts and consequences, and finding a strategic plan in order to reduce migration by distributing public services between rural and urban areas.
