Inside a worn-out tent that lacks the most basic necessities of life, Nabila Fouad, a forty-year-old woman from the “marginalized” group, lives with three of her children on the outskirts of the “Kuraiza” area, in the Qa'ataba District, in Al-Dhalea Governorate (southern Yemen). After being stranded and struggling with society's view of inferiority towards people with dark skin, she settled in this area for years, but they face harsh natural conditions and a severe chilling wave this winter.
Fouad said in an interview with Khuyut that: “The marginalized people in Al-Dhalea Governorate are now between the hammer of hateful racism and the pincers of poverty and hunger that is sweeping the country from east to west. They are living in a state of destitution and poverty that has made them struggle to earn a living amid a war that has been going on for nine years.” She said.
With the advent of winter, their suffering has become doubled and more severe, especially for children who cannot find anything to protect their bodies from the cold wave that creeps into their bones, in light of deadly governmental and societal neglect.
Modest dream
The suffering of Kawthar Mohammad, one of the marginalized women residing in the camp, is no dissimilar from Nabila’s misery, as she told “Khuyut” her tragic story about the freeze of winter and society’s behavior towards them, saying: “Winter has devastating effects on us, so you find us in a miserable state, wandering between houses the local residents (The tribes) - according to their description - searching for the remains of bedding or clothing covers, and we hope that we will return with them when we return to the camp. However, when we do not get any sort of donations, we head towards the garbage dumps and waste dumps, hoping to find any torn out cover that we can use protect our bodies from the harsh winter frost". She concluded.
Kawthar and her family were displaced from dilapidated residence in the Jabara area east to the Kuraiza area, after the Security Belt forces of the Transitional Council in southern Yemen burned the camps of marginalized people and expelled them from the shelters in 2021. After that they ending up in this oppressive and difficult situation, which she expressed with tears of oppression and disappointment.
Extensive suffering
Classism has been entrenched among Yemeni society for a long time, and the dynastic rule system in the north and the British colonization in the south contributed to deepening and consolidating this racial discrimination to become a nationwide social culture to create a state of factional and regional differentiation. Perhaps the most prominent groups affected by this discrimination are dark-skinned Yemenis who complain of exclusion, marginalization, and racism. In addition to the consequences of the war, which caused the complete obliteration of this group, and made thousands of families to resort to live in dilapidated camps that do not either protect them against the cold weather, nor blocking heat of the sun, and are not suitable even for animals in the areas of Sahda and Kraiza in Al-Dhalea Governorate, among the lack of essential living needs such as food, medicine, health care, or means of heating.
It is worth noting that the number of marginalized people in the Sahda and Kuraiza areas in the Qa’ataba District of Al-Dhalea Governorate reached approximately to 8,027 families distributed in only 265 tents. According to the representative of the Muhamasheen in Al-Dhalea, Mohammad Hadi, “The overcrowding of families in the camps constitutes a great burden, especially with the almost complete lack of humanitarian aid and the lack of the necessary support so that we can build additional camps for these increasing numbers.” Hadi confirmed.
Hadi added in an interview with “Khuyut”: “Marginalized families in the Sahda area in Al-Dhalea Governorate lack the most basic necessities of life, basic winter protective requirements, and relief aid that does not reach them at all, because they are “servants” - the prevailing social description - of the marginalized group in Yemen. This made these families live in constant miserable conditions due to the racist social attitude, war, the difficult economic situation in the country, and the siege imposed on Al-Fakher Road in Al-Dhalea, which had the upper hand in exacerbating their tragedy.
The marginalized people in Al Dhalea suffer from extremely difficult and severe humanitarian conditions. There are hundreds of marginalized families who live without food, in addition to the absence of basic services as well as the deliberate neglect of this group by the competent authorities represented by the Executive Unit, which focuses its efforts on the displaced families and not the marginalized groups.
Unjustified Exclusion
Hadi continued his conversation about the aid distribution mechanisms carried out by the Executive Unit for the camps for the displaced and with the support of the relevant humanitarian organizations, saying: “The marginalized people in Al-Dhalea are going through a very difficult and harsh humanitarian situation, as there are hundreds of marginalized families who live without food, in addition to the absence of basic services as well as the deliberate neglect of this group by the competent authorities represented by the Executive Unit, which focuses its efforts on the displaced families and not the marginalized groups.”
“This discriminatory exclusion, whether from the provision of relief aid or the continuous neglect by relief organizations, which unfortunately excluded hundreds of marginalized families from the target bebeficiary lists of the World Food Programme’s project. Regardless it is a giant project and we hoped that all marginalized families would be accommodated within the WFP project, but what happened is that the implementing partner for this project, represented by the Society for Human Solidarity, tampered with the process of absorbing the marginalized groups in Al-Dhalea despite the clear directives of the concerned authorities. However, we have not yet seen any serious procedures to absorb them according to the directives of the local authority in the governorate.” Hadi concluded.
On the other hand, members of the marginalized group express their absolute disappointment and considered this exception as racist and inhumane, and undermine their humanity. “We are human beings too and deserve to be relieved. Why is the humanitarian aid provided by organizations distributed to white-skinned citizens only? Why don’t they look at us while we suffer misery and hunger before their eyes? Nabila added.
Resorting for painful alternatives
Some marginalized families resort to working in tough and exhausting professions, sometimes dangerous, and sometimes inhumane, such as begging.
Shafiqa Taher, one of the marginalized women, who works in sheep herding, told her story to Khuyut, saying: “I agreed with an employer citizen to herd sheep in exchange for 25 thousand Yemeni riyals per month with lunch meal, or 30 thousand Yemeni riyals without any meal. So I chose the thirty thousand, hoping to meet the essential needs of my family. Although this amount was completely unfair since I start herding the sheep from eight in the morning until five in the evening, but the need made me agree and bear the heat of the sun, wind, hunger and thirst all day, in exchange for this insignificant compensation.”
Moreover, Shafiqa recounts some of the difficulties she faced in her job due to the intolerance of the majority of employers, in her interview with Khuyut, saying: “One day, one of the sheep was lost at the top of a high mountain. I did not know where that sheep went. At that time, I felt very frightened, so I searched for it in all the nearby ditches, mountains and valleys, but to no avail. When I informed my employer of its loss, he shouted at the top of his voice at me, uttering offensive words, cursing and slandering in front of the people, residents of the area and in front of my children. Then he deducted its cost from a full month’s salary after the intervention of a citizen to solve the problem. At the end, I paid off a month of hard work salary, and I quit herding sheep.”
Shafiqa added, with tears falling from her eyes: “Thus, after job opportunities became scarce, I walk every day at seven o’clock in the evening to the waste collection center near the Kraiza area, and started digging it up and picking up what I found suitable for eating or selling, such as plastic bottles or firewood instead of begging and insult within the markets.” She sadly said.
In conclusion, the grieving of the marginalized people in Al-Dhalea is not an exception to the misery of their comrades in other areas and governorates of Yemen, but it is more severe here given the combination of all the causes of marginalization; starting with the racist social stance, passing through the war and its repercussions, and not ending with the calculations of geography and politics.
