The difficult circumstances of life have led me to search for what could alleviate the hunger of my children from the piles of accumulated garbage in certain residential neighborhoods and along the roads in Aden City," says Akram Ali (26) in these poignant words, describing his daily struggles in collecting plastic bottles after he was stranded and did not find any other job opportunity to support his family of five members.
Akram swallowed his dry saliva and, in a soft voice, said to "Khuyut": "I leave my home located in the Dar Saad district daily with the first rays of sunlight, searching in garbage bags and barrels for plastic bottles and cans. I collect them in a bag that I carry on my back, and then I walk on foot to the collection site for 'bottles' in the Technology City, which is about 4 kilometers away from my home."
He adds, "I spend long hours continuously searching through garbage barrels for plastic bottles and cans from one place to another under the heat of the sun, aiming to earn a meager income. However, this is my sustenance, and I am thankful to God."
Subsequently, he takes a sip of water, then lies on his back to rest, only to resume his conversation later, stating: "I spend most of my time outside the house from morning until late at night, compelled to search for substantial quantities of plastic containers and cans. This enables me to purchase the three main meals for my children (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)."
Tears of Pain
Akram's eyes did not conceal the difficult ordeal that he and his family are currently going through. Consequently, his tears begin to flow in a painful and poignant manner as he continues, saying, "Sometimes I don't receive the payment for collecting plastic containers and cans directly from the owner of the plastic containers gathering site. Instead, it gets postponed to another day, citing a lack of funds. In those moments, I'm compelled to work in other places to provide for my children's daily needs, such as cleaning homes and engaging in other extremely strenuous tasks that many find challenging."
“With features filled with the hardship of fatigue and suffering, the owner of the plastic bottles and cans gathering site in the Technology City in Aden, states: "The war and the country's dire situation forced my family and me to flee from the Al-Hodeidah governorate (western Yemen) to the Aden Governorate (south). I started working in the buying and selling of 'plastic bottles and cans' to withstand the harsh living conditions."
Akram is one of the Yemeni youth whom life has tested, compelling them to engage in strenuous and exhausting work due to difficult and critical circumstances, especially with limited job opportunities for specific categories, according to Akram. He confirmed that he has tried numerous times to find alternative job, but life hasn't smiled upon him. Thus, he struggled alone to sustain his family, for whom empty water bottles have become their primary and sole source of livelihood.
Ahmed Saleh, 30 years old, married and a father of three children, wandered through various places in Aden Governorate, seeking for a job to provide for his family. However, all his attempts ended in failure, forcing him to resort to the profession of collecting plastic bottles from garbage dumps to alleviate his children's hunger.
After a year and a half in this field, Ahmed expresses that he earns a meager amount for the extensive time spent in collecting bottles, accompanied by a group of young people facing similar circumstances.
Sadness and sorrow mark Ahmed's face as he describes the challenging situation he has reached, stating, "The amounts we receive for collecting plastic bottles have become negligible, offering no nutritional value or relief from hunger in the current situation. They are no longer sufficient to purchase the most basic necessities for our families due to the exorbitant prices of food items."
War and the Suffering of Work
With features filled with the hardship of fatigue and suffering, the owner of the plastic bottles and cans gathering site in the Technology City in Aden, Mohamed Ali, states: "The war and the country's dire situation forced my family and me to flee from Al-Hodeidah governorate (western Yemen) to the Aden governorate (south). I started working in the buying and selling of 'plastic bottles and cans' to withstand the harsh living conditions."
Mr. Mohamed abruptly interrupts the conversation, swiftly heading towards the gate of the courtyard (the gathering site) to welcome a group of young men, including "Akram" and "Ahmed," carrying bags filled with "plastic bottles" on their backs. They are instructed to place them beside the scale. He then returns to explain his own struggles and those of the other young men due to the current difficult circumstances the country is going through. He emphasizes that many families have not found alternative job, relying primarily on their daily income from collecting "plastic bottles" to cope with the challenging life conditions resulting from the deteriorating living standards.
The journey has led Mr. Mohammed, who once lived a life filled with beautiful details, to engage in the buying and selling of "plastic bottles," seeking a dignified life and striving to overcome the difficult life circumstances that compelled him to work in this profession.
Challenges of Access to Food and Water
According to a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), millions of Yemenis are currently facing daily challenges in accessing food and water. This points to the difficulty of their living conditions and the surge in prices due to the unprecedented collapse of the national currency in recent times.
In this context, an international network specialized in monitoring famine worldwide warned of the worsening crisis of food insecurity in Yemen, affirming that the crisis will be "severe" in the coming months.
According to a recent report from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), it is anticipated that the percentage of Yemen's population in need of urgent food assistance will range between 50% and 55% in February 2024, totaling over 17 million people.
It is reported that Yemen is expected to witness widespread food insecurity at the beginning of the upcoming year, reaching the third stage of the integrated classification, known as the "Crisis" phase. During this phase, families endure gaps in food consumption and a sharp increase in acute malnutrition beyond the usual levels.
Millions of Yemenis currently endure humanitarian conditions of greater complexity than ever before, amidst the deterioration of economic and social situations. This has significantly contributed to the difficulty of accessing basic necessities for a substantial number of impoverished families.
