Seven years of conflict have shaken the living stability of 30 million of Yemen's population. The waves of displacement and migration drew a new demographic map, bringing with them economic and social transformations that affected the structure of society, and resulted in consequences that might constitute an obstacle to rebuilding peace and resuming the development process, if not taken into account within the war halting efforts.
According to the (Global Displacement Report 2020), since 2015, the war in Yemen has forced nearly four million people to forcibly move from their homes, representing 13% of the population, and settle in 1,500 unplanned informal camps. Most of these camps are located in (Hajjah 35% of the displaced), (Hodeidah 19%), (Marib 15%), (Al-Jawf 7%), (Taiz 5%).
Moreover, the "Humanitarian Needs Overview for the year 2021", which was issued by the humanitarian country team in Yemen in February 2021, reveals a map of internal displacement for 2.9 million displaced people (most in need) for assistance, distributed in (Marib: 806,128 displaced persons, Abyan: 36,035 IDPs, Aden: 89,992 IDPs, Al Bayda: 53,523 IDPs, Al Dhale’: 161,978 IDPs, Al Hudaydah: 425,059 IDPs, Al Jawf: 125,346 IDPs, Al Mahra: 9,144 IDPs, Al Mahwit: Amanah IDPs: 40,257 IDPs: 23,487 IDPs Dhamar: 188,166 IDPs, Hadramout: 24,999 IDPs, Hajjah: 563,458 IDPs, Ibb: 225,627 IDPs, Lahj: 64,841 IDPs, Raymah: 58,314 IDPs, Sa’ada: 103,891 IDPs, Saqqat: 96,302 IDPs, Sana’a Governorate: 28302 : 158 IDPs, Taiz: 397,700 IDPs).
In addition to the internal displacement in Yemen, there are about two million Yemenis who left the country during the years of war, fearing for their lives, or in search of alternative sources of living. These external migrants are mainly resided in Egypt, and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (non-permanent regular residents), in addition to Turkey and Jordan.
Taiz city lost 43% of its population
According to the "UN-Habitat" issued by the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), the city of Taiz (Cairo, Muzaffar, and Sallah districts) lost about 43% of its population, which was expected to reach 652,991 in 2019 according to the population census of 2004, with an annual growth rate of 3.9 percent. However, due to war and conflict since 2015, more than 280,000 people have been displaced from the city of Taiz.
With the expansion of the war in Taiz governorate, the area of "Al-Turba" - the center of Al-Shamayteen district, which lies to the south of Taiz city and is 67 km away from it, represented a haven for 4,773 displaced people from various fighting areas in search of safety. The population of Al-Turbah province, according to the estimates of the local authority, increased to 24,773 in 2020, compared with the population number of the 2004 census which was 12,010.
Residential cities in the city of Makha
Local authority in the district of Makha estimated the population number at 94 thousand and 331 in the current year of 2021, while their enumeration in 2017 was estimated at 84,000 and 586 individuals.
To the west of Taiz, the coastal city of Makha is witnessing unprecedented expansion of buildings, with the emergence of a housing crisis and a high record in the rents of apartments. In addition to displaced persons, which were estimated by the protection cluster and many various civic organizations at 4,638 IDPs, the city today is stable for thousands of officers and soldiers who escaped from areas under the control of the Ansarallah (Huthis), as well as from the southern governorates under the internationally recognized government control, to fighting with (joint forcess) supported and supervised by the UAE.
To provide housing for these families, which there is no statistical for its number, a residential city in the area was composed of 600 housing units, and a Kuwaiti Association funds a residential village for displaced persons in the Makha, including 255 housing units. In the same context, a large number of capital owners for real estate investment is directed to the Makha, and the owners of buildings in the downtown has added extra floors, to take advantage of apartment rental revenues. With these demographic variables, the city has seen an increase in the number of blacksmiths, carpentry, forming glass and aluminum, brick production coefficient in addition to increasing building stores for building construction materials,
Further, the numbers of workers, researchers and economic opportunities have increased, and humanitarian and development organizations have been activated in Makha as well.
Local authority in the district of Makha estimated the population number at 94 thousand and 331 in the current year of 2021, while their enumeration in 2017 was estimated at 84,000 and 586 individuals.
Furthermore, a report by the French Doctors Without Borders, published on January 10, 2019, reported that the population of the Directorate of Mawza, a 45-minute drive away from Makha, declined to half. In the face of this displacement and sufferings, says Ms. Claire Hadong, head of Doctors Without Borders office in Yemen, "People who live here are punished doubly. Mines not only explode on their children, but deprive them of cultivating their fields. They have lost their source of income as well as the livelihood of their families."
According to the estimation of the Central Statistics Bureau of Yemen in 2017, the population number of Mawza was 47 thousand and 428 individuals.
The residents of the Island of Mayon
On the Island of Meon, located in the Bab Al Mandab, the population fell from 144 families in 2015, to 58 families in 2021, after the displacement of , 86 families from the UAE-controlled areas between 2019 and last August, 2021 according to a number of people who were transferred from the island of Mayon to the north of the city of Makha province.
The population revealed for "yarns", for harassment and temptations by troops on the island, and was prevented from fishing at sea after three Emirati soldiers on the island was killed in a shooting incident in one of May 2020, pushing them to depart from Al Jazeera for fear of their lives, and after receiving money and a landmark in the area "breaks" for each family agreed to displacement.
Local citizens have also reported that negotiations are currently underway with the remaining 58 families on the island to leave their homeland through an office that was opened for this purpose in Mayon, and Yemeni mediators, both civil and military, work from outside the island. They added that upon approving the displacement, the head of each family signs a number of documents according to which he receives a financial check and a document for a plot of land in Mocha.
They added that when the displacement was approved, the Lord of each family signed a number of documents, under which a financial check was received and a document of a land piece in the Makha.
Marib .. New demography
During the war, the city of Marib turned from one asphalted street with a two-year-old housing on both sides to a sprawling city. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates the number of displaced people in Marib at about one million, which constitutes the largest number of internally displaced persons in Yemen who live in approximately 125 locations across the governorate of Mareb.
Besides displaced persons in Mareb, there are families of officers, soldiers and opponents of Ansarallah (Houthis), as well as those who lost their sources of income and in search of safety and living.
This population density that is concentrated in the city of Mareb left a population vacuum in areas under the control of the supporters of Ansarallah (Houthis), most of those IDPs in Mareb came from; Sana'a, Ammran, Hajah, and Dhammar. With the passage of years, many of them have been convinced that returning to their areas will not be close, so they constructed their housing in the city and it margins, and their families have joined them, so that a different population map was formed from the previous one, as neighborhoods, streets and highways stretched over the desert sand. New streets were constructed with 66,000 palm trees and other ornamental trees were planted its central islands. Moreover, the city witnessed remarkable urban development in terms of; multi-storey hotels, shopping centers, restaurants, private banks, and private schools were opened as well as university, and a large football field etc.
Population of Amanat Al Asimah is estimated at 3.52 million, including 430,000 displaced people. About 89% of IDPs live in rented accommodation, and 11% with host families.
In spite of the ongoing conflict in the surrounding districts of the city of Mareb, the urbanization and houses are not suspended. However, this expansion and the large population is not accompanied by the improvement of the infrastructure and the necessary public services as people still suffering of searching for clean drinkable water so they resort to buy commercial water tankers.
International humanitarian organizations expect that if the conflicts moved towards the city of Mareb and its surroundings, a new wave of displacement is likely to take place towards internal districts in Mareb and the provinces of Shabwa and Hadramout.
Hodeidah’s population decreased by 78%
The city of Al-Hodeidah, which has been a battleground since 2015, according to the (HNO) data and the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix revealed a decrease in the population of the city’s districts: (Al-Hawk, Al-Mina, and Al-Hali) by 78% in 2019, as a result of displacement from the war.
According to the population and housing census for the year 2004, the population of Hodeidah city was 416,000 individuals. Moreover, the Central Statistics Bureau expected that their number would rise in 2017, to 604,439 people. Nonetheless, through comparing these expectations with the announced numbers of IDPs issued by the Displacement Tracking Matrix, the population of Hodeidah city in 2019 decreased to 178,344 people while the 78% of the waves of displacement from the city of Hodeidah were distributed as follows: (136,170 displaced people in the districts of Al-Hodeidah Governorate [rural areas], 55,950 displaced people to Dhammar Governorate, 53,412 to Mareb Governorate, 46,818 to Sana’a - Amanat Al-Asimah, and 37 572 to Taiz Governorate, 29,520 to Raymah Governorate, 26,418 to Hajjah Governorate, 16,998 to Sana’a Governorate, 15,672 to Ibb Governorate, and 13,632 to Al Mahweet Governorate).
430 thousand displaced in Sana'a
Since the escalation of the armed conflict in Yemen in March 26, 2015, the city of Sana'a has received thousands of displaced families. According to the data of the 2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview report, the population of Amanat Al Asimah is estimated at 3.52 million, including 430,000 displaced people. About 89% of IDPs live in rented accommodation, and 11% with host families.
The war caused great damage to the economic infrastructure, and many vital supplies stopped, and the ability of public institutions to provide basic services declined in light of a dramatic increase in population growth rates and a large and random urban sprawl, especially in the districts of “Bani Al-Harith,” “Maeen,” and “Al Sabeen.” which hosts 70% of the IDPs in Sana'a, according to the UN-Habitat- Sana'a, prepared by the United Nations Human Settlements Program.
Sa'ada.. Exodus from and to
Moving to Sa'ada governorate, the long-running conflict has led to successive waves of displacement. The Un-Habitat of the governorate indicates the existence of conflicting numbers of the population in Saada, while one of the most recent population estimates by the expectations of the Central Statistics Bureau of Statistics, which estimated the population of Saada Governorate in 2019 at 1,500,00 people, and by reviewing this number with the movements of the displaced according to the same Un-Habitat, the governorate's population decreased to 961,547.
On the other hand, the (Humanitarian Needs Overview document) revealed that there are 306,100 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sa'ada governorate in 2019, while there is 103,100 IDPs displaced from Sa'ada to the governorates of Hajah, Ammran, Sana'a and Amanat Al Asimah.
In contrast, the Executive Unit for the Displaced stated that 10,230 families were displaced in 2019, from Al-Jawf governorate and "Nehm" district in Sana'a governorate to Saada governorate.
Ibb.. miserable shelter crisis
In Ibb Governorate, and due to its relative stability and its proximity to the governorates of Taiz and Al Dhale’, where hostilities are ongoing, the city’s districts (Ibb, Al-Dhehhar, Al-Mashnah) and a number of rural districts received a large proportion of displaced persons, estimated by the International Organization for Migration and the Humanitarian Needs Report for the year 2020, at about 227000 IDPs. However, the local authority in Ibb governorate says that the real number is much higher, and that most of the displaced are not registered in the community center for the IDPd and live with their relatives from the host community, which has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis as organizations are facing difficulty in obtaining spaces to set up IDP shelter camps. Consequently, some IDPs are suffering in obtaining a home, in light of the population density and the rise in housing rents, and the prices of services and food commodities in a governorate with a population of five million people.
Hajjah.. frequent displacement
Hajjah Governorate is considered one of the most Yemeni governorates affected by the war and the ongoing conflict, which caused the displacement of 791,147 people, until the end of February 2021, according to statistics of the Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (SCAMCHA) in Sana’a, most of them from the districts of: Haradh, Midi, Hayran, and Bakil al-Meer.
The districts of "Abs" and "Mastaba", northwest of Hajjah city, host the largest proportion of the displaced, while the rest, according to the International Organization for Migration, are distributed among the governorates of: Al Hodeida, Ammran, Al Mahweet, Sana'a, Amanat Al Asimah, and Mareb. Among them are families whose displacement has been repeated with the renewal of the conflict, and other families who have not been able to return to their areas in the "Kushar" district since 2011.
Aden.. Zanzibar
In the city of Aden, which has an estimated population of 1.14 million people, humanitarian needs data for the year 2020 indicated that 89,000 of them are internally displaced after March 2018, due to the deterioration of the security situation in Aden. Additionally, the city’s “UN-Habitat” statistics confirm that the number of residents from the northern governorates has decreased sharply, while the International Organization for Migration reports that the Zanzibar district in Abyan Governorate received 7,548 displaced people in 2019 from the governorates: (Hodeidah, Taiz, Amanat Al Asimah, Al Bayda, Ibb, and Lahj). In the same year, the organization monitored the displacement of 2,682 people from Zanzibar district to (Aden, Shabwa, Dhammar, Ibb, Hadramout, Marib, Amran, Taiz, and Al-Bayda).
Until When?
As much as the above displacement numbers reflect the changing demographic map of Yemen, it actually reveals the extent of violations committed by the warring parties against civilians and obliging them to forcibly displace from their homes, which is a war crime.
In conclusion, all these numbers and data shall make it inevitable for the fighting parties to rethink about their insistence on going further in the current armed conflict, and accumulating the devastating consequences of the war that they will bear its cost in the future. It also made it imperative for them to abandon violence and start finding safe and lasting solutions for the internally and externally displaced and the forcible migrants abroad, including facilitating their safe return and the reconstruction of conflict-affected facilities demolished by the war.
Furthermore, Yemeni researchers must also provide innovative ideas to understand and study the crisis, and deal with it within the issues of “poverty, inequality, marginalization and exclusion, demography and challenges of governance, and the impact of displacement and migration in Yemen”; given the fact that understanding these issues will pave the way to the ability to propose the right solutions.
