| Many people come to Yemen for different reasons.
Most who now come are economic refugees from the Horn of Africa - Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan. They come in search of better fortunes,
or they use Yemen as a stepping stone for other destinations. They remain
in Yemen from a few months to a few years.
The older refugees are more political in nature. The oldest are the Mujahideen who fought Communism in Afghanistan, under the American umbrella. Some of the Majahideen are Yemeni, but the majority are Arabs and Muslims. There are also the political refugees who fled Ethiopia in the aftermath of the collapse of the Mengistu regime. There are also Somali, Eritrean and Sudanese political activists who are tolerated by the Yemeni authorities until they go to somewhere else or find any other solution. But the Yemeni civil registry system has not been up to the task. Although there have been major improvements, the level of control of the authorities is far from complete. This makes Yemen a safe haven, for a while. But if these groups are caught, they are deported. Every now and then, the Ministry of Interior announces the deportation of batches of illegal residents. |
Sources: UNHCR, and the Ministry of Interior;
Note:
Some figures were as on 31/3/1998
|
Mr.
James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, said that he was
happy with the progress Yemen was making in implementation of the reform
program.
Wolfensohn, who was speaking to the Editor of the Yemen Times, Abdulaziz
Al-Saqqaf, in Morocco, also indicated he was planning a trip to Yemen.
"Yemen is a fascinating country and I have long wanted to visit. I now
have plans to do so."
The World Bank chief expressed strong commitment for continued support
for the Middle East and North Africa region. "We are going to provide
the necessary support for the region's development," he said.
Finally, he expressed appreciation for the Yemen Times reports on relations
between the World Bank and Yemen. "I take your criticisms construct-ively"
he said, indicating that he reads the paper every now and then.
It is really pathetic.
Yemen Times has taken twenty samples on different days, at different
times, to see how many people were hooked on the Internet at any time,
through the TeleYemen server. The statistics were collected during the
twenty days 17-31 August, 1998. We tried mornings, afternoons, and evenings.
The highest number was 14, and the lowest 7. The overall average is about
10 users.
That average for the whole nation is less than the average for one
institute or company in the advanced countries. To add insult to injury,
80% of the users were foreigners. The most frequent user was the Yemen
Times; the 2nd highest was the US Embassy, and the 3rd was a foreign company.
It is also disturbing that none of the academic institutions of Yemen,
including universities, has access to the Internet.
