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Mr. Mazin Abu-Shanab, chief of the UNHCR sub-office in Aden and acting resident representative.

Q: Could you briefly name the main UNHCR tasks in Yemen?
A: UNHCR was invited by the Yemeni government when huge numbers of Somali refugees started coming in, escaping the civil war in their country. We came to help the government deal with the refugee problem.
There are some 9,000 refugees in Jahin camp, Abyan, in addition to almost 38,000 other refugees living in various parts of the country. Refugee registration started in November, 1997 and continued until March, 1998, with the help of the mass media such as Yemeni radio and the BBC.

Q: What sort of services does UNHCR provide to refugees?
A: UNHCT wholly assists vulnerable refugees living in Al-Jahin camp and those in urban areas. With the help of a number of implementing partners such as as Radda Barnen and the British ICD, a local NGO named PAD, Triangle (French) and COOI, UNHCR provides refugees with health, education and training.

Q: Are the refugees trained to be integrated within society?
A: Despite the lack of financial resources, the refugee situation in Yemen is better than in many other countries, as attested to by many international visitors. This does not mean, however, that the refugees live in luxury in Yemen. We try our best to provide at least basic services such as health and vocational training.

Q: What sort of skills are these refugees taught?
A: In the Jahin refugee camp, for example, there is a community center and three income-generation projects where the inmates are taught simple handicrafts such as basket weaving, etc. The German GTZ last year provided, with the financial assistance of the UNHCR, these refugees with 30 scholarships to be mechanical and electrical technicians.

Q: What do the refugees at the camp get by way of food and other basic needs?
A: According to international regulations, refugees must get regular meals that provide at least 1,940 calories per person per day. Each individual in the Jahin camp gets more than 2,000 cal. a day. They are also provided with bedding and basic household utensils, and other non-food items.

Q: How much does the UNHCR spend on refugees in Yemen?
A: The UNHCR's annual program in Yemen costs about $2.5 million. This is with donations by foreign governments and international organizations.
Six months ago, the Italian government, for instance, donated $250,000 worth of medicines to refugees in Yemen. Another $250,000 of medicines is coming in September.

Q: What are the aid projects implemented by NOGs to help the refugees?
A: For example, Radda Barnen of Sweden is now building a school at the Jahin camp in addition to providing rehabilitation and physiotherapy for disabled children.
Food provisions and sanitation in Jahin are managed by Partners for Development of Yemen. The French Triangle is responsible for income generation, social activities and rehabilitation training.
There are several health care projects being implemented in the refugee camp to control TB and other serious diseases. There are also other health-care projects in the Basateen area in Aden and in Sanaa. All the abovementioned activities are financed by UNHCR.

Q: Are new refugees screened for AIDS and other contagious diseases?
A: All refugees are screened for common diseases before being admitted into the camp. However, we do not have adequate mdical testing facilities for AIDS at the camp. So anyone suspected by the camp's doctor of having a serious medical problem is immediately referred to a public hospital.

Q: Are refugee students allowed to continue their studies in public schools?
A: In coordination with the Yemeni education authorities, students finishing their studies at the camp are allowed to do higher education at state universities. This process was started about a year ago.

Q: How are the refugees received when they first arrive?
A: Asylum seekers are referred by the border or by the coast guard authorities to UNHC.
As soon they are found to be genuine asylum seekers, they become the responsibility of UNHCR.

Q: How long does it take for this process to be completed?
A: It takes a few days to decide if the person concerned is eligible for refugee status. Many of the people who have been coming from Ethiopia recently are really economic migrants. So we reject their applications.

Q: Do you give the registered refugees ID cards?
A: UNHCR issues two types of card. The first is issued to refugees living in urban areas to allow them to travel within Yemen. There is also the " Ration Card" for people at the refugee camp, which does not give them the right to move around. If they wish to visit another governorate, they have to get a special document issued by UNHCR and the Yemeni Immigration office.

Q: What about refugees from other Arab countries?
A: Since Arab citizens can enter Yemen legally, they become the government's responsibility - from the legal point of view. UNHCR however, is also willing to provide all possible assistance for people coming from Arab countries in coordination with the authorities if the person concerned meets the criteria for refugee status.

Q: You have started a process of repatriating Somali refugees. How many have been sent home so far?
A: About 650 Somalis were repatriated, and 101 more will go back soon. By December 31, 1998, UNHVR anticipates that about 1,000 refugees will be assisted by UNHCR to return home volutarily.

Colonel Mohammed Ali Al-Ozair is the director of the Refugees Bureau at the Passport and Nationality Authority.

Q: Could you briefly speak about the tasks carried out by your bureau?
A: Most of the work is really done by the bureau's branches in various parts of Yemen. The Aden branch, for example, is responsible for receiving the refugees and giving them temporary shelter.

Q: What kind of assistance does the Yemeni government provide to the refugees?
A: The Yemeni government gives a lot by way of aid. Refugees in Yemen are allowed to live and work normally and mix with the populace, not restricted to refugee camps.

Q: How many refugees, registered or otherwise, are there in Yemen?
A: There are about 36,000 Somali refugees, some are registered with UNHCR but not with us. The total number of refugees, however, exceeds 100,000 from different African countries.

Q: Isn't there any form of coordination between your office and the UNHCR?
A: Frankly speaking, the coordination is minimal and only in the matters that the UNHCR deems suitable. It is not done in the areas we would like to share with them. The UNHCR is sometimes quite evasive in these matters.

Q: Is the Jahin refugee camp appropriate as a shelter?
A: No, it is not suitable. It has no running water and there is a public road that passes through it. We recommended a better site at Kharaz for UNHCR. This issue was discussed more than once by Yemeni and UNHCR officials, but no final decision has been reached. The UNHCR does not wish to move the camp to Kharaz. I don't know why.

Q: What problems do you face in dealing with refugees?
A: Work is limited in our office due to a marked lack of financial resources and facilities. If a representative of the Refugee Bureau wants to visit the refugee camp in Khawkha, for instance, he is often impeded by lack of proper transportation. We have to use public transport.

Q: How many refugee camps are there in Yemen?
A: There are two such camps - Jahin and Al-Khawkha. The latter houses about 2,500 Eritrean refugees who entered Yemen in the 1970s. There used to be a camp for Ethiopian refugees, but was closed by UNHCR.

Q: Why is the Kharaz site better than Jahin?
A: Kharaz is a fortified area that can be easily guarded and has plenty of water available. The site used be a military barracks, the buildings just need a little renovation to be ready to house the refugees. The Jahin camp, on the other hand, is a group of tents pitched in a desolate land lacking in water resources.
Moreover, Kharaz has a school and a health clinic.

Q: How many people have applied for political asylum during the first half of this year?
A: I don't know about this issue, but you can ask other government bodies such as the Foreign Ministry or the security.

Q: Are there any plans to provide better facilities for refugees in the future?
A: Most of the people taking refuge in Yemen come from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. I hope all the problems that made them flee their homes will be addressed so that they can be peacefully repatriated. Our bureau doesn't really have specific plans for the future, but other bodies do.

Q: Does the flow of refugees into Yemen present serious problems for the country and its people?
A: There is no doubt that there are some harmful effects. Yemen is now going through difficult economic circumstances, which will be further complicated by the increasing numbers of refugees. They enter the country through many thinly policed border and coastal gateways. Some of these people are infected with serious and contagious diseases such as AIDS, posing real health risks to society.

Q: It is often rumored that there are Arab refugees whom the Yemeni government tries to deliberately hide from international organizations and the media because of pressures by certain Yemeni political parties. Is this true?
A: This is the first time I have heard of such an allegation. It is completely false.

Q: What would you like to say to UNHCR?
A: First, I'd like to thank UNHCR for all their efforts to take care of the refugees. But I hope that they give the government all the important information on the refugee situation in this country. The UNHCR is best equipped to carry out this task.

Mr. Ali Saeed Ali, director of the Jahin camp for refugees, is a Sudanese refugee himself. He has been working in the camp for two years.

Q: What are the major problems and difficulties experienced by the refugees and the administration of the Jahin camp?
A: The refugees are mostly in bad emotional and psychological states. To properly deal with them, one need a lot of patience, understanding and perseverance.

Q: How can the emotional problems be solved?
A: The only solution is to repatriate them to Somalia, when conditions there are peaceful and stable enough. The camp's administration should be given larger powers to be able to fully utilize the available resources.
Unfortunately, some refugees misuse the available resources and facilities. Some of these people consider the camp's resources as a given right, to be squandered at will.

Q: Why doesn't the UNHCR help the refugees by giving them pocket money?
A: UNHCR relies on aid provided by other countries such as Sweden, Norway, Canada and Italy. This aid usually just about covers the refugees' basic needs. So the use of resources must be rationalized. Giving them money may make them unwilling to go back home or wish to develop their vocational skills.
When some refugees are given money to help them settle back at home, they tend to spend it in Yemen and remain in this country.

Q: Why doesn't UNHCR organize some recreational activities to help alleviate the refugees' psychological problems?
A: There are many such services, but not enough. Due to objections raised by some religious groups, we asked the refugees to tone down some of their song and dance activities. However, they can still organize some low-key folklore celebrations.

Q: What other problems are there in the Jahin camp?
A: There is no electricity supply at the camp, which makes the refugees unable to watch TV or listen to music, for example, to help them wind down.
The camp is also some distant from the sea or any green area, a factor that exacerbates the refugees' emotional problems. I would like to see these refugees returned to the Cod camp, which would enable them to fish, farm, etc.

Q: Any last comment?
A: Media coverage of the refugees' plight will help solve some of their problems. I call on all international organizations to help refugees graduating from secondary school - 25 this year - obtain university seats.
Women and children form about 35% of the camp's population. There should be more health-care facilities for these people.