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Yemeni refugees seek shelter in Djibouti

As Yemen’s conflict grinds on, the refugee population at Djibouti’s Markazi camp has quadrupled since late September.

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Djibouti's Markazi camp hosts more than 2,600 Yemeni refugees and is almost at full capacity. Most Yemenis who fled to Djibouti still live in cities and towns as urban refugees. But as the Yemeni conflict drags on, their savings are dwindling, pushing more to seek help at the camp. [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
By Oualid Khelifi
Published On 14 Nov 2015

Markazi refugee camp, Djibouti – As fighting intensifies in Yemen, over 120,000 people have fled since April. Around 30,000 of those have sought safety across the Gulf of Aden in Djibouti.

Since late September, the population of Markazi camp near the Djiboutian coastal town of Obock has quadrupled to more than 2,600 Yemeni refugees, including civilians who were wounded in the war and require medical treatment. 

Many refugees are women and children, who have arrived traumatised and in need of psychological support. As the camp expands, so too does the need to develop community centres and other facilities to help refugees heal and rebuild their lives – but humanitarian agencies say there is a dire lack of funding.

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After fleeing his home in the central town of Taiz in June, Nasr Mohsen Mohamed, 47, later returned to the Bab el-Mandeb region of Yemen where his wife hails from. 'Children were still traumatised from the noise of military planes flying overhead each day,' he said. 'Then, all of a sudden, there was that hideous massacre of civilians attending a wedding in late September. It was less than three kilometres from where we were. That triggered an immediate decision to go back to Djibouti for good.' [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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Refugees receive incentive payments for the work they do at the camp. Here, a group puts up a shelter that will be used as a community centre. [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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Hassan Abdul Hassa, 54, fled Taiz after his brother's wife and other relatives died in an air strike. 'We heard later on the news that it was collateral human damage of war,' he said. 'Is this what I should tell my children, who cry each time they hear a roaring engine, let alone planes?' [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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Hussein Hamed Hussein, 25, pictured left, fled Bab el-Mandeb in October as the conflict continued to escalate. 'I wonder what's going to become of us ... I just hope that the camp will be equipped with facilities to endure the upcoming hot season,' he said. [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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Newly arrived Yemeni refugee Abdellah Mohamed Soaybi waits to disembark the boat that brought him from Aden to Obock. Soaybi fled to Djibouti during a lull in the fighting in Yemen. 'Many more from Aden and elsewhere in Yemen will do the same,' he predicted. [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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Refugees' paperwork is verified before they are allowed to disembark or continue their trip. According to a crew member who frequents the route: 'It's becoming increasingly dangerous, and some of us are thinking of cutting out the route. The Yemenis fleeing would then have to rely on smaller, more risky fishing boats.' [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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Two newly arrived Yemeni refugee children have a snack in the boat's lower cabin as their parents complete the necessary paperwork with Djiboutian authorities in the port of Obock. [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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Ali says he stayed at home in Bab el-Mandeb to work and provide for his family, but as the war worsened, he opted to cross to Djibouti to join his fiancee and her family in Markazi camp. Still, he continues to worry about those he left behind in Yemen. 'There might be some temporary security and assistance for now, but it's not lasting peace,' he said. [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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Mohamed Yahia, 20, and his family fled Bab el-Mandeb after air raids in late September. In Yemen, Yahia was a fisherman and a builder. Now living in Markazi camp, Yahia says he looks forward to rebuilding his life in Djibouti. [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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A group of Yemeni students spent weeks attempting to find a safe port from which they could head to Djibouti and apply for or extend their student visas for Indian universities. They packed only necessary items in order to remain as mobile as possible. [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]
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Fisherman Seif Zeid Abdullah, 27, was riding the few miles home from the coast on his motorcycle when an air strike pounded Bab el-Mandeb. A sudden blast sent him flying. His left leg shattered by shrapnel, he found he was bleeding heavily from a wound that would require months of rehabilitation and treatment. [Oualid Khelifi/UNHCR]