Displaced People Face Bleak Living Conditions

By Faisal Darem Some 130,000Yemenis who have fled the Abyan province due to al-Qaeda's attempts to seize control of the area are living under increasingly difficult humanitarian conditions. Ahmed al-Kuhlani, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and a member of the Shura Council in Yemen's caretaker government said the displaced were forced to deal with the lack of aid and the country's deteriorating economic situation. Al-Kuhlani, who heads the operational unit in the displaced people camps, told al-Shorfa that the government was working to improve the situation of the displaced persons and would provide compensations for all property damages caused by the on-going arm clashes in between al-Qaeda and armed forces. The Minister added that despite the government's best efforts in allaviatung people's hardship, the presence of the terror group in the region was hindering its work. He said "the total number of displaced people, according to our latest statistics, is 130,000. The operational unit in the camps has worked to find shelter for those who have not found shelter with relatives in Aden or Lahj provinces. We found temporary shelter for them in some of Aden's schools, he said. “There are about 4,000 displaced families in the schools”. Al-Kuhlani also added “The operational unit works in co-ordination with the World Food Program (WFP) to provide food for them. The WFP provides flour and oil and the unit provides the remaining foodstuffs such as rice, sugar, beans, tomato sauce, and other items." In terms of educational and health services to the displaced, al-Kuhlani said: We arranged for displaced students to study in temporary schools just like the residents of Aden, and classes have already started. The displaced received health cards that give them access to health services at hospitals in Aden." As for supporting the unit, al-Kuhlani said the operational unit's capabilities were limited upon what the Yemeni government provided and the availability of additional assistance. He continued by saying “the Vice President of the Republic announced that 200 million riyals ($920,000) would be allocated to the displaced, and we also received 170 million riyals ($782,000) from the Sana’a Chamber of Commerce which covered an entire month's supply of food. Oman also provided enough support to cover 10,000 cases." Al-Kuhlani finally urged “all international relief organizations and all friendly countries to contribute to the relief efforts because there is a difficult humanitarian situation. People are not receiving the necessary assistance and adequate relief, especially in light of the difficult conditions Yemen faces. Everyone must bear responsibility for supporting the displaced because there are shortages in many areas including food, health and material support."