Migrant Women Stranded in Yemen Struggle to Survive in the Shadows

Yemen – Faaya* was in her early twenties when an Ethiopian man she met in her hometown convinced her to run away from her family to go to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

“I was young, I didn’t know what Saudi is. When we reached Yemen, this man forced me to marry him,” said Faaya.

“I had three sons with him but he went on his own to KSA and has left me here. I have not heard from him since then and am here alone struggling to feed my children who are starving."

Now at 25 years of age, she and her three young sons have become stranded in Ma’rib - an area of Yemen at the centre of ongoing conflict.

Faaya’s story is far too common. 

She is one of many Ethiopian women who arrived in Yemen believing they were on their way to a more prosperous and stable life in nearby Gulf countries but instead ended up travelling hundreds of kilometres in the hands of smugglers, caught in a relentless war.

As of 20 November, the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) reported that more than 20,000 new migrants arrived this year in Yemen. It is estimated that one in five migrants who have taken the route since 2019 are women and girls.

Female migrants traveling on the Eastern Route are under the tight control of smugglers from the start of their journeys. When they arrive to Yemen, the abuse and exploitation they experience worsens. 

Many are held against their will in smugglers dens – overcrowded rooms where physical and sexual violence is common. A lack of identification papers and language barriers make them reliant on smugglers and restrict their ability to move freely.

They often stay in places where humanitarian actors struggle to reach, living in dire conditions with limited-to-no access to shelter, food, water or health care.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) offers services to those they can in hard-to-reach areas, like in Ma’rib where the Organization established a Migrant Response Point this July.
 

“Migrant women are suffering from a lot of abuse by smugglers. Many are tortured until they pay ransoms,” explained Iman, a member of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) protection team for the last two years. 

“Many women have become stranded in Ma’rib on their journeys north toward KSA since the borders closed because of COVID and the conflict has intensified. Their situation is becoming worse and worse every day.”

IOM estimates there are approximately 3,500 migrants stranded in Ma’rib. Recent armed escalations in the area have pushed migrant women further into the shadows, jeopardizing their safety and livelihoods. 

“The smugglers film themselves beating us and send the videos to their families in Ethiopia to blackmail them. The poor families are forced to sell their houses, lands, animals and crops to save their children,” explained, Amene*, a young Ethiopian migrant in Ma’rib.

“If women cannot pay money to the smugglers, their families must pay a ransom. If the ransom is not paid, they will hit women with electrical wires,” added 17-year-old Mazaa*.

Two years ago, she left her two children, the youngest a baby of 18 months, back in Ethiopia and came to Yemen with her husband and the hope of reaching KSA so she could provide for her family.

Mazaa and her husband eventually escaped from their smugglers when they got to Yemen. When they reached the KSA, they were stopped on their journey and had no choice but to come back to Ma’rib. 

A few months ago, she gave birth to a baby girl, Somaya. Now, with no means to travel back home nor to make it to Saudi Arabia, Mazaa along with her husband and daughter, are stranded.

“This is not a stable place to give birth or raise a baby yet many women are coming to us pregnant and really need help. Most are single and live in unsafe locations,” said Iman, adding that sexual violence is the primary reason most female migrants become pregnant.

Migrant women who become pregnant in Yemen are frequently forced by their smugglers to work throughout their pregnancy, and lack the food and health services they need to safely deliver and raise a healthy baby.

“Babies put an extra burden on these mothers who struggle to care for them, most of the time on their own, amidst a conflict,” she added from IOM’s MRP where migrants can come to receive clothing, personal hygiene items, food kits and cash assistance.

The centre is hosted at a hospital in an area of Ma’rib city close to where many migrants reside. It also provides migrants with free of charge health consultations and treatment, COVID-19 vaccinations as well as psychosocial counselling.

“Newly arrived migrants are the most vulnerable because they don’t know where to go for help. When I first meet migrants here, I give them IOM’s hotline number and tell them to reach us if they face any problems,” explained Iman.

“One day a woman name Aida* came to the MRP with a broken jaw and skull after being beaten. Her condition was so bad that the doctors did not think she would make it, but our medical team didn’t give up,” recalled Iman.

“I remember telling her that she would live, and she believed me. She is in good health now and feels grateful to be alive,” she added.

The International Organization for Migration – in partnership with EU Humanitarian Aid and the governments of Germany and the United States – supports vulnerable migrants in Yemen through IOM’s Regional Migrant Response Plan. 

Across the country, IOM provides health care, emergency food and water, shelter, protection services and cash for work activities for migrants. This year the Organization also helped more than 1,700 migrants travel home through its Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) programme.

Written by Mennatallah Homaid, IOM Yemen Communication Assistant

*Name changed for protection purposes