A report on the experiences of Oxfam field staff working in the Al Mazrakh camp of Northern Yemen, where a ceasefire has brought renewed optimism to displaced locals longing to return home.
In the mountainous regions of Northern Yemen, just next door to the country’s main fighting zone, a fragile calm has descended. The clamour of nearby gunfire has been temporarily halted and replaced by an uneasy silence. Inside Al Mazrakh camp, hopes are high that the ceasefire declared on 11 February will hold and that people will soon be able to rebuild their lives.
However, a new threat has been posed in the wake of the ceasefire – landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Last week, 5 year-old Saad was badly injured after playing with a UXO, mistakenly thinking it was a harmless toy.
For many, the road to recovery is made perilous by landmines, which continue to claim the lives of people in and around Sa’ada governorate. Mahmoud Fayir tells me, “After the ceasefire, I decided to return to my village but it was strewn with mines. I’m afraid they’ll explode. I can’t go back.” Landmines are preventing many people, like Mahmoud, from returning home.
For now, people are still dependent on humanitarian aid and we’re continuing our relief efforts to help around 15,000 men, women and children find shelter in the Al Mazrakh camps.
Just a few months ago, Al Mazrakh Camp 1 was stretched almost beyond its capacity, groaning under a steady stream of new arrivals. However, since the opening of two new camps nearby, this tented city has been replaced by an orderly matrix of shelters. In these narrow alleys, resilient Yemeni women and children continue bravely to go about their daily lives, slowly adapting to the changing landscape.
Since our work began, each household now has access to their own latrine and women no longer have to compromise their privacy. For the thousands of people like Ahmed, 55, whose only source of water was 30 kms away, we’ve constructed a supply system that will secure a constant source of clean water. In a country plagued by water shortages (Sa’ana, for example, is expected to be the first capital city in the modern world to run out of water), finding a steady supply is a real drain on people’s time and energy.
Ahmed tells me, “I have six children to look after. Twice a day I’d have to walk for half an hour to collect water from the nearby well. Sometimes, it had dried up. I’m grateful to Oxfam for providing us with this water tank. Now I only have to walk for five minutes and we have a constant supply of water.”
Near to the camp, the Al Mazrakh market is bustling with people searching for bargains beneath the setting sun. As the day winds to a close, the camp positively glows in the dusk as Yemeni women prepare fires for the evening meal. In the fading light, groups of men play their last game of nard (a traditional board game similar to backgammon) and discuss when they will be able to go home for good.
The blogger has not been identified for security reasons.
Where we work: Yemen