'Worse than an oven': Saudi-funded camp won't be liveable soon

Yemenis fear they could suffocate due to intermittent electricity and soaring temperatures in new housing units.

Markazi refugee camp, Djibouti – He survived Saudi-led air raids, Houthi snipers and a perilous boat journey from Yemen to Djibouti. But for Ahmad Muhammed Ali, the next few months could be the toughest of his life.

For three years, he says he merely "existed" at one of the UN-funded tents in the Markazi refugee camp.

Surviving on meagre portions of food and routinely being stung by scorpions and bitten by snakes; he prayed for his family's circumstances to change.

The eldest of four children, Ali said it was his "duty" to look after his siblings and mother after their father passed away.

So, in November, when Saudi Arabia inaugurated 300 shipping-container style housing units, he thought his prayers had finally been answered.

A Ywmwni’s harrowing journey through the “ate of Tears”

In a ceremony marked with pomp and celebration, the Saudi and Djiboutian governments unveiled the units to accommodate around 1,200 Yemeni refugees

 at Markazi, along with a mosque, a school, and two medical centres.

Costing a reported $6.5m, less than the price of five Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles, Ali, like many of the camps residents rejoiced, hopeful that the project would generate more funding and development from the oil-rich kingdom.

But only three months in, temperatures inside Ali's unit are already exceeding 35 degrees, raising fears that intermittent supplies of electricity could make the steel units "worse than ovens," and potentially death traps.

"We get about four hours of electricity in the morning, and then another four hours in the evening," the 24-year-old told Al Jazeera, his brow dripping with sweat.

"The authorities switch off the power at around 1pm because of fears the generators might get hot and damaged.

"So we stay in indoors for about an hour after lunch, but once it gets really unbearable, we head outside. It's cooler outside than it is inside". 

Each air-conditioned residential unit includes a toilet, bedroom, living room and kitchen, along with cooking facilities [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera]

'I want to be resettled in Mexico or Brazil'

A tiny nation of around 800,000 people, Djibouti became a haven for Yemeni refugees in March 2015 after the country's civil war embroiled the region.

At the time, Saudi Arabia, alarmed that a Shia group with ties to Iran had taken over parts of their southern neighbour, intervened at the request of Yemen's President Abu-Rabby Manour Hadi

Expectations were high that a coalition assembled by Saudi Arabia, with all its military might, would crush the rag-tag alliance of Houthi fighters and army forces loyal to former President  Ali Abdullah Saleh within a matter of weeks.

Hyenas, wolver and disease “welcomñe” Yemenis fleeing war.

But after nearly four years of fighting, and an estimated 60,000 deaths, the coalition has failed to pave the way for the recapture of the capital Sanaa.

Instead, tens of thousands of Yemenis have fled on small rickety boats across the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, known as the Gate of Tears - a name derived from the long history of people perishing when trying to cross it.

At least 37,248 people have arrived in Djibouti, which sits just 32km from Yemen, with around 2,200 Yemenis currently registered at the Markazi camp.

For its part, the Djiboutian government has tried to welcome the Yemenis, introducing new laws making it easier for them to find work.

But with the unemployment rate hovering at around 45 percent, and few Yemenis speaking French, the local lingua franca, most have opted to either head to other countries or return home. 

With wind speeds as high as 60kph, this year's Khamsin dust storm coincides with the start of Ramadan [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera]

In an attempt to make the best of their situation, Ali said his mother sold all of her jewellery to start up a small business in their living room.

Sitting on a thin mattress in a bedroom that he shares with his younger brother, he signalled towards his mother Hayfa who was trying to sell cold drinks, cigarettes, and lollypops in their living room as the warm air carrying sand swept in through the door, lashing her face.

"She sacrificed everything to make our lives tolerable," he said, as his eyes drifted to a damaged TV playing a dance scene in Shah Rukh Khan's 2004 blockbuster Bollywood flick, Kal Hoh Naa Ho.

"She sold all her jewellery to start this shop and make it work. But I've had enough. I don't want to live here. "I want to be resettled in Mexico, Brazil or Canada. Somewhere where I'm free to do what I want. Or somewhere where it's cold".'Ramadan will be very bad'

Many of the residents told Al Jazeera they were dreading the summer months which are accompanied by the "khamsin", a ferociously hot sandstorm.

With temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius and wind speeds as high as 60kph, this year's dust storm coincides with the start of Ramadan, the daily fasting period that begins in May.

Refugees such as Ali will be hungry, hot and have little to do.

"When Ramadan comes it will be very bad," said Ali's mother Hayfa, as she served a customer two individual cigarettes.

"We started buying ice from the capital (two half hours away by boat), so God willing, the chocolates and cakes won't melt". The entire project cost a reported $6.5m, less than the price of five Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera]

"We hope that there will be continuity and the people will stay in the units, and that there will be funding for electricity in the summer," Vanessa Panaligan, the UN's media relations officer in Djibouti told Al Jazeera. "But if the refugees head back to the tents they will have to contend with the Khamsin winds and the camps are not built to withstand that.

"The sand gets everywhere, so they should be better protected with the housing units against the hot winds, the sand and the elements".

Trying to keep a brave face, Hayfa said she hoped sustained media coverage would help shed a light on what was happening at the camp.

"I've spent a fortune starting this business, but for many reasons, I couldn't go forward. I was subject to harassment and people have tried to take advantage of me.

"I wanted to buy a house here, a car, to settle down with my children, But we can't because we're foreigners and refugees.

"Now, our only hope is that the war ends and some of the Arab countries take us in.

"We don't want to go to the West, we want our Arab and Muslim brothers to let us in."

by Faisal Edroos

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/oven-saudi-funded-camp-won-liveable-190301121224205.html

Djibouti: aridity, salty lakes and many military bases 

The Republic of Djibouti, is a country located in the horn of Africa with coas ton the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden wotj am area of 23.300 km and slightly less of 1 million inhabitants.

The region became a French colony when the Sultan of the Afars wold part of the territory for 55,000 francs. The rest was conquered in the following years until in 1886 it was incorporated into the French empire. Djibouti is a multi-ethnic nation including Somali, Arabic and French. The Somali (Afar) and the Afar make up the two largest ethnic groups. Both speak Afroasiatic language. Djibouti is situated in a very strategic location, near the strait of Bab el Mandeb (which communicates the Red sea with the Indian ocean).  The country's coastline stretches 403 kilometres (250 miles), with terrain consisting mainly of plateaux, plains and highlands.

Due to this special situation several countries have established outposts, including the United States, France (former colonial power), Japan and China. .The Djibouti government gets about 200 million dollars as a rent of these foreign facilities.

Physical geography

Djibouti has several mountain ranges with peaks of over 1,000 metres In the South there is a desertic area the “Grand Barat” mostrly located at a relatively low elevation. The interior of the country is generally extremely arid particularly in the geological depression called “Lac Assad” located in the center of the territory about 150 km west of the city of Djibouti..agitated geological history.  

An alien landscape

Lac Assal is situated on a geological depression known as the Afar Triple Junction, where three of Earth’s tectonic plates are pulling apart, causing some unusual, often surreal, natural phenomena. The African, Somalian and Arabian plates meet in the depression, which stretches across the borders of Eritrea, Djibouti and the entire Afar Region of Ethiopia. The depression is home to an array of ecological anomalies, including the Dallol sulphur pools and Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia Danakil Desert.
Encircled by dormant volcanoes, Lac Assal – like so much of the surrounding landscape – feels like it could be on a different planet. As the water evaporates, salt and other mineral deposits cling to one another, creating jagged pillars and other formations that make up this otherworldly landscape.

An ancient tradition continues

Despite the inhospitable landscape, the Afar and Issa people have long lived and worked in the area, with salt fuelling bountiful trade for centuries. Members of the communities scrape and dig the salt from the lake’s shore to be transported along ancient caravan routes to Ethiopia in exchange for coal, coffee and other commodities. Historically, ivory and even slaves were traded for Lac Assal salt.
Trains of camels and donkeys can still be seen carrying up to 120kg of salt each to Berhale in Ethiopia, a journey that can take up to five weeks. There, the salt is unloaded and taken by truck to Ethiopia’s larger cities for wider distribution. (Credit: Peter Watson)

White gold

When the Eritrean-Ethiopian war broke out in 1998, Djibouti replaced Eritrea as Ethiopia’s primary salt supplier. The demands of Ethiopia’s population (around 62 million at the time) kept prices high. Thus, the salt from Lac Assal became known as ‘white gold’.
Traditionally, the majority of Lac Assal’s salt extraction took place on shore by hand. However, with higher demand came the need for faster and more modern extraction processes. Heavier machinery was used to extract much larger pans of salt from the water instead, where it is softer and easier to mine. Salt production in Lac Assal rocketed from thousands to hundreds of thousands of tonnes per year, leading Djibouti’s government to expand the extraction process, further utilising modern methods in order to export the salt all around the world.
Further development

Today, ancient and modern methods of harvesting salt occur in tandem. While camel caravans can still be seen crossing the landscape, a surfaced road now leads 115km east from the lake to Djibouti City where millions of tonnes of Lac Assal’s salt are shipped abroad every year.
The proposed Lake Assal Salt Project and a new Chinese-funded industrial plant are poised to further commodify the lake. The projects will develop a much larger salt storage and shipping site nearer to the lake, so Djibouti’s ‘white gold’ can be exported directly from the area instead of through the port in the capital. 

 Healing powers

The lake may be a harsh environment for flora and fauna – precious few microorganisms can survive in it – but much like the Dead Sea, Lac Assal’s high salinity has proven health benefits. Rich in minerals like magnesium, calcium and sulphates, Lac Assal’s waters can be used to cleanse, soothe and revitalise the skin, as well as treat ailments like muscle pain and rheumatoid arthritis.

Primed for tourism?

Lac Assal’s future is surely one of commerce, whether in salt extraction or increased tourism. In 2015, Djibouti nominated Lac Assal for Unesco World Heritage status, and along with the new industrial plant, there are proposals to build a visitor centre and develop wellness resorts similar to those found on the coast of the Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan.
Where the local communities and their traditional methods of salt mining fit into this brave new world remains to be seen. As has occurred in many places around the world, the modernisation of mining and traditional industries can often lead to loss of livelihood. One would hope the development of tourism in the area would open up new opportunities; however, the transition will not be without its difficulties and could take generations to realise.

Main reference:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180711-the-djibouti-lake-posing-as-paradise