Migration Dreams: The Exodus of Yemeni Youth from Their Reality

Haneen Al-Wahsh – Sawt Al-Amal (Voice of Hope)

Life in Yemen is getting darker and more complicated. Illegal migration is becoming the only escape route for many young Yemenis, the only way out, despite the numerous dangers, the worst being drowning – a fate that has claimed countless young migrants’ lives.

Migration rates among young people are rising alongside unemployment. Many have lost their jobs due to the country’s economic collapse, leading to a drastic decline in living standards and skyrocketing costs for education and healthcare, mostly controlled by the private sector.

Reasons to Flee

Many factors push young Yemenis toward migration, legal or illegal. The lack of alternatives is a major one; forced conscription and conflict fighting are seen as alternatives to migration, according to social expert Salah Al-Qudsi. He stresses that deteriorating living conditions, lack of job opportunities, social isolation, and the exclusion of youth from decision-making are key drivers of emigration.

Illegal migration surged in the early years of the conflict before slowing down, only to pick up again in the last four years. Researcher Samir Al-Maqtari confirms that in the conflict’s early stages, Somalia and Djibouti received thousands of young Yemenis who fled by sea and then overland to Libya, facing numerous dangers, including detention and enforced disappearance.

Al-Maqtari adds, “Success stories of young people reaching Europe and gaining asylum, living in decent conditions, and attending European universities emerged. These rare success stories fueled the dreams of migration among young people back home, creating a desire to escape their broken reality.”

He emphasizes that these migration dreams drove many young men to join in fighting to earn money for their journeys. Thus, young Yemenis found themselves trapped in a cycle of violence, especially with the increasing reports of migrants drowning at sea or disappearing in vast forests.

Researcher Abdul-Nasir Qasim, a Yemeni expatriate in Lebanon, believes that migration isn’t primarily a choice for the unemployed but also for creatives and intellectuals, including academics and university graduates—those most affected by the lack of security and stability.

He believes that social media presented a different world to young Yemenis, creating a stark contrast to their reality and making the idea of reaching that other world seem easier.

Numerous Risks, Death Being the Primary One

(M. A. A.) believes he crossed a third of the globe on his way to Europe. He doesn’t remember all the routes and people he encountered, but he does remember losing his right arm while crossing barbed wire on the border of a certain country.

Illegal migration eventually led him to Germany, where he’s now taking intensive language courses. Bitterness and safety battle for dominance as he speaks to us via video call, standing before Germany with nothing to celebrate his success, not even the ability to shake hands. This feeling, he says, will stay with him always.

(M. A. A.) says, “That same year, in early December 2022, the death of Dr. Dhaif Allah Al-Daifani by drowning off the coast of Ceuta, Morocco, dominated conversations and social media posts among Yemenis. I received the news differently; death seemed to follow me everywhere.”

Al-Daifani was on his way to Europe with a group of illegal migrants. Sources close to his family said he was an employee of the Ministry of Religious Endowment in Aden before being laid off.

These sources said Al-Daifani held a doctorate in contemporary Islamic thought from Muhammad V University in Rabat, Morocco. However, unpaid salaries, job loss, and the death of his wife from cancer two years prior pushed him to consider illegal migration, to escape the uncertainty in his homeland.

Early last year, a month after Al-Daifani’s death, news broke of three young Yemenis dying in European forests while trying to reach Poland. A few months earlier, Yemeni YouTuber Abdul-Majeed Khalid died on the Polish border while attempting to seek asylum in Europe.

Human rights sources commented, saying, “YouTuber Abdul-Majeed Khalid died of starvation after becoming stranded in the forests between Belarus and Poland while trying to cross into Europe.”

A Variety of Destinations

Of the many options, Saudi Arabia is the closest for Yemenis, due to geographical proximity and the fact that many friends and relatives have already arrived there, legally or illegally.

According to observers, Yemeni migration to Somalia and Djibouti by sea has decreased, with an increase in boat accidents, the most recent being at the end of August 2024.

Official Saudi data indicates that the number of legal Yemeni residents reached over 1.8 million by early last year. Saudi Arabia also hosts a similar number of undocumented Yemenis – those who entered illegally.

Saudi Arabia is considered the least dangerous destination for those fleeing the grim situation in Yemen, with high unemployment and no sign of improvement, says Mazin Fuad, a Yemeni expatriate in Saudi Arabia.

Mazin says, “Getting to Saudi Arabia cost me my father’s car, which was all our family owned after his death. I had to borrow money from relatives in Yemen while looking for work in Saudi Arabia. Finding work here isn’t easy anymore. If it weren’t for money from Yemen, I’d starve.”

Mazin works for low wages in a shop, not enough to meet the obligations of “Al-Kafala” sponsorship system. He believes many of his dreams have vanished, having tried to salvage what remained by emigrating, leaving behind what was lost in Yemen – like his right to continue his university education.

Official statistics on the number of young Yemeni migrants are absent, especially since most are illegal. However, observers estimate that the phenomenon of migration is growing, becoming a dream for many, a natural result of the social isolation imposed on young people, especially the unemployed.