UNHRC in Yemen Corrupt and Inept: Iraqis, Somalis
We knew this already, yes? That was the problem with the Somalis when they were demonstrating a year or two ago. The Somali refugees said the UN office in Yemen wasn’t processing paperwork (who’s paying for that slow down?) and discouraged them overtly. According to the Iraqi refugees, the UN office is extorting $10,000 to process documents.
There are some international orgs working in Yemen cleanly, like MSF for one, but others get sucked into the corrupt environment. Foreigners who can’t be bribed are sometimes overtly blackmailed or obliquely coerced by such tactics as threatened visa refusal.
This is part of the reason why Yemen, the real Yemen, is such a black hole, many Westerners go easy on the regime and self censor because those who don’t can’t come back and would lose their livelihood.
YemenOnline. Feb 18, 2009 – In a raging environment, a number of discontented Iraqi families headed for the gate of UNHCR office in Yemen where they tore up their own asylum and resettlement documents issued by UNHCR Yemen in protest to the degradation, ill-treatment and continuous extortion they received from UNHCR staff, as well as in protest to the violations against the international humanitarian laws.
A number of Iraqi refugees in Yemen said that UNHCR staff used to treat them with contempt and refuse to receive their resettlement documents to be processed and renewed. They added that a minimum of US$ 10,000 has to be paid to staff in order for the resettlement documents to be processed.
On a related note, Iraq issued a call for former Army officials to return, but there’s so many former Saddamists in high ranks in the Yemeni army now that I wouldn’t expect a mass migration of military personnel. The Saddamists impact on Yemeni policy, the military, the jihaddi rat trail and the Sa’ada War should not be underestimated, by any means. Thousands of Hussain’s officials and their money fled to Yemen at the start of the Iraq War.
(AFP) – Iraq has invited soldiers who served under Saddam Hussein’s regime to come home or apply for their state pensions as part of a reconciliation process, the defence ministry spokesman said on Sunday.
The ministry is to send envoys to Iraqi embassies in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen to make contact with the ex-soldiers, General Mohammed al-Askari told AFP.
“The ministry’s decision aims to achieve national reconciliation” and “settle the issue of members of the former regime,” he said. Askari said that the former soldiers would “without exception” be given one month either to sort out their entitlement to a pension or to return to the ranks of the army….
According to another defence ministry official, an estimated 23,000 ex-Iraqi army soldiers, including 9,000 officers, have taken refuge in the five Arab countries.
