For Yemenis, Arab world's refugees-come-lately, Jordan offers little relief
Mohammed Qassem, his parents, wife, and two children receive no aid and no food handouts.
Refugees who have fled war, they registered with the United Nations three years ago. They have no hopes of resettlement or of returning home.
Even the dozens of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and aid agencies working with refugees in Jordan close their doors to them on a daily basis.
There is one reason for their plight: They are Yemenis.
“Every time we say we are Yemenis, they close the door in our faces,” says Mr. Qassem, a trained professional who works illegally as an unskilled laborer to survive. “It is always the same response: Syrian yes, Iraqi maybe, but Yemenis, no – always no.”
In cash-strapped Jordan, one of the top host countries for refugees in the world, the combination of high demand and donor fatigue
Running out of cash'Begging just to be noticed'One extra day in a war zoneKeeping his file open
