[15/August/2010]


By: Zaki Haza'a

Edited into English by: Mahmoud Assamiee

SANA'A, August 15 (Saba)- People sleeping on the streets is a phenomenon rises in the big cities in Yemen where poverty has become a great challenge to almost most Yemeni people.

These scenes of sleepers which spread more in Sana'a and Aden, the two capitals of Yemen give negative image on Yemen and its people.

Reasons

Reasons that pushed people to return to the streets to sleep on varied. Some people can not afford to rent places and some do not basically own houses, especially those who come from other governorates.

Among other reasons of people do not return to inns is that some people fear to sleep in inns because spreading diseases among those who sleep with like skin or internal diseases as one mattress used several times by different persons without cleaning. Some also do not prefer these inns due to close spaces between the sleepers.

Difficult conditions

Asking these people who sleep in the streets, they admit that this act is uncivilized and they do not welcome it but their difficult living conditions forced them to return to these some places in the streets to sleep on.

In the capital Sana'a, definitely in Al-Qa'a area near the wall of Sana'a University, there are many people sleep in the corners of streets.

Statistics

Statistics concerning this phenomenon differed from Aden governorate's districts as the least number of sleepers exists in Buraiqa with 12 persons. The highest number is found in al-Mansourah district with 81 persons. The number differed also in the rest of other districts they ranged between 21,22,41,73.

Solutions

Building fences and collective housings to those who sleep on the streets were the most important thing made by some civil society organizations, government bodies and also citizens. These fences and collective housing will help them avoid the above mentioned problems.

They will be separated from each other according to regulations of age, behavior, conduct, and morals and psychological and diseases case. Every one will be put in a place that suits him.

Awareness campaigns have been also carried out to these people and citizen to show the dangers of this phenomenon. Work opportunities to the sleepers on the streets will be provided to them to be able to provide homes to them and their families.

Increasing numbers

Those who made these solutions do not believe that they will eradicate the numbers of streets sleepers as their numbers are continuously increasing.

Governmental and concerned non-governmental bodies must study and analyze this phenomenon to and implement the solutions resulted in their studies to contribute limit it.




Saba