The bodies of over 40 African refugees, mostly Somalis and Ethiopians, have been recovered from sea after their old boat wrecked off Yemen's southern coast. 

Survivors told media sources that the capsized boat was boarding 50 women and children and smugglers forced some to jump into the sea to lighten the load and avoid capsizing; however, the boat turned over later on.

According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), one out of every 20 Somali people crossing the Gulf of Aden this year has perished. 

UN refugee agency has begun an advocacy campaign in the Horn of Africa in an effort to lessen the number of victims and to inform potential migrants about the perils of crossing illegally to Yemen.

The campaign included distributing leaflets in Somali language and other three Ethiopian dialects warning the would-be immigrants against making a hazardous journey across the Gulf of Aden.

It is the first time in which UNHCR tries to address the issue from within Somalia, Bossaso – the place from which most Somali and other African immigrants undergo their journeys to Yemen. The UNHCR informed African asylum seekers they do so in Somali and without making a perilous journey to Yemen or elsewhere.

Official statistics indicate that over 50,000 illegal emigrants have arrived in Yemen since the start of 2007, while about 1,000 emigrants were reported missing or dead during the same period.

From time to time, Yemeni fishermen and locals residing in coastal areas find decomposed or intact corpses of Somali emigrants and they assure the numbers registered by Yemeni concerned authorities or the UNHCR are not authentic.

Somalis make hazardous journeys around the year; however, these journeys increase during September to December season when the high sea turns to be calm and quiet.

Still, most Somalis and other African nationalities, mostly Ethiopians, perish because smugglers – coastguard forces – force immigrants to jump into the wide sea off the Yemeni coasts. Sometimes, smugglers use rickety boats subjected to wreckage.

Somali refugee Saeed who works in Sana'a as a cleaning worker in some offices hopes someday he can leave Yemen to America or Europe.

"There is a different life there and I hope I can get there someday where I can make money and support my stranded family in Somalia's Mogadishu," commented Sa'eed.

For most of them, Yemen is not the last destination but a base from which they can travel illegally to the rich Gulf countries or to Europe and America through UN refugee agency.

Most Somalis live in refugee camps in Aden and Abyan, while others are distributed across the nation. Both lead a very bad life and work in humble jobs including cleaning, serving in houses and offices or begging.

Those in refugee camps complain the grants provided by the UNHCR are not enough and others complain of inhuman treatment and underpayment. Now, UNHCR in Yemen plans to build new camps to contain the increasing numbers of Somalis crossing to Yemen.