Hadhramaut: Return of Shihr fishermen to sea is a temporary joy spoiled by Emirati intransigence (report)

The joy of the fishermen of Shihr in Hadhramaut Governorate (eastern Yemen) did not last long, after they were able to storm the sea and break the ban imposed on them for years, except that the previous practices against them returned as they were eight years ago.

Last November, fishermen in the Shihir area of Ghayl Bawazir Directorate announced the opening of the sea by force after years of a ban imposed by coalition forces stationed at Al-Rayyan Airport.

The curfew was broken after organizing protests and sit-ins, leading to the closure of the main road in the area and the establishment of a sit-in camp, to demand that they be allowed to return to practicing the fishing profession, which is their only source of income.

But days after the sea was opened, the fishermen's suffering returned once again. Last week, fishermen were assaulted and detained by security forces who were said to be under orders from Emirati officers while trying to enter a beach near Al-Rayyan Airport in Hadhramaut Governorate. They were also banned from fishing.

Following this, a group of fishermen were summoned to Al Rayyan Airport, and an agreement was signed with them to re-close the sea, under the pretext of security reasons, in exchange for granting the fishermen a small financial compensation. However, many fishermen complain that their names were not included in the compensation list or that they were allowed to return to the sea.

Years of suffering

The suffering of fishermen is not new, it is old, and it increased after the announcement of the expulsion of Al-Qaeda from the city of Mukalla in 2016, the center of Hadhramaut Governorate. At that time, the coalition forces, which had taken Al-Rayyan Airport as their headquarters, began imposing a ban on the sea and preventing fishermen from practicing their work in the waters adjacent to Al-Dhabah Port and Al-Rayyan Airport. Fishermen have been subjected to many violations and attacks over the past years.

A.A., a fisherman from Shihr, said that after the liberation of the city of Mukalla, the fishermen of Shihr were asked not to fish for a month, for reasons that were said to be security reasons, without any compensation. Then the period was extended for another month, and after that a ban was imposed on the sea, in exchange for concluding an agreement with some fishermen to pay them a monthly financial compensation of 600 Saudi Riyals.

He added to "Yemeni Youth Net" that the amount that was given to some fishermen did not continue on a monthly basis, and was paid from time to time, before it was stopped for more than three months recently.

He explained that the compensation lists consisted of three lists, and in the last agreement, the names of the fishermen in the second and third lists were excluded, which led to the fishermen escalating and storming the sea last November.

Sea closed again

On November 18, fishermen from the Shihir area of Ghayl Bawazir District managed to storm the sea and break the ban imposed on them, but they quickly turned around and agreed with a group of fishermen, including the head of the Fishermen’s Association, to close the sea again.

This was confirmed by a statement issued by the Fishermen's Association in Shihr last week, in which it called on "all fishermen whose boats are in the basin or whose equipment is in the sea to remove their equipment from the sea."

The association stressed in its statement the necessity of removing fishing boats from the basin, by Monday, December 23, at the latest, holding those who violate this responsible.

One of the fishermen of Shihr confirmed to "Yemeni Youth Net" that a number of fishermen, including the head of the Fishermen's Association in Shihr, "Salah Abbad", were summoned by the Emirati officers at Al Rayyan Airport, and they agreed with them to re-close the sea.

The source, who preferred to remain anonymous for security reasons, explained that the agreement came in exchange for granting them a compensation of 600 Saudi riyals per month, in addition to paying compensation dues for the past four months that had not been paid to them before, and excluding dozens of names from the compensation list on the pretext that they were not fishermen.

The source considered that going to sign an agreement to return the sea closure for a small sum that is neither fattening nor satisfying, without consulting with the rest of the fishermen, is a great betrayal of the rest of the fishermen of Shihr, and cutting off the livelihoods of people who have no other source of income other than the sea, on which they, their fathers and grandfathers lived.

Refuse to close

The fishermen stressed that the sea belongs to all people, and not to anyone, and that those who went to sign the closure of the sea were supposed to include all the people of Shihr in the compensation list, even though the amount given to some fishermen is not enough for the needs of a small family for a month.

They considered that whoever agrees to close the sea, in exchange for 600 Saudi Riyals, is not a fisherman, considering that a real fisherman does not agree to close his source of livelihood.

The fishermen held the head of the Fishermen's Association in Shihr responsible for the escalation that will occur in the coming days if their demands to open the sea and allow fishing to resume are not met.

Suspicious activities

Regarding the reasons for the UAE forces’ persistence in closing the sea and attacking fishermen who broke the ban imposed on them, journalist Abdul Jabbar Al-Hariri believes that these forces want to hide their activities in those areas and coasts.

He explained in an interview with "Yemeni Youth Net" that the restricted area contains American and Emirati forces whose activities are unknown.

Al-Hariri pointed out that there are accusations against the UAE forces of fish trawling operations via its ships in those areas.

Al-Hariri called on the Presidential Council and the local authority to protect their citizens, stand by them, and put an end to the violations committed by the Emirati forces, whose intervention in the country is supposed to be limited to supporting legitimacy to end the coup, not to attack citizens, steal their money, and prevent them from practicing their normal work guaranteed by law.