Yemen – Wave of destitution overwhelms Aden neighborhoods with street beggars

Location: Aden, Yemen

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:03:11

Voice: Natural

Source: A24 Yemen

Restriction: A24 subscribers

Date: 25/09/2022

Storyline:

Yemen’s harsh living conditions and dire economic crisis are manifesting increasingly on the streets of Aden. A sharp rise in panhandlers is driving concern and frustration in residential and commercial areas.

Asmaa Muhammad tells A24 that she was forced into street begging after her husband was injured by a passing vehicle and became disabled.

Scores of other unfortunate people who can’t get social services or help with food and rent are also turning to strangers in the street, pleading for money.

“We appeal to all concerned to stop beggary and put an end to this phenomenon before it spreads and affects the people of Aden and other Yemeni regions,” resident Moaz Abdel Nasser told A24.

Shot list:

– Soundbite (Asmaa Muhammad – beggar):

“We go begging with our kids every morning hoping to earn something. We ask competent authorities to cooperate and give us a helping hand. There are many in need among us. Some have disabilities and some have diseases. Half of them do not have a breadwinner. My husband cannot move after a car hit him and the driver ran away. If he were in good health, he would have worked and supported his family. But since we had no breadwinner, I was forced to go beg with my children.”

Soundbite (Moaz Abdel Nasser – neighborhood advocate):

“Begging phenomenon spread mainly in southern regions of Aden. The number of beggars, including children, elderly, and women, has increased in mosques, markets, and streets. They have taken beggary as a job rather than looking for work that meets their daily needs. We appeal to all concerned to stop beggary and put an end to this phenomenon before it spreads inside Aden and affects the people of Aden and other Yemeni regions.”