Women Flee a Hellscape in Yemen. Here Are Their Lives Now

Hemmed in by war and geography, Yemen’s 28 million people are essentially trapped. It’s tough to get out by air, it’s dangerous by land, and the sea crossing to Africa is perhaps the most perilous of all — especially if, like Awzra Abdusaid, you can’t swim.

In early September, Abdusaid and her adult son boarded a fishing boat in the southern port of Aden. It was her first time at sea and she had sold her gold earrings to pay 35,000 Yemeni riyals ($140) for the journey. They set sail into waters patrolled by various foreign navies, swarming with pirates, and buffeted by heavy winds. By evening, their small vessel had arrived at the fishing village of Obock in northern Djibouti, site of the only United Nations camp for refugees from Yemen’s often-forgotten war.