Transcript:
Ident :
Northwestern Yemen, near the Saudi border
Slate :
Since 2004, there have been six wars between Yemen's government and the Houthis, a rebel Shia group fighting for more autonomy in the country's northwest.
A fragile peace now prevails, punctuated by sporadic clashes.
Some 250,000 people remain displaced in the region, unable to return home for security reasons or because their houses and farmlands have been destroyed.
Ident :
Al-Masraq, Camp for internally displaced persons

Soundbite: Qasim Yahya Ali (in Arabic)
My name is Qasim Yahya Ali.
I was working as a carpenter, blacksmith and builder.
We were earning a living, and we were comfortable until the wars broke out between the Houthis and the government.
Then we had to evacuate the area, and we came here.
Now we have nothing over there.
The house is destroyed, the farm is finished and the borders are closed. We have nothing to live on.
There's nothing to return for.
We've got tents. As you've seen. Come and see this tent.
If it rains... This tent.... The water comes through.
We have water over here. Of course, there's a shortage.
You see these rows of plastic containers for water. This row.
They're for water, but we've got no water. It's a problem.
There's no water, you see? There's no water.
Women fight and argue because of the shortage.
I've been a volunteer representative for an area of the camp for three years.
I've never received any money from an organization or anything. It's volunteer work.
(Qasim discussing with another IDP in the camp - in Arabic):
- Your tent number?
- Sixty-four
I'm here just in case we receive additional tents so they can replace one of the tents.
They promised us, but we've not heard anything.
They told us they'd provide mattresses, but nothing yet.
Neither mattresses nor water containers. Nothing.
- God willing, it will get better. Stay optimistic.
- God willing, God willing.
She's suffering from fever...
Fever, headaches and pain in the joints. The symptoms of malaria.
The symptoms of malaria. She always suffers from it, shivering and feeling cold.
We've taken her to the hospital more than once, but it's no use. They give her pills and then we come back.
Sometimes the hospital gives us a prescription, but there's no money to buy medicine from the pharmacy at the market.
Friend, give me a kiss.

(Sequence Qasim with his friends - in Arabic):
Why haven't you collected empty plastic bottles for money? You've become lazy.
They go every day, but today they've stopped. They usually make 100 or 200 rials [$0.50 or $1]
There aren't any used plastic bottles left.
Everyone collects them.
It's God's will. Well, what can we do now?
We can see if someone can give us a loan?
- What's today? Thursday, right?
- Thursday.
We wanted to sell one of these sheep.
No one will buy them. You should slaughter them.
Try to find something to get some food and potatoes.
Only if you pawn your mobile phone to get 1,000 or 1,500 rials rials [$5 or $7]. God help us.
S**t.
We've got nothing to sell to buy vegetables.

Slate :
Many displaced people were afraid to speak on camera. Some claimed they would face reprisals if they returned home, as some of them were allied with tribes that backed the government. Others said the Houthis might recruit their children.
The Houthi leadership denies this. They say they welcome the return of all the displaced, but admit that they cannot protect them from individuals who might hold grudges.
As for Qasim, he says he cannot return because his house and farmland have been destroyed. He still makes occasional trips to his area.

Soundbite: Qaim Yahya Ali (in Arabic)
The reason I visit my village is my love for it.
I always miss it, so I visit it and then come back.
This is our village.
We're going to see what happened to it during the war.
We were living next to here.
The aircraft attacked it after we left, not while we were still there.
The attack took place after we left. We fled when the crossfire got more intense. The clashes here were getting worse.
The Houthis were here, and the government was here, and we were in the middle.
So we escaped to the Saudi Arabian border and then headed to Al-Masraq camp.
I feel ruined. I have no strength to rebuild, and I can't do anything, so it's better for me to stay at the camp.

(Qasim discussing with his son in front of their destroyed house - in Arabic):
- Son: Let's come back.
- Qasim: What do we come back to? Can't you see our house is ruined?
What will we do? Where will you study? It's a bad situation.
Where will we sleep? That was your bedroom.
- We're fed up.
- Even if you're fed up, you have to be patient. Where can we go?
There's no solution. Back there, the school is nearby.
You're not exposed to bad attitudes. It's safe. You don't have to worry about the landmines. Here they're everywhere.
If you step on one it will explode and you'll die.
Look at what their houses are like [undamaged] and what ours is like.
- But the wind will blow our tents over.
- God will protect us. The wind has come many times and God protected us.
We have to be patient.
Now what should we do? Knock it all down and rebuild it?
- We should move it.
- We should move it? You mean build over there?
- There.
- Yes, if we had money, but where can we get it?
- We'll work.
- You saw when you were sick, we couldn't even treat you, so how can we build a house?
How could we build a house? We can't.
- We'll just stay there then.
- We'll stay there. We can't come back here.

I feel fed up and depressed.
When you arrive in your area, your village or your place of birth and then have to leave it again, it's alienating.

Slate:
Qasim and his family still live in Al-Masraq camp.
They do not know if they'll ever be able to return home.

ENDS.

Music credits: