Mahmoud is one of the 50 refugees from Yemen whom the Slovak Republic provided with a temporary shelter on its territory in the Emergency Transit Centre (ETC) in Humenné. Mahmoud’s secret dream came true. „The word ‘happy‘ only weakly describes how I feel now. Every day we get food that we saw in Yemen, but couldn’t afford it”, says Mahmoud with a smile on his face. In Humenne he saw a bed for the first time after 20 years; he even has his own one.

Mahmoud was born in Somalia. In 1992 he was only nine years old when he had to leave Somalia due to the raging civil war. On a boat he succeeded to sail to Yemen. He made it to a camp in Kharaz where he spent 20 years. Life in the camp was harsh, even now he still has difficulties talking about it. Kharaz is located in the middle of a desert in the south of Yemen. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis seek refuge in the camp, provided they survive the dangerous journey through the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen. Mahmoud met his wife in the camp and his son was born there. Mahmoud earned his living as a carpenter, he would leave the camp and his family for weeks to bring home some money. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) included his family, along with others in a difficult situation, into the program of humanitarian transfers of refugees and evacuated them from Yemen to Slovakia.

The refugees will stay in the Transit centre in Humenné for a period of 6 months. During this time they will undergo interviews, medical examinations and take part in different courses. After successful completion of these preparations in Humenné they will be gradually resettled to the United States of America (USA) or other countries where they will begin a new life.

Mahmoud is definitely not bored in the Centre. Every free minute he spends with his family or by studying English. He also likes to learn how to work on computer which he would like to use after arriving to the United States of America. Leaving for the northern America has been Mahmoud’s long-live dream which will soon become a reality for him.

Resettlement of refugees through the Slovak Republic is carried out based on the trilateral treaty between the Government of the Slovak Republic, the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). IOM is responsible for the transportation of refugees to Slovakia and from Slovakia  to the country of resettlement, as well as for security interviews, medical examinations and cultural orientation courses aimed at preparing the refugees for life in a new country.

(Names were changed for protection reasons.)

The activities of IOM in this project are financed by the US Government through its USRAP Program – United States Refugee Admissions Program or by similar programs of other resettlement countries.