Suddenly and without warning, Egyptians living in Yemen found themselves in the middle of a war they had nothing to do with, requested to leave that Arab country in which Egypt is fighting Houthi terrorism. Leaving their savings behind, they were forced to embark on the death journey back home.
Al-Masry Al-Youm tells the story of 100 Egyptians from the first moment of the “Decisive Storm” offensive until they arrived on board an oil tanker in Djibouti, where they waited for the Egyptian embassy to give them passports to go home. The trip took 20 hours.
Escape to Djibouti
Since the start of the offensive, Al-Masry Al-Youm contacted Egyptians living in Yemen to brief them on what was happening and explain to them the difficulties they would face while being evacuated. They were all confused and did not know exactly what was going on.
“We only knew from the media that Egypt is taking part in the war,” said Dr. Magdi Wahbi, director of the Al-Barihy Hospital in Aden who was among the Egyptians who arrived in Djibouti.
Wahbi said all foreign embassies were evacuating their citizens by air and by sea. “But the Egyptian consulate in Aden was closed when we called it. So we called the Crisis Management Department of the Foreign Ministry in Cairo. They told us to find a way to escape by land to Oman or Saudi Arabia. In other words, they told us go die.”
The doctor said they tried to board an Indian ship that was taking Indian citizens from Aden, but the captain refused. “We called the ministry again and asked them to call the Indian ambassador in Cairo to instruct the ship to take us, but they said they did not have his number,” Wahbi stated. “In the end they sent us an oil tanker.”
Wahbi added that the Yemeni authorities requested that they have an exit visa before they would allow them to leave. “The Egyptian ambassador was out of reach, and so we had to bribe the Yemenis to let us out,” he said.
Baha Eddin Desouky, an Egyptian marine engineer, said there are many Egyptians who are still stranded in Yemen. “They need immediate evacuation because the Houthis are coming after them,” he said.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry: “We are following up closely”
The ministry said it formed the Crisis Management Department as soon as the war broke out in order to evacuate Egyptian expatriates, adding that it has sent teams to the land crossings in Oman and Saudi Arabia for that purpose.
The Red Cross unable to send aid to Yemen
The Red Cross said on Saturday that three shipments carrying aid and medical equipment to Yemen are still prohibited from entering, despite appeals to the military alliance.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm