UNHCR officials in US surprised
By Yeharerwork Gashaw
April 10, 2004

---

WASHINGTON DC - The Ethiopian Refugees' In Yemen Advocate Group USA met with the UNHCR officials here in the United States, in order to address the Ethiopian refugees' issue in Yemen. The UNHCR headquarters is based in Washington D.C. and works closely with the United States Government.

Among the officials at the meeting was Mr. Larry Yungk, a Senior Resettlement Counselor. According to Mr. Yungk, he used to work in Yemen at UNHCR and he met the former Ethiopian Naval members political refugees while he was in Yemen at the beginning of their arrival.

Mr. Yungk and all the officials were surprised to hear from this reporter about the situation of the Ethiopian refugees in Yemen that was presented with evidence (documents). All told me that usually they get information about refugees from every part of the world.

Yungk said it has been two years since he heard about the Ethiopian refugees in Yemen. After a long meeting, all made a decision to take care of the situation in order to end the problem as soon as we end the meeting, by communicating immediately (April 5) with the UNHCR in Geneva, UNHCR in Yemen, and with the Yemeni Government. The Yemen Embassy is willing to work with the Washington UNHCR, it was learned.