Photo Essay: The Akhdam of Yemen
February 27th, 2008This photo essay was published recently on the New York Times, and I thought I would republish it here for awareness purposes.
They are known as “Al Akhdam” — the servants. Set apart by their African features, they form a kind of hereditary caste at the very bottom of Yemen’s social ladder.
Degrading myths pursue the Akhdam, and they are reviled as outsiders in their own country, descendants of an Ethiopian army that is said to have crossed the Red Sea to oppress Yemen before the arrival of Islam.
In reality, the Akhdam — who prefer to be known as “Al Muhamasheen,” or the marginalized ones — may have been in the southern corner of the Arabian Peninsula for as long as anyone, and their ethnic origins are unclear.
Their debased status is a remnant of Yemen’s old social hierarchy, which collapsed after the 1962 revolution struck down the thousand-year-old Imamate.
While Yemen’s other hereditary social classes slowly dissolved, the Akhdam retained their separate position. There are more than a million of them concentrated in segregated slums in the major cities.
As a result, the Akhdam have languished at the margins of society, suffering a persistent discrimination that flouts the egalitarian maxims of the Yemeni state.
The Akhdam have not been offered the kind of affirmative action programs India’s government has used to improve the lot of the Dalits, or untouchables, there. In part, that is because Yemen never had a formal caste system like India’s.
The living conditions of the Akhdam are appalling, even by the standards of Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world.
The Yemeni government has occasionally built shelters for the Akhdam, but it has done little to help them improve their access to health care and education.
Some Akhdam have found ways to improve their station on their own. But for many others, there is little hope for doing anything except sweeping the streets.
See full slideshow here.
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I came across an interesting report relating to the Akhdam in IRIN
Esra’a
Beautiful pictures, beautiful faces, I loved the pictures. Bad conditions they live in, but look at those beautiful faces beautiful eyes. Who knows, maybe one day one of these little kids will be the president of his country
The cast system unfortunately has made its way to the very modern time, and that shows how underdeveloped the countries could be, even the very developed ones.
In Iranian Baluchistan, similar to Yemen, there had been a cast system, and Akhdam were called Gholaman, and the strange thing is that the ones who considered themselves better were poor as well.
After the revolution, thanks to smuggling , in the provinces by the borders, many people became wealthier than how they lived before, including the Baluchis I was taling about. Now they have their own Cars and their mud huts changed to accual buildings with Ac and and sure, the entertainment set
They deserve it, and I am not worried about smuggling, it is just when there is no other way to privide. I hope one day we see our countries invest in the Treasury of their people, these sparkling eyes, it is not helping them, it is helping the country to prosper via its own children. What is better than that for a country?
Thanks for the informative comments!
They have bad living conditions but I can see Life, Love, Happiness and Joy in these pictures! They are living their life happily and enduring it!
Thankyou so much for educating me as to the plight of these incredibly challenged people. It makes me feel utterly ashamed for ever complaining about issues in my life. The images you have provided have left an imprint on my heart which I will now share with my children.
Thankyou
Such ideas is a COOL. I read this post carefully and like it so much. nice 2 see this and hope for more ^_^