Yemeni caste trapped in a dark age; Akhdam face discrimination, are restricted to shantytowns.(WORLD)(BRIEFING: MIDDLE EAST)

Washington Times, The, December, 2004

Byline: Peter Willems and Myrna Amine, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES SAN'A, Yemen - "If we could lighten our black skin, we would be able to get jobs and support ourselves," said Saleh Ali, 20. "We can't do anything other than take the broom and clean the streets." Mr. Ali is a member of the large Yemeni underclass known as Akhdam.

The Akhdam, literally "servants" in Arabic, is the lowest rung in the Yemeni caste system and by far the poorest. Marginalized and shunned by mainstream society, its members live in small shantytowns, mostly in big ...