What’s Happening in Yemen?
civ·il war
/ˌsivil ˈwô(ə)r/
noun
a war between citizens of the same country.
hu·man·i·tar·i·an cri·sis
/(h)yo͞oˌmanəˈterēən/ /ˈkrīsis/
noun
A humanitarian crisis is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people.
For the last five years, war-torn Yemen has been teetering on the line between chaos and peace. Now, fueled by Covid-19 and a drought of supplies, that line is now between unresolved war tensions and nationwide extinction. Yemen is in what the UN calls “the world's worst humanitarian crisis”, meaning the lives of millions are hanging in the balance, and hundreds of thousands have already perished at the hands of attacks, famine, and starvation.
The War.
Buthaina Muhammad Mansour, a young injured girl, being carried from the site of a devastating air strike that killed 12 civilians, including her parents, siblings, and one uncle. She suffered various skull fractures, and a serious concussion on the day of the attack. Thanks to ongoing airstrikes, this young sole-survivor was robbed of her family.
Since the end of 2014 a rampant civil war has been raging incessantly in Yemen. Five years ago an alliance of countries led by Saudi Arabia began to bomb Yemen. The goal of the bombings were to remove power from the Houthi Rebels (anti-government fighters) , who now ruled many large areas of Yemen, and re-establish a government, since the previous board of rule fled the country and now live in exile. The conflict is rooted in a faulty transition of political power between presidents. The new president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi encountered many obstacles during his failed presidency, such as personnel loyalty to the previous president Ali Abdullah Saleh, food insecurity, political corruption, and a lack of job security leading to high rates of unemployment.
President Hadi resurfaced in Aden after he fled Yemen. He continued his duties remotely.
Houthi rebels quickly took advantage of President Hadi’s weakness as a leader, by beginning to take control of large northern regions of Yemen. Disheartened by Hadi’s leadership, many Yemenis supported the Houthi rebels, and with their newfound supporters, the Houthis eventually took complete control of the country’s capital, Sana'a. Overwhelmed, and essentially overthrown, Hadi was forced to flee the war-ravaged country. Caught off guard by the rebels’ surprising amount of power, Saudi Arabia and many other countries formed a coalition to eliminate the Houthis (airstrike campaign). This coalition was backed by major superpowers like France, the US, and the UK.
Four years of a military stalemate followed. Years of broken alliances, continued air strikes, blockades, ballistic missiles, devastated oil fields, and various militant groups vying for power. Finally warring parties agreed to a ceasefire during war meetings in Sweden. The Stolkholm agreement established a prisoner-exchange program, and forced Yemen to address the dreadful state of affairs in various cities like Taiz. Soon, fighting erupted once again. This time the UN was hopeful that a power sharing agreement would finally settle the civil war, but to no avail. Recently, Saudi Arabia has proposed a ceasefire due to Covid-19, but the Houthis refused.
The People.
Desperate Yemeni children present documents in attempts to recieve rations from a charity.
Long story short, Yemen is in massive trouble. Like we mentioned before, Yemen is experiencing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since 1945.
Monitoring groups such as the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) reported in October 2019, 100,000 war-caused fatalities, 12,000 of those lives lost being civilians killed in direct attacks. Too many more have died from preventable causes, like disease, malnutrition and starvation, and finally poor healthcare.
According to Unicef, “more than 24 million people – some 80 percent of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 12 million children.” About 20 million Yemenis are in need of a stable food source, and 10 million are “one step away from famine”. The crisis has made living in Yemen a hellish nightmare, especially for children. About 2 million children are acutely malnourished, 360,000 of those children barely alive.
A healthcare worker uses a Mid Upper-Arm Circumference (MUAC) measuring tape on a small child suffering with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in the nation’s capital.
Covid-19 has incited new issues or as Unicef worded it: “an emergency within an emergency”. With only half the healthcare facilities working, a lack of basic medical supplies (gloves, masks, wraps) let alone specific supplies needed to treat Coronavirus (oxygen/ventilators), 20 million people lack access to sanitary healthcare, half of those people being children. Yemen’s previous cholera outbreak, conflicts, political corruption, airstrikes, lack of food security, in addition to Covid-19 has created the perfect environment for even more to suffer. Yemen’s children and adults are being robbed of their futures.
What We Can Do.
A sole healthcare worker caring for a Yemeni patient without necessary supplies.
To be frank, Yemen needs money. Many charities encourage donating money above all other ways of helping. Yes, spreading awareness helps to get the word out, but we must not stop there. In order to save Yemen, we have to open our wallets and donate to legitimate charities so they can continue doing life-saving work. The UN has highlighted the following charities: The Red Cross, Save the Children, Unicef, and the International Rescue Committee. Click the organizations to donate, and remember that the smallest donation can make a difference.
Donate Today.