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Yemen is facing an emergency within an emergency
UNICEF
When you read the title of this blog you might have thought its something about the 1971 Emergency, or the economic impact of covid 19, etc… But sorry its not….
As you have already read the above quote, so yeah I’m taking about Yemen. And before you leave this website, as many might not be interested to read about it because Yemen is not popular, I’d request you to please have a look at their situation.
Some 80 per cent of the population,i.e., 24 million people of Yemen are in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 12 million children.
This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world…
So how did all of this start?
Every political turmoil brings about a crisis… and that’s what happened in Yemen. There are many players in this bloody game of power.
So let’s start with Ali Abdullah Saleh. He was the authoritarian President of Yemen for 20 years. But during the Arab Spring uprising, people stood aginst this man with a hope that things would turn better.
Here comes the second guy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, the deputy of Saleh. He took the office after Saleh with the support of another major one, Saudi Arabia. But in Hadi’s rule too people had to suffer as they did under the earlier one. This led to a rise of several rebellions like the Houthis, another major player…
Houthis are a Shia Muslim minority who often rebelled against the previous government saying they have always been marginalised. So they did under this one too… taking advantage of the new government’s weakness. During the Arab Spring they were very active uprisings against Saleh.
But here’s a small twist, the Saudi backed plans for the formation of a new government had sidelined both the Houthis and Saleh. This made these two former rivals to come together.
So what happened next?
Houthis and security forces loyal to Saleh took over the country’s capital, Sanaa in 2014, forcing Hadi to flee abroad and take shelter in Saudi.
Saudi along with a coalition of several other countries aimed to defeat the Houthis and regain Hadi’s power, and to curb the growing Iranian influence in the region.
Wait…wait…wait… now how did Iran come in between all of this?
Let me answer…
Saudi believes that the Houthis are backed by Iran in order to grow as a regional power, to which of course Iran denies.
I told you about the Houthi and Saleh partnership. It ended in 2017 when Saleh wanted for a discussion with Saudi. Houthis killed him and now they are the sole rebellion power.
Now the Saudi led coalition is creating more problems than resolving things. It has been bombing several parts of Yemen saying it is attacking the enemies but actually it is the hospitals, schools and houses of comman Yemeni civilians which are being devastated. This coalition also made a land, sea and air barrier almost blocking all supplies to Houthis and humanitarian aid for the civilians too. Houthis too are blocking and destroying the ports and all aid.
According to the March 2020 report by UN, at least 7700 civilians have lost their lives, most caused by Saudi led coalition. But other monitoring groups say that the death toll is very much higher. Thousands more have died due to lack of aid for preventible causes like malnutrition, cholera, etc…etc…
Due to this war many doctors and health workers have left the country for a better life. the left ones at the public hospitals have not been paid salaries since 2016. The people have to pay too much to get treatment at the hospitals. And now there are a few medical specialists left in the country.
With COVID-19 now spreading rapidly, Yemen is facing an emergency within an emergency. Sanitation and clean water are in short supply. Only half of health facilities are functioning, and many that remain operational lack basic equipment like masks and gloves, let alone oxygen and other essential supplies to treat the coronavirus. Many health workers are receiving no salaries or incentives, and 10.2 million children don’t have access to basic healthcare.
UNICEF
Before COVID-19, around 2 million children were out of school. Now, because of the pandemic, schools have been closed around the country, leaving some 7.8 million children unable to access education.
This crisis is not new, it is continuing since 2015 and still going on. The regional powers (Saudi and Iran) and the rebellion groups are only looking forward for political goals. Because saying that they are worried about the condition of the civilians is easy but trying to stop it and coming to a conclusion is what is needed.
And its not just the regional powers but also US, UK and France who are supporting militarily and providing arms and logistical support to the coalition.
But still in this state there are many organisations who are helping the common people of Yemen. Doctors without Borders, Oxfam, UN, etc…etc… have been there somehow helping, treating and providing aid. But still these heath workers live in fear of getting bombed at any time….
You can help these organisations by providing financial help to them as they are in the middle of the crisis trying to keep humanity alive.
https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/yemen-crisis
https://www.oxfam.org/en/what-we-do/emergencies/crisis-yemen
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/08/dispatches-yemen-health-crisis/
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