The Yemen crisis is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world; and yet many people are oblivious to its ongoing and horrific effects. More than 21 million people are in need of assistance, including 11 million children, as this crisis has been going on for nearly 6 years and is in a state of utter emergency. In this blog I will talk a bit about the roots of the crisis, the widespread effects including famine and education, the effect of COVID-19, and the ways in which you can help.
Where did this crisis come from? – a brief history
In 2011, a political transition was supposed to bring stability following an uprising from Ali Abdullah Saleh to Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi – his deputy. The country was divided, including corruption, unemployment and insecurity as well as attacks from jihadists and a separatist movement in the South. In late 2014, tensions rose as the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) who had rebelled against Saleh, took advantage of the new president’s weakness, taking control of a portion of the country. Many ordinary Yemenis (& sunnis) supported the Houthis movement, meaning the rebels gradually took over the capital in 2015. Hadi fleed as they took the whole country, while Saudi Arabia fought to end the Iranian influence in Yemen and restore Hadi. This led to four years of a military stalemate, despite aid from France, US and the UK. The coalition decided that in June 2018 they would attempt to break the deadlock and launch a major offensive around a port that was the lifeline for 2/3 of Yemen’s people. The UN warned that the ports destruction would create a famine. Three years later saw a long and highly costly difficult exchange of forces and deals, leaving the political situation weaker and tenser, and the Yemen war with no end in sight, as well as the pandemic.
The humanitarian effects of the war
In October 2019 they recorded more than 100,000 fatalities from the war, including 12,000 civilians in direct attacks. I understand that these are numbers that are obscenely difficult to wrap your head around, but just try to envision 20 or so stadiums full of people, an immense loss of life and pain for so many. Most of the country is in a state of emergency and thousands of civilians have died from “preventable” causes such as malnutrition, disease and poor health, which all stem from the inability to cope and being cut off from any aid during the war. 80% of the population (24 million people) need humanitarian assistance, and some 20 million people need help to secure food. An estimated 2 million children are acutely malnourished, including 360,000 children under five years old struggling to live. The country’s medical facilities are unable to run due to the war, and people cannot access adequate care, leading to death from treatable illnesses. Most do not even have clean water. As well as an oxygen shortage in medical facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have the largest cholera outbreak ever recorded with more than 2.2 million suspected cases.
What can you do to help?
It’s easy to just go on with our little bubble of life after hearing about a tragedy on the news. But as privileged humans we need to face the troubles that are plaguing others from sheer chance of being born in a different place.
Stay informed about the crisis – do not treat it as a trend on social media, ongoing and consistent activism will keep people talking about it, encourage them to not forget, read news articles, research for updates from the UN, UNICEF and other organisations
Donate – organisations such as UNICEF, WFP, IRC, NGO, UN world food programme, Save the Children, Baitulmaal and Mona, Doctors without borders
Demand change – signatory organisations include ACAT, Action contre la Faim, Asociacion pro Derechos Humanos de Espana, Avaaz, CARE international, Cairo institute for Human Rights Studies, CAJ, CA
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I liked the example that you used to show how much 100,000 people looks like. This article taught me about the war in Yemen and what it is actually doing to the bystanders that live inside the country.