U.S. Travel Ban Could Deny Me Attend My International Free Press Award Ceremony

When the Committee to Protect Journalists announced two months ago that I was one of the awardees of this year's International Free Press Award (IFPA), I knew I was about to undertake a bittersweet step in my almost decade-long journalism career.

The CPJ explained that, from the Arab region, they had chosen Yemen this year, in order to shine a light on the conditions in which Yemeni journalists work, and also to celebrate my reporting on Yemen, despite all the obstacles.

But in the age of US President Donald Trump's travel ban - which includes Yemeni nationals - I became increasingly concerned about travelling to the US to receive the award.

In addition to an invitation to the awards ceremony in New York, the CPJ have also organised for me to meet with State Department officials in DC, and university staff to raise awareness about violations against Yemeni journalists and the humanitarian crisis in my war-torn homeland.

While there are good reasons why I should travel to the US and join the CPJ, my two US visa applications to date have been rejected by the American embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. I am currently applying for the third time, and I am not optimistic.

Sweden became my second home after I arrived here in May 2011 from Yemen, after being invited to participate in a youth leadership training course. I left with just two weeks of luggage, thinking I'd soon be back home.

Not wanting to wake my mother before my late-night flight, I left without much of a goodbye. But as the violence escalated in my hometown, Sanaa, and I was at risk following the death threats I was receiving for my anti-regime writings during the beginning of Yemen's 2011 uprising, Sweden became the place where I had to seek political asylum.

As the conflict in Yemen continued, I remained in Sweden and continued freelance reporting on Yemen for various media outlets. In a bid to stay in contact with my family and friends in Yemen, and the diaspora abroad, I've used every channel of communication I can.

For the past six years in Sweden, I have been on constant alert, hunting my next Yemen story. While I could have put Yemen to the back of my mind, and settled down in Sweden, continuing to write felt like the most meaningful thing I could do.

Determined to expose the under-reported war in Yemen, I found that reporting from exile resembled being in a long-distant relationship, with all the love and longing that comes with geographical separation.

A year and a half year ago, I became a Swedish citizen. I could travel freely and was also enjoying living by choice in Sweden. Today, I am both Swedish and Yemeni citizen, though my Yemeni passport expired a while ago.

This makes me a privileged Yemeni in comparison to my fellow countrymen, and especially my journalist colleagues who are all trapped in war.

My Swedish passport enabled me to travel around for work until Trump's travel ban came into the picture. The proposed travel ban has gone through various iterations, but what I know for sure is that my visa applications to the US embassy in Stockholm were rejected because of it.

The first time, applying as a Swedish citizen, "you are not authorized to enter the US" was the response that came. My second application was made as a Yemeni citizen. After I made it to the interview with the embassy officer, she told me that I had failed to show my ties to Sweden and that there was no guarantee that I would return to the "foreign country" - that is Sweden - after my visit to the US.


In both applications, I was asked if I had been in Yemen anytime from March 2011 (that's when the executive order comes into effect). Of course, I had been. The application asked me to justify my visit to Yemen and I told the truth: I had a life in Yemen - family, friends and work.

I will find out by Monday if my third application has been successful. In the meantime, I want my story to help raise the profile of other Yemeni journalists, working hard to make the world understand the brutal suffering of a nation.

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*My latest column published on The New Arab today. 

'Sana'a Review' e-magazine is here!

After lots of hurdles, along with a group of great Yemeni writers/friends, we launched 'Sana'a Review' online magazine on 22nd September and I'm the editor-in-chief.

The love & support my blog has gotten over the years is beyond what I ever imagined & I want to Give Back! I want to amplify other great Yemeni voices. I want to pass on the spotlight to the great (& emerging) Yemeni writers/journalists/artists/talents. True, Yemen is in a reck & journalists particularly are at most bleak conditions but that's exactly why we need to record what's happening to us now so there will be a time when peace prevail & we can reflect & try to heal & commemorate our history. We need to not mourn, rather organize. Each with whatever capacity they have, we need to resist & persist (like Suheir Hamdan once said).

The magazine is in Arabic because 1. I need to get in good terms with my identity crisis with the Arabic language as I believe I spoke Arabic & Amharic (Ethiopia's official language) at the same time when I first spoke as a kid. Then English became a buffer zone. Anyhow, I write more about that in the magazine in an article titled (Yemenia from Addis Ababa). *i like the title* #wink

2. Because our focus is the Yemeni audience. Sana'a Review's team believes that it's very important to combat the expansion of local propagandist media outlets & also play a role as an independent media outlet bridging people in Yemen with the growing Yemeni diaspora.

Sana'a Review hopes to have an English version in the near future so anyone anywhere can enjoy our content. You may know more details about the mission of the magazine at my Sana'a Review opening article. Also, here are our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts.

Ever since I joined journalism in end 2008, I dreamt of founding a magazine. Every time I pitch to my editors & my emails convincing them of my idea tend to be longer than the final published article itself, I dreamt of founding a magazine so I can easily get published. Every time I watch Anna Wintour of Vogue magazine, I dream of being better than Anna herself & create a meaningful magazine, with all respect to the fashionistas in the world. Every time,,, enough. It's here. It's happeninnnnnng (with Oprah Winfrey voice at the back) 💥❤️💓

Why the world ignores Yemen

Sanaa, Yemen [Photo: yeowatzup/Wikimedia]

I had this interview last January with Harvard School's journal of middle eastern politics and policy.

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It’s a devastating Middle Eastern war in which millions of people have been forced to flee their homes. Regional rivals are using the conflict to expand their own influence, while al-Qaeda and the Islamic State seek to take advantage of the chaos. Bombing raids strike civilian areas with impunity, and torture is common.

Everyone knows that all this is happening in Syria. Yet many laymen are unaware that the same things are taking place in Yemen, too. So why have most people heard so little about the Yemeni war in comparison? What are the challenges journalists face in covering the conflict? JMEPP spoke with award-winning Yemeni journalist and blogger Afrah Nasser about media coverage of the war, and what lies ahead for her country.


Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy: How well would you say the Western media has covered the war in Yemen? What about Arab media outlets’ coverage?

Afrah Nasser: Comparing to other tragedies, like natural disasters or terrorist attacks or even the war in Syria, the western media coverage of the war in Yemen has been so little; and whenever there is, it is unfortunately often in the form of parachute journalism.

This is largely because it’s been hard to access Yemen, as Saudi Arabia has enforced a blockade on Yemen, and if you want to go you as a journalist (Arab or non-Arab) or as a foreigner, you have to have permission from the Saudis and the rebels, the Houthis. It has been like hell to enter or leave Yemen even for ordinary Yemenis themselves; a trip that usually would take you few hours might take days or weeks. I met my mother earlier this month in Ethiopia after she went from Sana’a to Aden, then to Cairo, then to Addis Ababa. She also had to take the same long and expensive journey back to Sana’a.

That’s being said, it’s costly and risky for journalists to access Yemen. And if you do enter Yemen, some western and Arabic media outlets might not buy your story because they are careful of annoying the Saudis. At the same time, inside Yemen, the Houthis have caused a major crackdown on all journalists. Houthis are ranked the second-leading abductors of journalists in the world after the Islamic State, according to the latest report by Reporters without Borders.

JMEPP: Would you say that the war in Syria is the main reason that the Yemeni war has received comparatively little attention, or are there other important factors at play?

Nasser: The war in Syria is partially a reason for the little attention Yemen has received: that is, the Syrian refugees pouring into the European coast helped Syrians get great attention and empathy. But Yemenis are trapped between the Gulf countries – who are bombing them – and the sea neighbouring other poor countries, i.e. Somalia and Djibouti.

Moreover, unlike the war in Syria, the Saudis are a direct actor in the Yemen war and this tremendously impacts the lack of reporting or the non-reporting on the Yemen war. As the war began in Yemen in early 2015, WikiLeaks released thousands of diplomatic cables from Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, which included documents showing how Saudi Arabia is buying media silence, Arabic media in specific. Understandably, the oil-rich country, one of the world’s top economic powers, Saudi Arabia has cash that can buy anything and anyone. The problem is, Saudi Arabia is at war with not any country but the poorest Arab country, Yemen – which gives you an idea about the unequal power in this war.

Also, from my observations and the frequently asked questions I receive about the war in Yemen, there seems to be a misconception that the war in Yemen is based on sectarian lines, as some reporters speak of Iran’s role in the Yemen war and how the war in Yemen is a proxy war, and all that. Then, one reduces the bloodshed in Yemen to mere Sunnis-killing-Shi’ites rhetoric.

That’s an inaccurate assessment. Sectarianism is not the key driver of the Yemen war. A super-complicated political and economic power struggle is what drove this war to break out from the very beginning. There are many different internal and external actors in the Yemen war with many different political agendas – some actors can find a cross-match point where sectarian and political motives meet. I may provide one example, and that’s understanding the role that the ousted Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has had in the course of the many political transitions Yemen has gone through since the beginning of his rule in 1978 and his survival politics.

JMEPP: You’ve written that in Yemen, “journalists are discarding journalism and turning into armed fighters at frontlines, each motivated by his political affiliation to this or that armed group.” Are there any exceptions to this – news outlets or individual journalists who you think have done an admirably even-handed job at covering the conflict?

Nasser: Few news outlets have done diligent journalism work, despite all the hardship. In my view, Al Masdar has done a great job in covering Yemen, and even during the war they expanded to report in English. They are funded by the Islah political party, which makes their reporting not perfectly objective.

Other individuals who I believe have done amazing work under extremely tough circumstances: Yemeni artist Murad Subaye in Sana’a, Yemeni artist and theatre director Amr Gamal in Aden, and the Basement Cultural House in Sana’a. These people cleverly overcame the huge restrictions on free expression and press during the war, and used literature and art to tell stories that matter to Yemenis and that speak about Yemenis’ suffering.

JMEPP: According to a report by Jeremy Scahill, in 2011 Obama personally intervened with Ali Abdullah Saleh to request that Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye not be released from prison, arguing that Shaye – who’d interviewed al-Qaeda members and reported on a US cruise missile strike at al-Majala – was affiliated with AQAP. To the best of your knowledge, are there other recent instances in which foreign countries have attempted to stifle journalism within Yemen? The Houthis have been frequently accused of detaining journalists, but how has the Saudi-led coalition acted in areas under its control with regard to press freedoms?

Nasser: As I mentioned earlier, the air and naval blockade enforced on the north part of Yemen, starting from closing Sana’a airport, has a direct impact on the stifling of journalists. It’s a tactic Saudi Arabia used since the beginning of the war on all parts of Yemen, and later allowing traveling from Aden after it was taken back from the Houthis and Saleh’s forces. Still, the blockade greatly contributed in the little, if not zero, mobility Yemeni journalists and activists would have to travel and attend conferences or media programs on Yemen.

For instance, respected human rights organisations like Mwatana have had a difficult time to join international stages to voice out the violations of human rights in Yemen. Don’t forget also what I mentioned earlier about Saudi Arabia and WikiLeaks. There is a great effort by the Saudi administration to silence any narrative against Saudis’ involvement in Yemen war. Moreover, Saudi Arabia works sophisticatedly in dominating the media, imposing a good image of its human rights record by hiring PR companies.

All these illustrate the work [Saudi Arabia] is doing to restrict coverage on Yemen and the conflict. However, it’s also important to stress that the Houthis are also not angels. The crackdown the Houthis showed on the press in Yemen is unprecedented. Last month, Yemen’s top investigative journalist, Mohammed al-Absi, was assassinated after he reportedly was poisoned to death. The details of his murder is still investigated, and it remains to be seen if the Houthis were behind his death.

JMEPP: What do you think are the most important developments happening in Yemen that haven’t been widely reported on outside the country?

Nasser: Everything. Yemen’s politics, economics, culture, and all Yemenis’ tragedy are under-reported. The country is in very painful transition on all these levels, and only a tiny bit of it is told about in the media.

JMEPP: When the war in Yemen is over, what conditions do you think need to be in place for independent journalism to flourish?

Nasser: I think it’s going to be a rocky and long road until the war is over. For the time being and for the post-war period, it’s crucial to support civil society organisations in Yemen, and local media groups and individuals, because that’s where all my hopes lay. Support the civil society in all possible ways: financially, logistically, morally, emotionally. Yemen’s civil society … needs the world’s solidarity.

I was Awarded Sweden's Pen Holder Prize for 2016

I was awarded Sweden's Pen Holder Prize for 2016, today. The prize was established since the late 80s & is annually awarded for female freelance journalists to support their work & dedication. If I'm not mistaken, I'm one of the first brown women given the award in Sweden, which not only makes me proud but also makes me love Sweden more. My Sweden sees a difference to be an advantage. And, more importantly, my Sweden believes in women's power.

Such recognition for my small & absolutely imperfect work, makes me wanna work harder & harder to continue echoing the voice of my people in Yemen. It's been 5 years for me in Sweden & I've always been thinking on how to dedicate my time & energy for my people, despite the distance (till the time comes when I work from Yemen).

Working with human rights issues is a tough work. You know that things might not get better. And they don't. They go backward, often. Still, what gets me jumping out of my bed every morning is: the love of my life, that's writing.

What would I have done without you, writing? Don't know..

Anyways, tack Sverige!

The Problem of Yemen Experts

Local voices are under-represented in favour of a new market of Western experts.

*Mohammed Al-Yamani, the dedicated Yemeni photojournalist who was killed after being shot by a Houthi sniper more than a week ago, has received a wide solidarity online exceeding his usual humble local network in Yemen; as his death came in a tragic incident. The New York Times has even reported his death. Hadn’t Al-Yamani – like most other killed Yemeni media workers – been murdered, the likelihood that his name would appear in big media publication would have been slim, if not impossible.

Tainted by evident under-representation of local Yemen experts, media outlets in all forms and directions, as well esteemed international panels and research centres, cover and analyse Yemen through the lens of predominantly non-Yemeni experts on Yemen. This undermines the importance of local Yemeni’s agency in shaping the narrative related to their country in international media.


“Study up” Yemen

It is crucial to differentiate between two types of foreign Yemen experts: those who have never been to Yemen and yet like to study and analyse Yemen as a mere subject-matter, and those who have been to Yemen for months or years and decide to make Yemen their speciality. Certainly, the former is more problematic than the latter. But they both contribute to the under-representation of the local Yemeni experts.

In the second oldest magazine in the United States, Harper's Magazine, a contributing editor wrote: “face it, until recently many of you didn’t know for sure if Yemen was a country or an erectile dysfunction medication. Now that Yemen has emerged as a major focus of the war on terror, you better study up.”

I see how Yemen can be regarded as a baffling case that needs to be “studied up”. This reflects why foreign Yemen experts are on demand. As an expert, he or she is expected to deliver the truth about this ‘mysterious’ country. Nevertheless, many Yemeni local journalists and writers who are unable to reach international audiences due to the language barrier or other economic reasons have often been recognised by the world only when they became attacked or killed in tragic circumstances. The agency that materialises in their work is denied when they are only represented in the event of a tragedy.

The fame that non-Yemeni experts gain feeds on the devaluation of Yemeni experts’ work and their exclusively tragic framing and representation. In fact, with every Yemeni journalist unnoticed or killed, a local perspective that could have tremendously challenged simplistic foreign perspectives is lost.

Some critics would denounce that and say instead that objectivity would be undermined if local Yemenis speak on the developments in Yemen, as the never-ending conflict in the country has created an extremely polarised environment. This overlooks the fact that, like any other expert or journalist, local Yemeni experts have publications and records that can stand as proof of their objectivity or lack thereof.


It is important that Yemenis claim how Yemen stories are ought to be told and framed because that won’t only enhance their representation in the media, but it might also transform all misinformation and confusion related to Yemen. The topics they focus on, the language they use, and the analysis they provide would be unique, organic, and original. Needless to say, the benefits of encouraging more female Yemeni local experts could provide better inclusive reporting on Yemen’s diverse issues.

More platforms for Yemeni experts

After more than 8 years of experience in covering Yemen, I notice the growing number of Yemeni journalists who work hard to report on what’s happening in their country. Acknowledging that some of them lack the needed skills or knowledge to excel in their work, as the country has been ravaged by sequel of devastating conflicts, I still see great potentials.

Yemeni journalists only need space and platform to develop; be it more opportunities for training or taking on media jobs. Additionally, the more international mainstream media and platforms depend on non-Yemeni experts on Yemen, the more they undermine the great potentials in aspiring Yemeni journalists.

It is time for western media outlets to stop promoting that only confusion and misinformation come out of Yemen and work more responsibly and sensibly on finding and offering spaces to diligent local voices.

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*This op-ed was originally published on The New Arab, 29 March 2016.