The Saudi-led coalition's strategy in Yemen is entirely counter-productive

A poster reads "two years of aggression that achieved nothing but destruction, devastation and killing of innocents" at a protest in Sana'a, March 26th, 2017. 

*It has now been two years since the Saudi-led coalition began waging its war in Yemen against the rebel group, the Houthis.

The coalition's military operation was intended to "save the people of Yemen from a radical group (the Houthis) trying to take over the country," as expressed by Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Adel Al-Jubeir in a news conference on the day the military operation began - 26 March, 2015. So far, the coalition's military strategy has not reduced Houthi "radicalism", rather it has become completely counter-productive, and instead of weakening the Houthis, it is strengthening them.

For many Yemenis, 26 March signifies not just the beginning of all out war, but one of the chapters in the violent unrest the country has been witnessing since the 2011 uprising. Indeed, many regard September 2014 - when the Houthis stormed into the capital city, Sanaa - as a turning point in the country's chain of armed conflicts. Following the Houthis taking de-facto control of Sanaa, the general sentiment in Sanaa was one of a refusal of what the Houthis represented. One anti-Houthi protest after another crystallised into a peaceful anti-Houthi movement named "Refusal". The capital witnessed many anti-Houthi protests raising slogans, such as "no for coup" and "no to armed militias".




Yemenis' peaceful resistance was quickly interrupted by the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, which not only ended their spirit for peaceful resistance to the Houthis, but also turned millions of Yemenis against the waning legitimacy of the government. Today, there is no room for peaceful resistance against the Houthis under the Saudi-led coalition's military operations, as Yemenis today are barely able to survive the war.

Extremist groups such as IS are the only ones to thrive in Yemen's war. Moreover, in light of the devastation, Yemenis repeatedly question how President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and his leadership could have allowed their people to slip into one of the world's most tragic humanitarian tragedies – all in the name of restoring legitimacy.

To continue the current military policy in Yemen, would be counter-productive, turning the Houthis - who Yemenis used to perceive as tyrants - into national heroes. The strength and resilience of the Houthis, and their refusal to surrender, are perceived by many Yemenis as heroism in today's harsh reality of war. Some of my own family and friends in Yemen, some as young as teenagers, are joining the Houthis in the fight against the "enemy".


To continue the war and achieve nothing but further destruction, would shatter any trust the Yemenis might have had in President Hadi, turning the Yemenis against the Saudi-led coalition. Had the situation in Yemen been dealt with more wisely, it might have been possible to avoid conflict with a militia group which has known nothing but fighting for years, and avoid getting into an unwinnable war. One might have predicted that the war could only plunge Yemen into even greater instability, and destroy the legitimacy the Saudi-led coalition is working so hard to restore.

It's now been two years since Yemen slipped into one of the world's worst humanitarian tragedies. About 20 million people are on the edge of famine and need some kind of humanitarian assistance. About 10,000 have been killed and it's very likely the death toll is higher, as many are dying of starvation and lack of medicine. The coalition's strategies such as targeting civilian areas and infrastructure, and the air and naval blockade imposed on a large part of Yemen, have all sparked a blowback reaction.

Today, people who were not previously allied with the Houthis are actually joining them in a knee-jerk response that allows them to rise up against the suffering caused by the Saudi-led coalition. With every household effected by the bombardment or the starvation tactic in the war, the Saudi-led coalition's war is actually making new enemies, and the "legitimacy" becomes less convincing by the day.


This is not to say that the coalition must abort the mission in Yemen immediately, but rather re-think its approach to the Houthi threat and find new ways eliminate its counter-productive strategy. The coalition must work more closely with the resistance movement in Yemen who can effectively confront the Houthis before it's too late, and work more seriously at containing the humanitarian crisis.

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*This op-ed piece was written for and published in The New Arab on 30 March 2017.

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.

Sweden Has A Role In Yemenis’ Suffering And Must Suspend Its Weapon Sales To Saudi

Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven met Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs,
Nizar bin Obaid Madani in Riyadh, Saudi. October 2016. Photo courtesy: Aftonbladet.

*Swedish media tends to criticize the Swedish-Saudi relation denouncing Sweden’s desire to be an ally to Saudi and pointing out that it is a dictatorship that lacks any free political life and a country that commits massive human rights violations. But it is time to update that perspective: Saudis’ record in human rights violations have exceeded its borders.

Swedes must also condemn Saudi’s war crimes record in Yemen; this most importantly entails Swedes questioning Sweden-made weapon sold to Saudi used in possible war crimes.

Top Swedish arms dealer Marcus Wallenberg "accompanies" Swedish PM  Löfven to Saudi this weekend despite revelations that Saudi armed ISIS.

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 21, 2016

 

Ahead Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s visit to Saudi at the end of last month, Wikileaks tweeted that top Swedish arms dealer Marcus Wallenberg “accompanied” Swedish PM Löfven to Saudi. This is plausible as Saudi is one of the top clients of Sweden’s weaponry industry. In its 2016 report, Control Arms Coalition named Sweden as one of the countries having reported licenses and sales to Saudi Arabia in 2015. Saudi won’t obtain all these weaponry unless there is a flourishing market. Saudi is the world’s third-largest spender in military expenditure index. Despite that Sweden has announced last year its military cooperation with Saudi was not renewed, Saab remains able to continue selling arms to Gulf countries - which are active actors in the ongoing conflict in Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition intervention in impoverished Yemen that began in March 2015 was only possible because of the high level of arms imports made to the coalition 10 Arab state members, headed by oil-rich Saudi. In 2011-15 Saudi Arabia’s arms imports increased by 275 percent compared with 2006-10. In the course of Yemen war, at least 10,000 people have been killed and the UN reported that the Saudi-led coalition is responsible for most civilian casualties. Human rights groups which include Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both documented dozens of unlawful coalition airstrikes, some of which may amount to war crimes. Schools, hospitals, weddings, funerals among many other civilian targets were not exempted from the coalition airstrikes.

In parallel, calls for countries to stop selling weapons to Saudi are raised. The calls include Sweden who had little or nothing to state in condemning the atrocities in Yemen. I became well-aware of Sweden’s indifference when Sana’a funeral attack happened in which 140 people were killed and over 500 were injured by a double-tap airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition earlier this month. Sweden’s foreign minister, Margot Wallström showed no condemnation statement, whatsoever, while she usually rushes to condemn terrorist attacks elsewhere. Seemingly, Sweden’s silence over the Saudis’ war in Yemen is relevant to Sweden’s arms sales to the kingdom.

Last year, Sweden had a strong stance against Saudi over its terrible human rights violations record, then why the silence today? What has changed now? Why the silence over Saudi’s role in the suffering in Yemen? Sweden’s revival of the Saudi-Swedish ties comes as a step into Swedish preparation for its seat on the UN Security Council in the beginning of next year and with that Sweden seems to be willing to compromise & ally itself with the Saudis. Sweden had to re-establish its good relation to the Saudis and gain Saudis’ support in the council.

In that seat, Sweden actually is becoming increasingly relevant to peace in Yemen - it must honor the international laws and exert efforts to ensure peace; which both Saudi is violating in the war in Yemen. However, Sweden’s indifference over the potential use of its weapons in causing the suffering in Yemen undermines Sweden’s future role in ensuring peace. If Sweden doesn’t condemn Saudi war crimes now, then when will it do so?

It is time to refresh our view on the problem with Sweden allying Saudi considering Saudi’s war crimes record in Yemen war and therefore call upon that Sweden suspend any of its arms sales to Saudi- unless, Sweden would like to be on the wrong side of history.

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*This piece was originally published in Swedish in Swedish magazine, Omvarlden on the 1st of November, 2016.

Interview with Afrah Nasser, Yemeni Journalist and Blogger

I was interviewed by RT tv, a couple of weeks ago, following the withdrew of Saudi name from the UN blacklist report on the most children rights abusers.

With US help, Saudi Arabia is obliterating Yemen

"The bomblets fell all around Gomaa and her granddaughter. One hit the tree branches above them while several others exploded next to them. Three-year-old Hasna, named after her grandmother, was thrown off the swing as shrapnel flew into her leg. The elder Hasna was also hit, with shrapnel slicing through her right thigh and left ankle. "So many fell on us," the grandmother, who is in her 50s, later said. "If you saw it you would have wondered how we are still alive." .... ", reports Sharif Abdel Kouddous from Yemen.

Yemen war: The conflict everyone wants to forget

A graffiti work by Yemeni artists, Murad Subay, commemorating the 15 children killed in Bani Hawwat area, in Sana’a, where air strikes destroyed more than seven houses, another 27 civilians were killed as well. May 18, 2015.

*Things are bad in Yemen; even worse than bad. Nine months since the Yemen war began and the impact of the violence does not only continue to rip the country apart but it has also sent the majority of the population into destitution.

While the return of President Hadi and his prime minister to Aden gives the illusion that there will be an end to the current unresolved multi-front fighting in other parts of the country, the suffering of Yemenis continues to be incomprehensible.

The human cost of the war so far is immense, as the Saudi-led coalition air strikes and the Houthi-Saleh alliance’s aggression have in inflicted horrendous atrocities across the country. The ongoing conflict has resulted in over 32,000 casualties, with 5,700 people killed, including 830 women and children, alongside a sharp rise in human rights violations, according to the latest UN report.

Even more tragic is the civilian deaths, or what the Saudi-led coalition likes to call collateral damage, during wedding parties. More than 160 people including women and children were killed in air strikes that hit at least two separate wedding parties. Despite the fact that nowhere has been safe in Yemen, over 2.3 million have tried to escape the escalating violence and have become internally displaced since late March of this year.

In a country like Yemen that imports 90 percent of its food, fuel, medicine and other vital goods from foreign suppliers, food has been used as a war weapon. It’s not only that the coalition’s naval blockade of Yemen’s main ports has been leaving 80 percent of Yemen’s population facing a humanitarian disaster, but the Saudis have also made sure that whatever relief operation are carried in Yemen need to be barred from delivery to Houthi-controlled areas, according to a UN reporter. With such tactics, the ongoing war is devastating Yemen; 82 percent of the population, that’s 21.2 million people, are in need of some kind of humanitarian assistance.

Amidst the worsening humanitarian catastrophe earlier this month, two rare cyclones made a landfall on Yemen's southern coast killing 26 people and affecting thousands of families. In light of the severity of needs, a black market in all rare commodities is flourishing; only those who can afford the skyrocketing prices can shop there. Using donkey carts for transportation and solar energy to compensate electricity scarcity have become the new norm in Yemen, as the people are trapped in an escalating conflict and navigating alternative methods of survival.

With that said, one would expect the world and the international community to rally to help Yemenis in their ordeal, and yet Yemenis’ cries fall on deaf ears. I realised this when a Yemeni friend called me once she arrived to Jordan after she escaped the violence in Yemen. She shared her shock with me in realising that nobody cares about the situation in Yemen. “When I was in Yemen and isolated from the rest of the world because of the fighting, I thought that the world was doing something to rescue us, but when I managed to get out of the country and see outsiders’ reactions to the Yemen war, I saw how nobody cares about us,” she said.

There are two main reasons behind the general indifference towards the war in Yemen. One is how the media coverage is highly dominated by the two main warring parties’ mouthpieces - whether the Saudi-affiliated or the Iranian-affiliated media, giving a false impression that the Yemen war is primarily sectarian.

The relatively independent local press inside the country is under fire and mostly silenced. Thus, the dominant media narrative about the Yemen war has a sectarian language that does not reflect the major political dispute. This influences the international public understanding about the Yemen war and greatly dehumanises Yemenis.

The other reason is the Yemen war has become a lucrative business for great powers and ordinary countries alike. Saudi Arabia is the UK’s largest foreign customer of weapons and the US State Department recently announced its approval of a new $1.29 billion arms deal for Saudi Arabia.

Soldiers from several countries such as Colombia and Sudan have found opportunity for recruitment in Yemen war. Many seem to benefit from the war in Yemen, and it’s of their great interest that this war continues. Of course, that is at the expense of Yemeni lives.

Yemenis’ ordeal is summed up in Thucydides’ saying: “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” With global apathy toward the war in Yemen, Yemenis know that they are alone in facing a double-faced evil. One of the world’s poorest nations stands helplessly against the Saudis’ power-machine and the Saleh-Houthi alliance’s aggression.

The world’s apathy over the atrocities in Yemen makes its people feel abandoned and, more painfully, makes them realise how Yemenis’ blood counts for nothing. It’s difficult to comprehend how the world can fail to acknowledge that this situation is beyond a tragedy; it is a shame on humanity.

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*I originally wrote this piece for the Middleesteye.net, published on Nov. 25, 2015

Who can hear Yemenis?

AS the bombings intensify in Yemen, dozens of messages from people know in person & who I don't know have been pouring into my fb & email inbox. It's almost the same message, "tell the world that the situation is unbearable in Yemen, Afrah! The killed ones had mercy from Allah, but we, the living ones are going through a slow death. Tell the world, Afrah! Nobody hears us, but you are heard, Afrah!"

Such messages made insomnia my new best friend. As I'm about to finish reading this second book about trauma, I hope I'll get back a little peace of mind & write more & more & 'tell the world' about the tragedy in my country & the agony & pain my people are going through. Until then, these sleepless nights are bombing my head & soul, & I fear I'm wasting time while I'm this paralysed & not writing enough - I should be telling the world.

You know what, it's really a fucking cruel world out there. Most of the "world" has been bought by the Saudi money; even our fucking president, Hadi was bought by the Saudis' money. Each missile & each rocket fired at Yemen is done with the blessings of that mother-fucker president. Then, how can we, poor activists & journalists & bloggers can face the Saudis' power/money/dominance/hegemony-machine? 

Forget about us the [intellectuals]! What ordinary people in Yemen & from Yemen, who are shattered around the world now, what they feel most painful is how painful it is to be neglected & abandoned, not only by the "world" but also by their own fucking president, Hadi. You know that Saudi promised to give the UN big money to address the humanitarian plight in Yemen with 1 condition that's: to be distributed in the Saudi-Hadi liberated areas only. And let the rest of the country starve to death. What kind of a moron president would allow that to happen to his own people, country?! Outrageous is an insufficient word!

Who can hear Yemenis? Who can hear their out-cries? Who can save Yemen? Who..

Realignment of Yemen's Identity Politics

Yemen in Sam Kalda's illustration

*As a blogger on Human Rights issues in Yemen for the past six years, I am stunned by the growing polarisation in the country; to take an even-handed stance for human rights is either viewed as treasonous act, or as a sectarian bias. If you criticise both the Saudi-led Arab coalition air strikes and the Houthi-Saleh alliance forces, the supporters of both camps accuse you of supporting one side over the other. It’s us or them, both sides maintain; no middle ground.

Throughout my activism, it was easy for me to remain in that middle ground due to my mixed Ethiopian-Yemeni background which influenced my strong faith in fundamental human rights for all people, regardless of their color of skin, ethnicity, gender, religious belief, etc. Having myself lived some of the ugly consequences of the abuse of human rights, in my case, that is racism, I developed a great sensibility of Yemen’s identity politics. Today, I perceive how people's definition of their identities in Yemen - whether in line with tribal, sectarian or class-based affinities - is realigning itself along with the new political order.

***

Growing up in Yemen, a country with a strict hierarchical class system was not an easy thing, especially for someone like myself with mixed-ethnic identity. My story, like the story of many multi-ethnic Yemenis, goes back to the time when my two Yemeni grandfathers, frustrated by the economic and political situation, had a leap of faith and left Yemen to find a better life elsewhere.

Yemeni ports served as a conduit for migration. Due geographic proximity, the African horn was the destination for many migration waves coming from Yemen. Going east was also a popular destination for southeastern Yemenis. For my northern grandfathers Ethiopia was the choice of destination. They settled and married two Ethiopian ladies (my grandmothers) and had children (among them are my later-to-be my parents). It is estimated that there were 300,000 - 400,000 Yemenis in Ethiopia at that time. Following the revolution of 1962 in north of Yemen, the revolution of 1963 in its South and the dictatorship of Mengistu in their host country, many Yemeni migrants, including my grandparents, decided to go back to their home country in the 1970s. Some were forced to go back to Yemen by the emergence of communism in Ethiopia and its nationalisation policies that ripped them off the little wealth they worked hard to create, yet some were lured by the political change that had taken place at home. With a revolutionary perspective, Yemen’s former president, the late Ibrahim Al Hamdi was a key figure in calling on Yemenis abroad to return as he embarked on the road of nation building. Thus, my Yemeni-Ethiopian parents migrated back to Yemen.

by Sam Kalda

In Yemen’s class system, unlike the “Akhdam”, a degrading term used to describe a dark-skinned minority who are believed to be the descendants of Ethiopian invaders from the sixth century and who has been enduring a history of discrimination, I found myself located at the “Muwaladeen” categorisation, a term used to describe Yemenis born to foreign parents; the term was meant to racify the “half-Yemeni”, thus I struggled with both an identity crisis and racism. The most problematic issue though was the interplay between racism and classism. Growing up in Sana’a where at school I had my first encounter with Yemen’s multiplex social structure, my classmates bragged about their different classes; such as, Qadi and Hashemite class. As a kid, I was most intrigued and struck by the latter.

Hashemite class claims direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, and many Hashemites see the superiority of their class above all outside their clan, and there has been a widespread concern among Yemenis that members of the Hashemite class, alongside with the Houthi movement, are fostering visions of restoring a religious imamite and resuming hierarchical supremacy. Families belonging to this lineage composes a form of nobility in Yemen, with many of them marrying only within their class. North-Yemen, once ruled by zaidi hashemite dynasties from the very same north where Houthis come from, was freed from their reign by a coup d’etat in 1962 against the last Imam, Mohammed Al Badr Bin Hamidaddin, establishing the Yemen Arab Republic. This resulted in a civil war between the royalists and the republicans which lasted until the end of the sixties.


In today’s context, it’s crucial to remember that the Imam used to be the supreme representative of the Shia Zaidi Hashemite class, ruling north of Yemen in their name; much like how the Houthi movement is currently claiming to represent the Shia Zaidis. The main concern now is whether the reign of the Houthis would reproduce the old hierarchical class system, from which Yemen has not been fully liberated in its fifty years of the republic.


Being part of two cultures, two settings and two forms of being problematised Yemen’s identity politics for me and my hybridity forced a rift between me and home. Nonetheless, it provided me with a critical outlook of political and social issues. Even more intensely today, as I live abroad, the vision I have towards Yemen is a vision of plurality. Thus, my Human Rights activism as a blogger since 2011 has been modeled by my belief in a Yemen that guarantees its citizens a social structure where they can live in with their cultural complexities and diverse identities & ethnicities that have been historically shaped by the decisions Yemenis have made.

***

Yemen in Sam Kalda's illustration

Although Yemen's complex political, social and cultural structures have managed to function as a fluid equilibrium on the surface, there have always been chronic identity tensions.

Until Yemen's 2011 uprising, these identity tensions were influenced by two major factors: the unification in 1990 and the aftermath of the civil war in 1994, resulting in major rifts between north and south. Some contend that one of the causes of the tensions was former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's forced seizure of the lands in the south, leading to discontent among southerners over his rule.

Another likely cause was when southerners realised that the new oil finds in the south that formed more than 40 percent of Yemen's reserves back then would have supported South Yemen's smaller population if they had not been seized by the north. Furthermore, during my personal observations in the country, there was a feeling in South Yemen, particularly among "de-tribalised" people, who felt that they should (re-)define themselves as tribes to be taken seriously by the new ruling system in the north.

Saleh's approach to leadership further complicated identity relations. His leadership was based on divide and rule and his tactics on prioritising the survival and benefit of his own family and tribe, deepening the rift between disparate groups and undermining the idea of a Yemeni national identity. For instance, prior to 2004, Saleh used to support the Islah party against the Houthis and vice versa. Even during Yemen's 2011 uprising, Saleh endeavoured to fragment the anti-government protesters by arguing that the mixing of male and female protesters was un-Islamic.


In today's context, as the country engages in one of its bloodiest civil wars, there is a realignment taking place simultaneously on two levels: a reconfiguration of power and identities. Firstly, it is fuelled by the new reality where yesterday's adversaries are today's allies. After enduring six wars between 2004 and 2010 that led to the death of their founder-leader at the hands of Yemeni security forces under Saleh's rule, Houthis have formed an alliance with their old oppressor, Saleh.

Considering that Saleh used to be Saudis' ally in the fight against Houthis' revivalist movement for Zaydism through those six wars, today he is turning the tables, siding with Houthis not only to fight the Saudi-led coalition, but also to crush those who helped oust him in 2011. The reconfiguration of identity relations is perhaps the most troubling one - it shows itself as the violence on the ground has been mobilised based not on simple binary distinctions, but rather, on a complex and ambiguous process.

by Sam Kalda

While Yemen's biggest richness in diversity is its people and needs to be celebrated, in the light of the civil war, it has become the base of multifaceted local cleavages. For instance, in Houthi-owned media, there were reports on Houthi-Saleh militiamen calling the southerners "The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) supporters" to strip them of their "Yemeniness" in order to justify killing them. This has caused a great polarisation where southerners in Aden and Taiz mainly cheer for the Saudi-led air strikes against the Houthi forces, whereas people in Sanaa feel political allegiances based on ideological and class agenda.

Since Sanaa has become the headquarters of Houthi rule, locals point out that the capital city tends to exhibit animosity against the Saudi-led coalition and the south - not only because it's moving in line with Houthis' stance, but also because of the historical tensions between the north and the south.

The rise of the Houthi movement represents a major reconfiguration of identity politics in the country. As people are pushing themselves into a new formalised identity group, viewing what's at risk for them in the violence, they find it difficult to identify with others who used to be of like-minded groups. And yet, they engage - consciously and subconsciously - in a continuous process of negotiating differences and antagonisms at the social and political level. Thus, the concept of a "Yemeni nation" is being redefined. While the prospect of witnessing a comeback of two Yemen(s) is debatable, it's certain that the country's north will look completely different.

The longer the war drags on, the greater the polarisation.

One can argue that this has been the case since 2007, with the emergence of the secessionist movement - which by itself showed that no civil nationalist identity exists in Yemen. Still, I would argue that it's been the case since the unification in 1990, when a combination of nation-building and the integration of the north and the south has been nothing but a failure.The current realignment is more significant than the revolution itself in 2011, which only proposed a new desultory reality.
Yemen is being transformed through a drastic change, where Yemen's agencies in the private and political spheres are under transformation as well.


For my “Muwaledeen” family members across Yemen, they are still surviving and few of them had to flee back to Ethiopia, to the old home. “History repeats itself” tells me my cousin from Addis Ababa.

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*A brief version of this essay was originally published on Al Jazeera English. 

Yemen wants peace! (postcard from Scotland)

I had the honour of being part of launching the 'Women in Conflict Initiative' run by Beyond Borders in Scotland (21-24, Aug) which allowed me to hold meetings with a number of Scottish politicians, European parliament members, EU & UN diplomats. More importantly, I hung out with some courageous women MPs & peace activists from Iraq & Syria over the past 4 days. Trying to find ways of cooperation, we, the activists couldn't stress enough how important it is to provide all the humanitarian assistance possible for our people. We, activists from Syria & Yemen especially were repeating over & over: we must stop the starvation of our people.

Violence comes in different forms. Starvation is one form, and the bombs dropped over the heads of our people is another form of violence. Thus, I'm grateful for those who helped me have this chance to speak in Scotland. Since I was there, I named and shamed the EU's role in allowing shipping weapons used in Yemen by Saudi-led coalition (proofs are here).. I urged the crowd to engage in the least solidarity act that's in pushing their politicians to stop the weapons shipment, & stop the violence. That might be a tiny step towards making peace. Until then, the bleakest the situation in Yemen gets, the more Yemen wants peace–and it wants it Now!

First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon expressed the importance of solidarity Scotland ought to show to women in different conflicts in MENA region.  

One of the great things in the festival was meeting one-to-one with UN diplomats where we, the women activists voiced our concerned directly - the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to our people was in our top priority. 

Investigative Yemeni Journalist: 'Siege imposed on Yemen is Houthi-made rather than a Saudi-made one'

Investigative Yemeni journalist, Mohammed Al Absi reports that siege imposed on Yemen is Houthi-made rather than a Saudi-made one. Al Absi –who's regarded as one of the top investigative Yemeni journalists and whose critical work has led him to prosecution two years ago after his sharp investigative work– has published on his Facebook/blog a document that proves that the Houthis are manipulating the issue of the siege imposed on Yemen, which is lifted already, for their interests. The following is a translated version into English of his post. 

It seems that the siege imposed on the people in Yemen is done domestically rather than externally; it's a Houthi-made siege rather than a Saudi-made siege.

Here is the objective findings I build my statement on:

-Yemenis are without water since 80 days on the pretext that there is lack of fuel for starting the water pumps.

-Yemenis are without electricity since 80 days on the pretext that the gas station is out of order and there is lack of diesel.


-Garbage is pilling up in all the streets across all Yemeni cities on the pretext that there is no fuel that the cleaning cars need.


So, there is no electricity, no water, no gas, no hygiene. All these crisis are justified by Houthis by them saying it is "the Saudi siege", but the truth is there is no any naval blockade. The Yemeni government (that's if there is any?) can import whatever it wants such as fuel, and anyone who works at the Hodeidah port knows that ships unload its loads daily at the port.


Since 10th of May, following the humanitarian truce that lasted for 5 days, the UN forced the Arab countries' coalition to cease the naval blockade that was imposed on Yemen by them. That was publicly announced, then, and the international media has reported so.


The most simple evidence on this is the number of cars you see on the streets. Before the 5th of May the streets were deserted unlike how it is after the truce.


The strongest evidence on this to anyone who's suspicious, especially those who are sympathisers, this document, shown above, displays a list of naval operations done at Hodeidah port. It shows names and numbers of the commercial ships' loads that reached Hodeidah, in one day alone, the 16th of June.

According to the document, around 8 commercial and humanitarian ships have reached Hodeidah port, and they are waiting to unload. Plus, the authorities at the port expect another 7 international ships to arrive within the coming days, two ships are believed to have 38 thousand tons of wheat. Also, another two ships would carry other goods.


The document shows also that the following ships will arrive soon:

1. CHANG TANG TAN ship, carrying 37,000 tons of petrol.

2. CASSENRA ship, carrying 39182 tons of fuel.

3. SEA PHANTOM ship, carrying 11874 tons of diesel.


There have been ships that have already reached Hodeidah port, on the 16th of June, two commercial ships carrying food. Additionally, there were 3 ships that had different amounts of fuel.


Where does this large amount of fuel go to?



Houthis and the black market traders sell it to Yemenis with double prices, while they just obtain what they want on the pretext that it's going to the "military front".

Now, someone ask Mohammed Al-Maqaleh why the Houthi group is torturing the Yemeni people while it claims that there is a naval blockade - the ships are pouring in on a daily basis at the Hodeidah port.


The 6 electricity stations in Sana'a is not generating currently, not even 20 mega while it can generate 146 mega, quarter what the capital city, Sana'a needs. The officers at the electricity ministry demand providing fuel. The Houthis reply: we are in a state of siege and war. But the document of the operations at the Hodeidah port proves the contrary!

The steam stations can alone produce around 300 mega and produce electricity to 5 cities. Why the electricity ministry is not provided with fuel? Houthis reply: we are in a state of siege and war. But the document of the operations at the Hodeidah port proves the contrary!


The gas station in Marib province is switched off by a political will and it was shut down on the pretext that "so it won't be hit by the airstrikes", just like how the electricity station in Saadah was hit by the stupid coalition's airstrikes that hit gas stations and residential areas alike in Saadah and other cities.


Those who exploit the suffering and needs of Yemenis inside the country are more despicable than those who kill Yemenis from the sky with rockets. And those who kill Yemenis with tanks and exploit their needs are even double despicable. These people who make sure that the crisis gets deepen and increase Yemenis' suffering won't win this battle.


In a nutshell, the siege is a %100 domestically made. It's imposed by the Houthis for psychological and media reasons. The only one who benefits from this is the traders at the black market. These traders are a combination of opportunists, bureaucratic group "the old regime", sheikhs, directors of provinces, directors of neighbourhoods, and local governor men.

"Yemenis search for survivors under the rubble of houses in the old city of Sana’a, following an overnight Saudi-led airstrike"––>

"People carry the body of a man they uncovered from the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi airstrikes in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, on June 12, 2015." ––>

Yemen: A war against civilians?

"Two months of ongoing conflict is affecting an increasing number of civilians in Yemen. Despite last week’s ceasefire, an embargo against fuel and basic necessities, along with the damage and destruction of roads, ports and airports, has led to a drastic limit on the possibilities for humanitarian organisations to provide assistance. In Aden, access to health facilities for injured people is extremely difficult because of roadblocks set up by the various armed groups, some in uniform, others not. But uniforms do not mean a lot in a country where the remnants of the national military forces are nothing more than another fighting faction among others. Whomever they originate from, these actions have the same consequence: making life impossible for civilians......." 

-Doctors without Boarders. 

Human Rights Watch: Cluster Munitions Harm Civilians

Banned cluster munitions have wounded civilians including a child in attacks in Houthi-controlled territory in northern Yemen....Increasing evidence of cluster munition use raises concerns not just for civilians now, but for when the fighting is over.." -HRW. 

Yemen: Emergency Initiatives Appeal

A girl rests next to her mother (not pictured) inside an underground water tunnel with other displaced Yemeni families, after they were forced to flee their home due to ongoing airstrikes in Sanaa on May 2, 2015.

Several emergency initiatives* to assist those affected by the war in Yemen were created, and they deserve your attention if you would like to help in some form or another. You might donate, and remember no donation is ever considered too small, or you might help by spreading the word. All assistance is much appreciated. 

The initiatives are the following:-

1) The Yemen Peace Project is working with their partner organization in Aden, House of Light Foundation, to provide essential supplies for women displaced by war in Aden, southern Yemen. Make a donation today to help in taking care of those in need. Fine more details here.
If you have any questions about this initiative, please contact YPP at info@yemenpeaceproject.org.

2) An emergency initiative to assist those afflicted by the war in all Yemen’s provinces — started by Female Academicians Forum, Sana’a University. Find more details here.
If you have any questions about this initiative, please contact the forum at angelaabuasba2012@gmail.com

3) Islamic Relief has provided food to more than 385,000 people in Yemen, thanks to many people's donations. Check here how you can donate!

4) Save Aden initiative is calling for donations to assist and ease the suffering of people in Aden. Find out more here.

5) A list made by the Yemen Peace Project about agencies that are working on the ground in Yemen, and are accepting donations specifically for their Yemen operations. Find out more here.

*This page will be frequently updated with any more coming emergency initiatives, so keep on visiting again if you'd like to help more.

Is This The Beginning of The End For Saleh?

As surreal as it gets. Former, ousted president, Saleh personally reports from in front his bombarded house. #yemen pic.twitter.com/SrdX0pqoyr

— Afrah Nasser (@Afrahnasser) May 10, 2015

Surreal. Totally bizarre. Astonishing. Beyond comprehension.

These might be few adjectives that can do this scene justice: ousted, ex-president, Ali Abduallah Saleh swiftly reaches back to one of his houses first thing in the morning after the house was shelled at the dawn by a Saudi airstrike. Miraculously, he was not targeted as he was not at home, but one was killed and dozens who live in the area were injured (including women and children) following the shelling.

Saleh does not only make sure to check the damage, but he also drags his own TV channel staff, places someone to interview him right there, in front of the destruction, snatches the mic and addresses the viewers, firing words against everyone against "the Yemeni nation" (which includes him) and against Yemen.

Each detail compromising this scene is so surreal that not even any movie senario would have depicted it in this way. Many found resemblness between Saleh's position with Gaddafi's during the beginning of the Libyan revolution. This leads to a serious question: is this the beginning of the end for Saleh? don't forget that he survived an assassination attempt in June, 2011. He seems to be unkillable. No body knows what will happen next, but one thing is certain: expect the unimaginable!

Swearing & War

One viber call after another with my folk in Sana'a, and the swearing increasingly gets so creative. I can't remember when was the last time I've heard/spoke this amount of swear words over one single week. Psychologically, it's very relieving to swear when you're angry. Can't confirm that, since I'm no psychologist, but I can see how we, family, friends and I, feel so good after we fire those swearing words at each other as we describe the situation in Yemen.


"Those motherfuckers airstrikes, those dickheads militias, those assholes, those fucking bastards, those fucking little piece of fucking shit..etc," are among a long list of swearing words coloring my viber-conversations with my peeps. (Let your imagination translate that into Arabic!)


I never used to swear in front of my mother, of course, out of respect. Today, she's in Sana'a updating me with her day-to-day miserable experiences with the daily air strikes, over our constant viber calls – today, I find no shame at all to describe political issues for her with my cursing.


Mom:  why Houthis talk as if they're winning?
Me:  it's the same lame fucking rhetorics used when you're about to be defeated. Remember when Saddam's officers used to swear the Americans during the Iraq War in 2003? And what happened next? The Americans invaded Iraq and fucked it up.


Later on, I get another viber call from my friend Bushra​ in Sana'a:

Bushra:  those %$#@(
Me:  indeed.
Bushra:  know what, Afrah? I hate to swear with demeaning words about women's sensitive stuff. I'm feminist afterall.
Me:  true. But look at it in this way: in our fucking conservative society, the fact that you, as a female, are swearing is by itself a political and feminist statement. It means you are saying to males: why it's acceptable that you can swear and I can't, ha? Know what I mean.



And that's how we try to stay fucking sane in this war. Basically, the situation is so unbearable that only swearing gives you some ease. That sank in on my mind after watching the Lebanese movie, 'West Beirut' a year ago. The movie depicts a period of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975. The best parts in the movie are the swearing parts, which are put in a compilation video.


I've enjoyed watching the movie, but this clip is really fucking awesome.