Democracy Now! & The Yemen Peace Project – 2015-07-12 20:37:13
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/7/9/a_mounting_humanitarian_catastrophe_in_yemen
A Mounting Humanitarian Catastrophe in Yemen:
War Death Toll Tops 3,000, Fear of Famine Grows
Democracy Now!
(July 9, 2015) — Aid groups are warning Yemen is on the brink of famine as the Saudi-led attack intensifies. More than 3,000 people, including 1,500 civilians, have died in Yemen since the US-backed Saudi offensive against the Houthi rebel group began on March 26.
According to the United Nations, 80 percent of Yemen’s 25 million people are now in need of some form of humanitarian aid, and more than one million Yemenis have fled their homes, as a Saudi naval blockade has cut off food and fuel supply lines for much of the country.
Monday was reportedly the deadliest day since the fighting began, with over 176 people killed, including 30 people at a market in the northern province of Amran and 60 people at a livestock market in the southern town of al-Foyoush. To talk more about Yemen, we are joined by two guests.
Farea Al-Muslimi is a co-founder of the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies in Yemen. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. And here in New York is Matthieu Aikins, award-winning foreign correspondent. He’s a fellow at The Nation Institute. He was in Yemen last month reporting for Rolling Stone magazine.
For transcript of broadcast, click here.
Our Yemen: A Letter from San’a
Fatima Noman / The Yemen Peace Project
(July 8, 2015) — This post was sent to us by a special guest contributor, Fatima Noman. Fatima is 16 years old, and lives in San’a. She’s in her third year of high school — or would be, if the schools were open.
Even after 3 months and a fortnight the sounds of war crafts still terrify me. My mother promised if I heard their utterance they are far away. Regardless, whenever I apprehend the sounds of them my heart beats rapidly and my stomach clenches. As soon as I hear the missile explode I taste death one more time.
I remember when I conjectured that the tang of death is sweet. I was raised to be strong, heard headed and invincible this coalition made me question my strength, do I in sooth have any strength?
I always knew politics was dirty business and I know no one cared much for Yemen, including the UN, but seeing all the genocides and terror I can’t even imagine how they sleep at night. Are they intact of their humanity?
Putting all my fears and all my worries aside; this country is something else. Every time I scramble out of the house crying of trepidation from those war crafts expecting everyone to feel as I do but I am bewildered by the reality.
The fact people are on the streets, in the shops, chatting and humming as if nothing just happened. I used to believe & genuinely presume that I got my strength from my parents’ unconditional love, but the coalition proved to me that I got my strength from my country.
This country speaks a million languages that include; compassion, mercy, altruism, strength, authenticity & most importantly love. This country may not comprise modern architecture, but we were the first to build gravity defying skyscrapers. This country might not be filled with malls & 5-star hotels but I can assure you our guests never leave feeling anywhere less than home.
This country might not be the richest – not because it’s poor but rather no one has enhanced its 2300-km worth of islands, our natural gas, our petrol, our agriculture or our harvests — but I solemnly swear every Yemeni has a heart of gold. You will never feel alone here, this land embraces and captivates any one who speaks one of her million languages.
Heritage is one thing you’ll find in Yemen more than any other country I’m not being prejudice or bias, our history goes back to 5000 BC. Our aging houses are filled with people, generations live in the same homes through out the decades. That’s how exceptional our architecture is.
I believed this coalition would make me hate Yemen because I must admit before 2015 I wasn’t much of a patriot. These air raids might have corrupted a small part of my 16-year-old mind but I can assure you this country has given back and is continuously giving me back strength I never knew I had in me. Hope I never knew existed. Passion. Courage. Compassion. Pride.
If I do end up dying because of a missile from the Saudi led coalition, I am honored to have died in my Mother’s embrace. Surrounded by my heritage. My pride. My land.
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