Summary:
New York Times writer Robert F. Worth visits Yemen following an US airstrike attack on a school bus filled on August 9, killing 44 children and 10 adults. The attack sparked outrage and made national news but in reality, these killings have been going on for years. In March of 2015, Saudi Arabia began a military campaign against the Houthis, an Islamic religious-political-armed movement that emerged from Sa'dah in northern Yemen in the 1990s, and Iran because they considered the allied countries to be a severe threat of the southern border. Over 10,000 civilians have been killed by airstrike and more than 14 million people are facing the worst famine in over 100 years.
Despite losing territory throughout the course of the war, the Houthi fighters remain sharp and reckless. Derived from a political group from a powerful northwestern Yemen leader, the Houthi are known for recruiting child soldiers, torturing captives, and maintaining a low profile on the media. Their adamant dismissal of a potential agreement between the opposing country prompts Yemen’s division.
Yemen’s war was largely overshadowed by the war taking place in Syria. However, following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, people around the world began to understand the true horrors of what was happening.
Modern day Yemen resembles more of an post apocalyptic war zone more than a city. Air strikes have destroyed many bridges, government buildings, post office, courthouse, and immigration office, crumbling the infrastructure into rubble. Over 2 million people have been displaced and people line up for hours just to get gas or groceries.
With over 70% of Yemen’s food and medicine being imported from other countries, the blockade has been devastating for the citizens. With over 78% of infants suffering from chronic malnutrition, families are so desperate that they turn to eating leaves. Skeletal bodies fill up understaffed and unsanitary hospitals.
Although both sides of the war are making very little progress, the Houthi soldiers remain firm on fighting for their beliefs.
Here is a short video from CBSN explaining the circumstances.
Reaction:
Much of our new, and rightfully so, is focused on American politics and “what dumb thing did our president say today”. However, I found both fascinating and heartbreaking to read about the political dynamics in the middle east. By comparison, their struggles and conflicts dwarf the issues that we face in our own government. I believe that everyone should be paying attention to our current news as well as international news.
Amal Hussain, a young girl became the face of the humanitarian crisis when this photograph went viral.
Connection:
Although we haven’t heard much of the struggles in the middle east, this war reminds me slightly of the Armenian genocide. In both cases, huge masses of people were either being killed, bombed, displaced, or starved. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians perished between 1915 and 1923 and if the war in Yemen continues, the number of casualties will only increase.
Questions:
Why do you think the US has not taken more steps to aid the famine crisis in Yemen?
Why do you think the Houthi are so unwilling to back down?
The Yemen war has become the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. With the air and sea blockages set up by Saudi Arabia, it is extremely inhumane for innocent citizens. This can be connected to the Berlin blockade during the Cold War when Belin’s land and sea resources were both cut down and airplanes had to aid the citizens. Just like the Berlin Airlift, America is sending resources through planes. However, instead of food, more money and weapons are transported to supply the war. Since World War II, Saudi Arabia bought the most weapons from America. This leads to the build-up of trust and pressure at the same time. If America changes the course of the war, the relationship might be broken and the American economy will be impacted. Currently, Houthis are backed by Iran and SA is backed by five countries including the US. Inside Yemen, the Houthis have a larger population, which might be one reason why they are unwilling to backdown. However, the attitude of opposing forces such as America also allowed Houthis to maintain confidence. Most countries agreed to let Yemen “figure it out themselves,” which leads to the continuation of this war.
ReplyDeleteThe war in Yemen has been one of the most destructive yet, although it has received very little international attention in comparison to other wars in the Middle East. The Houthi v Saudi Arabian conflict has been going on for many years now, and showing almost no signs of subsiding. Numerous war crimes as well as human right abuses have been committed by all the parties involved in this countries conflict, causing unimaginable suffering for all civilians. The Houthis are members of a branch of Islam called Zaidism, and on the other side are the anti- Houthi forces, allied with the current president of Yemen. For over three years, the rest of the world has continued to ignore this horrific conflict, only hearing very little about the acute consequences. There are many different roots to this ongoing issue, like the regional power struggles between opposing groups. It is also very difficult to pin point the exact reason why the US is not doing more to aid this crisis. There are many possible factors for why this continues to receive so little attention including the president being preoccupied by other "issues" and "national emergencies" or viewing the war as the primary problem, and famine as the outcome. I believe that from the outside, it may seem that the world's first duty is to help ease relations and find a way to prevent the war from continuing for much longer, and then aid the famine crisis after. I think that instead, we should actively look for better ways to treat the famine as well as lesson tensions, thus ensuring that the cost of human lives does not increase drastically.
ReplyDeleteLike Rosella said, there are many factors to this problem, and I don't disagree with any other ideas. However, I also think the US wants to show which side of the war it's on. If Saudi Arabia is getting bombs from the US and the US is also helping the people of Yemen, the US would be portrayed as two-faced. They would be helping the bombing of the Houthis but also the survival of the Yemen people, from where the Houthis emerged. Many people have been wrongly categorized by stereotypes and other means. Not all people from Yemen are Houthis but my guess is that there are enough to portray that image. Anyway, this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLknMlZWogY (2:20-2:38) states, "now that the US is reducing its military support for that air campaign, Sharaf [Yemen foreign minister] hopes that Americans will put pressure on Saudi and its allies to support peace." Hopefully, the Yemen people will be given aid through all their hardships.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Celine when she says that the war in Yemen is very bad if not the worst humanitarian crisis in the world currently. With so many people starving, getting bombed, and getting sick, I find it hard to believe that the US is still not helping. The reason I believe this is happening because the US is still trying to support the Saudis even after all this time. In the article, they talk about how the Obama administration supported the Saudis with reluctance because we viewed it as an "unwinnable proxy war against Iran." I think that it is time to get passed viewing this as a war and we should start to view it as a humanitarian crisis. I believe it is time that the US stops the Cold War tactics of proxy wars and starts to help other countries in need.
ReplyDeleteYemen's harsh conditions reflects the country's corruption and economic mismanagement. I agree that the state of Yemen reflects that of the Armenian Genocide which the class covered last semester since Yemen’s state controlled famine reflects the deliberate killings of a large group of people. Despite this, the deliberate starvation of a population is yet to be fully recognized in international and domestic law, which could be preventing America from fully intervening and punishing those responsible. https://mg.co.za/article/2018-10-10-00-the-world-ignores-yemens-humanitarian-crisis This article from Mail&Guardian goes more in detail about how the famine crisis in Yemen arose.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the United States has not been aiding Yemen in its famine crisis since the opposing party, the Houthis are allied with Iran. Iran is known for being extremely anti-American and intervening in the Yemen crisis could start a proxy war into an even worse problem for the United States. This concern of the Houthis being backed by the Iranian government could be contributing to why the United States is not fighting back against the Houthis to prevent the prolongation of the war. Moreover, the Houthis themselves are also immensely anti-American. The New York Times article shared above quotes the Houthis chanting the phrases: “God is great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curses on the Jews, Victory to Islam.”
Additionally, the United States is supporting Saudi Arabia, and therefore the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen since Saudi Arabia is one of the few Middle Eastern governments that is not openly hostile to the United States. The US needs power in the Middle East for a variety of reasons, with one of them being oil. Oil is a huge import from the Middle East that the US values a lot. Also, Yemen is very close by a major sea passage, or the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is a trade route for much of the Middle East’s oil, which might be very important for US interests.
You can learn more about the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at https://www.britannica.com/place/Bab-El-Mandeb-Strait.
Another reason why America might be reluctant to help Yemen might be because the Saudi Arabian government and the Yemen government do not want peace themselves. It would be difficult for the US to establish peace and help the people living in Yemen is the government will not take America’s help and use it. On the other hand, the Houthis and Iran can not forgive any Saudi Arabian backed government, which is what is leading to the prolongation of the harsh conditions in Yemen.
With the war in Yemen reaching into its fourth year more than 22 million people around 3/4 of the Yemen population need aid from foreign countries. According to CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/03/middleeast/yemen-worlds-worst-humanitarian-crisis-un-intl/index.html) many children from 6 months to 5 years old are left malnourished because of this crisis. Saudi Arabia's widespread blockade has been stopping necessary aid such as medicine, food, and fuel crippling Yemen. The U.S. has been super beneficial for the Anti-Houthi coalition supplying Saudi Arabia with billions of dollars in military equipment, fuel, and inteligence. However Congress has been limiting the support they can give because of the loss of civilian lives from their support. The Houthis are unwilling to back down to Yemen's forces because they want the land they've historically controlled for over 10,000 years. For them fighting this war is like fighting for their religion and roots.
ReplyDeleteTo address question 1, the United States is likely trying to do everything they can to support their allies, Saudi Arabia, but at the same time trying to avoid making new enemies or making conflicts worse (tensions with Iran).
ReplyDeleteIt also seems as though the Houthi's are unwilling to back down due to religious reasons as a major factor. The Houthi's are Shiite Muslim and the non-Houthi's are majority Sunni Muslim.
I feel like in order to solve this situation, the two groups, Sunnis and Shiites need to come to the table and set aside their differences to negotiate an end to the conflict.
(Lincoln)
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ReplyDeleteThe Yemen war between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has taken so many innocent lives and have caused wide-spread famine in Yemen. The Houthis want to protect the little territory they have left of Yemen. According to your original article, the U.S complained about "the clumsiness of the Saudi Bombers." These bombings killed so many innocent people of Yemen, and made the Houthis even angrier. This anger and resistant towards Saudi Arabia causes the Houthis to stay in this war to fight for their people. The Houthis have too much pride to back down and don't want to lose their homeland of Yemen. According to my knowledge, I think the Houthis should surrender or back down because Saudi Arabia will keep killing more and more people of Yemen. I know the Houthis will lose their land, but it is better than the killing of thousands of innocent lives.
ReplyDeleteI tend to disagree with the last part of your statement. For the Houthis to give into the demands of the larger establishment is a flawed statement. If all people thought like this, and would give to the demands of the more powerful country, the U.S. wouldn't even exist as its independent country. Simply backing down is the least likely course of action, and wouldn't lead to any progress in any part of the world. The Houthis will probably not back because they are also receiving aid from Iran, who sees this war as a Proxy war; similarly the U.S.A. saw the Korean War as a proxy war, but didn't back out.
Deletethat was Rumi
DeleteIt is clear that America is well involved with Yemen’s conflict, and that they are not providing aid but rather escalating the situation. As Penny stated, it is a known fact that the United States supports Saudi Arabia’s side of the war, and in the original article it refers to Saudi Arabia as America’s “client.” By participating in the war, the Saudi’s intend to restore Yemen’s original government that is said to have been corrupt and incompetent and could not deal with unemployment and food insecurity. They also failed to take action against several attacks by jihadists, a “separatist movement in the south” (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29319423).
ReplyDeleteI think that it is completely wrong for the US to support the Saudis since they are fighting for something that would potentially force Yemenis under a corrupt government that has failed them in the past. In addition, the Yemenis are currently in distress from the war and lack of aid; it is not right for the US to support their prolonged suffering in any way.
When it comes to military decisions in conflicts such at this, much of the polarization appears to originate from a drive to support the lesser of whatever collection of horrors or evils are involved in the conflict. As the conflict continues, supporting Saudi Arabia has become less and less worth it for the US, as the military mismanagement has lead to human rights violations and large amounts of money wasted on poor tactics. Easier said than done, but I believe the United States should focus more on the atrocities of the famine and the disastrous results of civilian airstrikes, as well as recruitment of child soldiers, rather than what is politically beneficial. At this point, the death and suffering that has resulted from the interconnected and seemingly endless conflicts in the middle east is so vast that focus should be shifted to those who are supposedly being fought for.
ReplyDeleteAn event mentioned in the article that I found incredibly perverse and also (sadly) representative of Yemen's current state was summarized in the caption of a picture: a man lies in a hospital bed, having lost a leg at a bombing during a memorial for the August 9th school bus bombing. People in Yemen don't even have the time or safe space to mourn. The Houthis seem to want to keep fighting to preserve national pride, but my question is this: is a country wherein half the population faces starvation and consistent fear of violence really something to be proud of? The Houthi foreign minister mentioned that the war against the Saudis is a "they break us or we break them" situation, but the irony there is that Houthi tactics themselves (like recruitment of underage soldiers, starvation, and media censorship) are already breaking the Yemeni people. I understand that this is not just a human issue-- that it is greatly political in nature-- but I think that leadership on all sides of this conflict needs to acknowledge that this issue is far too intermingled with the everyday lives of the people.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the other question, the US does provide aid to Yemen. According to https://www.usaid.gov/crisis/yemen, the US government has contributed about 697 million dollars to the Yemen crisis-- this isn’t a small amount of money, per se, but it clearly isn’t fixing all of Yemen’s now deeply-rooted issues. At the same time, the US currently backs Saudi forces in Yemen, whose offensives aid agencies deem dangerous from a humanitarian standpoint (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44466574) . The US needs to continue to take figurative steps backwards, perhaps choosing to examine the origins of the crises and helping to staunch those rather than trying to fix a problem that they may have a hand in creating.
I agree with your connection, as this also reminds me of the Armenian Genocide. Not only did both events have such great casualties, but they’re also hidden in a way. Many people refer to the Armenian Genocide as the “forgotten genocide” because the general public knows very little about it, which is similar to how many people refer to the war in Yemen as the “forgotten war.” According to a CNN article, "It's probably one of the biggest crises in the world but it's like a silent crisis, a silent situation and a forgotten war," says UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen. (https://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/06/middleeast/yemen-conflict/index.html)
ReplyDeleteAnd to address your first question, I feel the US has not offered aid to the famine crisis in Yemen because they want to avoid worsening tensions with Iran, who is allies with Houthis. America has had a poor relationship with Iran in the past, so I think they want to avoid anything that could aggravate Iran.
Unfortunately at this point, it's a numbers game for the U.S. Saudi Arabia has a lot of resources to offer America such as oil, arms, and other investments which play a huge role in America's economy which is also mentioned in the the article "Trump says US stands with Saudi Arabia despite Khashoggi's killing," by CNBC. If we were to discontinue our alliance with Saudi Arabia the U.S. economy would take a major hit. However, I agree that this is no justification for the suffering in Yamen. The people of Yamen are suffering simply because they are standing by their beliefs which resembles the idea of genocide. Their is no justification for that at all. It's simply inhumane and morally wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe war in Yemen seems to being doing more harm than good, with its population dwindling and people being massacred. The Houthis continue to fight against Iran, but should they not be focused on helping the people of Yemen, who so clearly need their help? Instead they pour all their soldiers, some even children, into fighting, striving for their national pride. But when the country is starving, dying and terrified of the violence to come, is there much pride left? Shouldn't they at least try to defend their peoples? These people are dying for simply standing by what they believe that is right. It teeters on the idea of genocide, which is horrible wrong.
ReplyDeleteThis comment was done by Joan Lee, something got messed up and now I can't edit the comment or even delete it.
DeleteI believe the war in Yemen is not beneficial for anyone because neither side is willing to surrender and innocent lives are being taken. The Houthis are unwilling to back down because they have to much pride and are willing to fight for what they believe in. However, in my opinion the Houthis and Saudi Arabia should try and work things out because what they are doing is not worth the many lives lost. I also think the US tried their best to help aid the war in Yemen, but have not taken any further steps to try and end the crisis because they do not want to worsen their relationship with Iran. I think the US do not believe that this is their fight, and want to stay out of the war in Yemen.
ReplyDelete