Yemen is a country situated in the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and shares borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman. Following the advent of the Arab Spring, Yemen saw an increase in pro-democracy protestors, who wanted to oust their president from his 33-year rule. However, this catalysed a conflict that has left much of the Yemeni population in crisis.
How did it begin?
The protests following the Arab Spring in 2011 forced the country’s long-time authoritarian president, Abdullah Saleh, to transfer power to his deputy Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Whilst this ostensibly should have quelled tensions from the rebel groups, Hadi’s reign proved unpopular, resulting in many military attacks, corruption, as well as food insecurity.
Hadi’s attempts at constitutional and budget reforms were rejected by the Houthi rebels, who were situated in the north of the country. The Houthi are a group of Shia Muslims, who seized control of the Saada region, and expanding to the capital city Sanaa. This consequently compelled Hadi to escape to Riyadh. However, whilst he appeared to officially resign in 2015, he later claimed to be Yemen’s ‘legitimate president’ and called on loyal militants in Yemen to back him.
In 2015, a civil war ensued between Hadi’s government, and the Houthi rebels. Saudi authorities supported Hadi, and consequently launched air strikes in Yemen that year.
The impact of war on Yemen:
The conflict in Yemen has been tumultuous, affecting an extremely large percentage of the population, due to its economic, ecological, and political consequences.
The conflict has caused over 10,000 deaths, and displaced over two million people, as they attempt to escape disease and violence. Further to this, Yemen has experiences mass shortages in food and safe water, leaving many starving. The average Yemeni has access to only 140 cubic metres of water per year; this is in stark comparison to the Middle Eastern average, which is 1700 cubic metres per year. This, in turn, has propelled a series of water-related conflicts in the country’s rural regions, with an estimated 70%-80% of conflicts being water-related.
The war in Yemen has also stagnated the economy. Usually, Yemen imports more than 90% of staple food. However, this has been restricted because of a naval embargo imposed by the Saudi led coalition. This, along with the lack of fuel, and damage to the markets and roads, halted supplies from being distributed. Commodity prices have also risen, from 30 – 50% higher than before the conflict, leaving people with fewer resources for a much higher price.
The water crisis has also resulted in dangerous outbreaks of cholera and diphtheria. WHO declared Yemen to have faced the worst cholera outbreak that the world has ever seen, whilst UNICEF also stated that Yemen is on the brink of a famine, with nearly 2 million Yemeni children being “acutely malnourished.” The lack of supplies, situated against a backdrop of poverty, political instability, and existing malnutrition, suggests that this is a cyclical issue.
The Yemeni Refugee Crisis:
Yemen’s refugee crisis is different to many other countries, in that it occupies a dual position as both a bedrock of conflict, as well as solace. Yemen is currently home to more than 270,000 refugees and asylum seekers, predominantly from the Horn of Africa – especially Somalia and Ethiopia – who are fleeing conflict within their own homeland. However, many Yemenis are also escaping to the Horn of Africa, despite conflict being equally rife there.
Unlike many other surrounding countries, the Horn of Africa has ostensibly kept an open approach to Yemeni refugees, by keeping their borders open for citizens coming from the Gulf region. Therefore, instead of closing their borders until a regional agreement on protection can be found, ‘the governments of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan have all granted prima facie refugee status to Yemeni asylum seekers.’ This has sped up the registration process, whilst enabling assistance to those who arrive empty-handed.
The situation has also extended as far as South Korea. In early 2018, around 550 asylum seekers from Yemen arrived in Jeju, a resort island, which has instituted a thirty-day visa-free system in order to attract more tourists. The Korean government placed Yemen on a list of terrorist watch-list countries following negative public opinion over Yemenis using the visa-free system. As such, ‘on September 14, 2018, the South Korean government granted permission for 23 Yemeni refugees to remain in humanitarian custody and the next month issued humanitarian permits to 339 Yemeni refugees.’ Nevertheless, in total, only two people were granted refugee status, whilst 412 were given a humanitarian status.
Meanwhile, the bordering country of Oman has also taken in many Yemeni refugees. Whilst the government refuses to release the exact number of refugees that it has accepted, some have estimated around 2500 refugees live there, many of whom have illegally entered the country. ‘According to the U.N., only 45 percent of Yemeni hospitals are fully equipped. By March 2017, about 1,200 Yemeni refugees in Oman have received medical treatment at Omani hospitals, according to Oman’s health ministry.’ The lack of resources and funding within Yemen has compelled a mass outflux therefore, highlighting the gravity of the issue that ensues.
Whilst the future of Yemen is still unclear, the UN have projected Yemen to house the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, as of 2019. According to a December report, over 16 million people were on the verge of starvation, and over 24.1 million people are estimated to need humanitarian aid.
At a time of political instability, many Yemenis have no choice but to flee their homeland. Their search for solace outlines a unifying human desire to be safe, and their plight is deserving of compassion and care. At times of heightened division, we should focus on what unites us, and consider their predicament the next time they are vilified as hostile entities.
Written by Riddhi Kanetkar, 2020.
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Picture source: https://nakhshatro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1-40.jpg
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