With everything happening in the world at the moment you may have not heard about the crisis in Yemen and I wanted to fill you in on the details and ask for your help.

What's going on

Yemen has been in crisis since 2011 and with the escalation of conflict in 2015 and the current COVID-19 pandemic, the country is now suffering through the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.

Where did this all start

Yemen has been in a state of civil war for over three years. The war has cost tens of thousands of people's lives and the country's citizens are close to starvation. It started in 2011 when a rebellion forced the country’s dictatorial president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to relinquish power to Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, his deputy at the time.

President Hadi struggled to overcome the many challenges he was facing, and in 2014 the Houthi Shia Muslim rebel movement, together with ex-President Saleh, took advantage of the new president's weakness and took over the northern Saada as well as some neighbouring areas. President Hadi was eventually driven out of the country when the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa.

In 2015 things got worse when Saudi Arabia and eight other Arab states began an air campaign targeted at the Houthis. What they wanted to do is to defeat the Houthis and bring an end to the Iranian influence in Yemen as well as restore Hadi to power. The campaign was supported by the UK, US and France and it lasted four year instead of just a few weeks.

What is the current situation in Yemen

More than 24 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 12 million children. The people of Yemen are suffering through a hell that we cannot begin to imagine; clean water is in short supply, their families are starving, only half of the medical facilities are operational and the few schools they have, are closed because of the pandemic.

Why is there media silence

What is most astounding about this crisis is how few people are aware of it, it is not being covered by news channels and there is no outrage on our social media timelines.

Media silence can largely be blamed on a lack of access, local journalists are victims of smear campaigns, with the intention of isolating them from their communities and labelling them as spies for the US. Foreign journalists face equal challenges with access as they are caught between the Houthi-controlled north and the Saudi-coalition forces in the south and need to get permission from both parties if they want to enter the country.

Some argue that the US and UK have been complicit in fueling this war for their own gain and possibly don’t want the general public being too aware of what is going on. In a nutshell; the US and UK have been selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, weapons that are being used against the Houthis, with the Yemen people being the collateral damage. It rings of hypocrisy when countries that are sending in aid for the people of Yemen, are the same ones aiding the war efforts of their oppressors.

But regardless of the politics, the people, and mainly the children are suffering and they need our help!

What can we do

I understand if you feel helpless, I feel it too, but that doesn’t stop us from doing whatever we can from wherever we are in the world.

There are some amazing organisations that have volunteers on the ground in Yemen, delivering essential aid to its people. By donating to these charities you are offering a child hope and a chance of survival.

Save the Children

UNICEF

Rescue.org

If you cannot donate right now then please sign the below petition, to help stop the war and end the famine in Yemen;

Sign the Change.org Petition

Even the smallest of actions can make a difference; signing the petition, donating funds to one of the charities or even just using your voice to create awareness within your network. Decide what action you are able to take today and do it, the suffering of the people of Yemen has been invisible for far too long.

Credit: Civil Conglomerate for Development & Freedoms

Crisis In Yemen

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