10%

Portraits from Yemen

6 months of war have had a devastating impact on the lives of ordinary Yemenis, yet the conflict often gets overlooked. Help us share these touching stories, and give voice to those affected.

October 21^st, 2015

Imagine you live in the midst of war. Since March, 15 of your family members have been killed. Everyone you know is unemployed. You question where you will get your next meal or water. The local school is shut down and turned into a shelter for the internally displaced. You have already fled four times with your family. Your children are traumatized with little hope for the future, knowing a rocket gone astray could be the end.

This is life in Yemen right now. The situation, to say the least, is dire.

21.5 million—over 84-percent of the population—are in need of assistance, the World Food Program warns that the country is one step away from debilitating famine. People are struggling to access basic necessities including food, fuel and medicine. Millions currently lack access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare. Yet, the war in Yemen receives much less attention than other ongoing conflicts in the region. In an effort to shed light on the conflict, UNDP has captured a number of voices from Yemenis and international partners, lending their perspective on daily life in the midst of this conflict.

A Deteriorating Situation

Nabila Al-Zubair, National Dialogue Conference:

“I am from Sana’a. People there and Yemenis everywhere are praying for their problems to end. They are looking for security and a loaf of bread. Are we all failing our people? Women are the greatest victims of the war and most in danger. The deteriorating economical and security situation has a negative effect on their mobility, on their livelihoods and on the security of their family as a whole. It is not safe for them to leave their homes. They have a lot to deal with. Many families are politically divided; there are cases where brothers got killed fighting for opposing sides of the conflict. This war must and will end. We need a political solution. We need a dialogue between the parties putting Yemen back into the hands of its people. When it is over, we will need a development plan to rebuild our country and have to start from where we stopped.”

“I hope that one day I can start a social initiative and give back to the country that I love and its extraordinary people. We as Yemeni youth have to stop talking about the problems and start looking for solutions.”

Living in constant worry

Sanaa Mobarak, Pediatrician & Writer (Top Left):

“At the beginning of the conflict, I lived in constant worry about my family in Aden. When I wouldn’t hear from them I always expected the worst. I didn’t know whether they were alive. The biggest challenge for Yemenis now is to stop the fighting. But we also face many other problems like food insecurity, poverty, a declining economy and corruption. Women are taking most of the burden of the war. They host friends and family members fleeing from conflict zones. They keep life moving on while men are fighting. The international community has to be aware of what is really going on. Come listen to us Southerners and hear all sides of the story. I still have hope. I see the patience of Yemeni people and their strong belief in a better future. We care deeply about our country.”

Bushra Eshaq, UN Women Gender Programme Support Officer (Top Right):

“I believe the development and future of Yemen is in the hands of women. When Queen Sheba reigned over Yemen, the country was doing much better. Young people and women are honest, they are not poisoned by politics, they believe in the country and they have a good vision for the future. I am fortunate I can contribute to enhancing the situation of women in Yemen by supporting them to become economic and political leaders. The first day of the airstrikes of the coalition forces on Sana’a was one of the worst moments of this terrible war. We woke up and were so scared about the noise, the war planes. We did not know what was going on. Now we don’t have electricity, water, fuel or essential services anymore.”

Abdo Seif, Programme Advisor UNDP Yemen (Bottom Left):

“Even before the war, life in Yemen was difficult because of the political situation. The economy was unpredictable, essential services were deteriorating and life became more expensive. At the same time, income was decreasing and unemployment went up. Now life has become almost impossible with constant airstrikes and ground fighting. Prices for basic commodities have increased and medicine is becoming rare. If the embargo is not lifted, we will get closer to a famine. My mother-in-law is sick and we can hardly find medicine for her. I have three children, who see the war as punishment. My son was supposed to start pilot training abroad, but couldn’t get a visa. My daughter is in the last year of high school and she might not be able to get her diploma because schools are closing.”

Eman Alaghbari, Petroleum Engineer (Bottom Right):

“Six months into the crisis in Yemen, the international community is still turning a blind eye. All my plans and dreams for the future have been delayed because of the war. Like most Yemenis, I lost my job. Now I am trying to help my community as much as possible. Together with friends, I am collecting money, blankets and clothes for internally displaced people through social media. I am glad I can do something to help. I hope that one day I can start a social initiative and give back to the country that I love and its extraordinary people. We as Yemeni youth have to stop talking about the problems and start looking for solutions.”

No Safe Place in Sana'a

Fadhl Almaghafi, Dean of the Diplomatic Institute, Human Rights in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

“I stopped sleeping when the attacks on Sana’a started on 28 March. There is no safe place in Sana’a anymore. You flee from the east of the city to the west and a few hours later, this part will be under attack as well. At least half of Sana’as citizens have been internally displaced and have nowhere to go. My family and I moved to four different locations before we left Yemen. Yemenis are running out of electricity and water. Because of lack of cooking gas they resort to wood. About 60-percent of people live from day to day without any sort of income. Education has stopped and it won’t be easy to resume. Public schools are occupied by displaced people and many private schools went bankrupt and had to close. I am worried that we lost our future because of the war. We have to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law. We have to stop the war.”

“I stopped sleeping when the attacks on Sana’a started on 28 March.”

A Conflict Dividing Society

Ebrahim Al-Harazi (Top Left):

“Over the last six months, Yemen has lost everything it gained in 30 years. The humanitarian situation has deteriorated so much that Sana’a is starting to be unbearable. It has become a ghost town. There are no essential services, no electricity, no water, no hospitals. It was a terrible picture to see people fleeing Sana’a on foot to escape the airstrikes. People were carrying all their belongings, as well as their children, elders and disabled. What can we do now? We need to engage in peace talks immediately. We have to lift the economic blockade. We have to restore essential services. Children have to go back to school, hospitals have to operate again. People need hope.”

Najat Jumaan, Professor for Management at Sana’a University & Entrepreneur (Top Right):

“The war has affected us Yemeni severely, most people don’t have any sources of income anymore and live from their savings. I had to start downsizing my business, a factory for animal feed in Taizz. There are no customers, exporting is impossible. A lot of factories have already been destroyed. I still get my salary from the University but if the war continues, this might stop as well. The University still functions but at a much lower scale. During the exams, students and faculty members were scared of the bombs that continued to fall close to the campus. It must have been very difficult for them to concentrate, hearing and feeling the explosions. We try to continue so students don’t lose a school year. Our children won’t have a good future if we continue to ruin this country. We need good leaders, good governance, we need to fight corruption and enhance accountability.”

Afrah Azzoubah, Deputy Director of the Higher Relief Committee and acting Secretary-General of the National Dialogue Secretariat (Bottom Left):

“The conflict affects our lives severely. Infrastructure and essential services have been destroyed on a large scale. All of this can be rebuilt. But, what about the destruction of the social fabric? What about the trust and confidence between Yemenis? The conflict affects our feeling of social belonging, it has divided society. People from the same family are turning against each other, there are hard feelings of revenge. While following the war in Aden and seeing people fleeing on TV, my mother had a stroke. The psychological impact on women and youth is huge. They keep sacrificing and they continue to fear the bombs.”

Ali Seif Hassan, Chairman of the Political Development Forum (Bottom Right):

“Every day this war continues, Yemenis die and become poorer. Every day this war continues, the distance between the people of Yemen and partisanism grows bigger. War leaders on both sides have the same aggressive mentality and their main enemies are democracy and political partnership. We Yemenis are like prisoners between them. I beg the international community: help us stop the war. Just stop the war!”

Dire Humanitarian Needs

Shafiqa al-Wahsh, Director Women National Committee:

“My brother was hit by a rocket while walking on a street in Taizz and died. I have lost 14 more members of my family. Many of our houses are destroyed. Women and children suffer most. Many of them have lost their lives in the air strikes and ground fighting between parties to the conflict. They suffer more because they lose a husband or a father as the main bread winner, having the added burden of collecting water and food and taking care of the family. Women lose their children when private houses are attacked. When they try to flee with all their belongings, they get caught between conflict lines. Children are the least resilient and affected most by the lack of food, the spread of malaria and dengue fever. They urgently need humanitarian assistance, malaria prevention and other medication as well as diagnosis tools. There is hardly any hope that this senseless war will end soon. We need more pressure on all conflict parties to be able to make peace.”

Tremendous vulnerability

Fuad al-Kadasi, Team Leader Sustainable Development UNDP Yemen (Left):

“The war came as a surprise, we did not expect the scale of it. The lack of fuel affects the livelihoods of everyone – Sana’a has been without electricity for months. Businesses can’t function without power, many people have lost their jobs, especially in areas that experience ongoing fighting. Many Yemenis have lost their families and have been displaced. The economy has stalled and they have no financial resources or economic opportunities to make a living, forcing them to use up their entire savings. Shortly after the war started, already about 80-percent of Yemenis were in need of humanitarian assistance. This shows the tremendous vulnerability of the country. In these terrible times, it is wonderful to see how Yemenis help each other - a core part of our culture. Relatives and friends of friends welcome refugees in their homes.”

Ashwaq Shugaa Addin, Member of Volunteers for Woman Rights and Woman Peace Partners (Right):

Life in Sana’a has completely stopped, it feels like a ghost town. There is no electricity, no fuel, no water - there are no people on the street and shops are closed. Life has stopped. Most men, women and youth have lost their jobs. They have all lost hope. Air strikes are coming without warning, they can happen anytime and affect anyone. The ground fighting is terrible as well. There are no secure places for people to live or get education. My son is 13 years old. He took his exam while bombs were falling. He told me he couldn’t even hold his pen. What’s the future of my kids? They are killing our present or future. When I sleep, I put my arms around my kids thinking that this way we die together. I could not imagine a life without my children.

“In these terrible times, it is wonderful to see how Yemenis help each other - a core part of our culture. Relatives and friends of friends welcome refugees in their homes.”

A need to build trust

George Abu al-Zulof, Head of OHCHR’s office in Yemen:

“One of the key challenges now is building trust on both sides of the conflict to bring all of them around the negotiation table and restore peace. We have to convince conflict partners that there is no military solution to the conflict. We have to ensure that all allegations of violations of international law are investigated in a neutral way and those responsible for crimes should be held accountable before an impartial body. I believe it is critical that any peace agreement should be based on human rights and should also address grievances of previous wars, where perpetrators were granted immunity and people lost trust in the system. What we are facing today is a result of this failure to bring and provide justice for victims of war. For the future of Yemen and its people it‘s important to close this chapter and create a new road map for peace and stability in the country.”

“In the back of my house are 10 families living in extreme poverty. They don’t have electricity or water. Sometimes they don’t even have food.”

give peace a chance

Jamila Ali Rajaa, President of Yemen Consulting Center & Member of the Economic Reforms Team (Top Left):

“We have to give peace a chance. We should have continued dialogue, even after the Yemeni National dialogue Conference, on a smaller scale. We should have talks between the Houthis and Saudis, between the Saudis and the Iranians. I don’t want a proxy war, I want proxy talks. The conflict is not Yemenis vs. Yemenis anymore it now includes regional powers.”

Andreas Kindl, German Ambassador to Yemen (Top Right):

“The atrocities against civilians and the suffering of the Yemeni people remind us of the necessity to do everything in order to end hostilities and return to the negotiating table; what Yemen needs is wise and courageous political leadership on all sides. We must counter aggression and divisiveness by confidence building. All stakeholders are responsible for making sure that humanitarian assistance reaches all those who need it.”

Zakaria Bamhimod, SOUL NGO (Bottom Left):

“The security and economic situation in Yemen was already bad before the war, but now it is even getting worse. Some of my family in Aden and Taizz got shot, some died and some are in the hospital. I have been helping to resettle internally displaced people to new homes since the beginning of the war. I am glad I can contribute a little bit to improving their living situation.”

Wameedh Shakir, Human Rights Activist (Bottom Right):

“In the back of my house are 10 families living in extreme poverty. They don’t have electricity or water. Sometimes they don’t even have food. Why did Yemen collapse into this severe situation? The gender status in Yemen is the worst in the world for 10 years in a row. The war revealed how much we are failing women and kids. While we do humanitarian assistance we need to seriously think about transformational justice. Women are suffering because of political corruption. If we want stability in Yemen, we have to establish an equilibrium, we have to include everyone. If we don’t learn from this war, we are doing nothing.”

Cash For Work In Hajjah & Sana'a

UNDP’s Cash for Work program in the towns of Hajjah and Sana’a aims at building resilience in some of the hardest hit communities. The program gives Yemenis that remain jobless the opportunity to earn wages through assembling wheelbarrows and clearing rubble and debris—restoring a sense of dignity and laying the foundation for early recovery.

Yemen Resilience Program

Since March 2015, Yemenis have endured a great deal. Their resolve through the crisis is unwavering. UNDP continues to pledge its support through the Yemen Resilience Program with the goals of increasing opportunities for livelihoods, restoring basic and social services and enhancing community security, among many others. Along with the Yemeni people UNDP promotes a swift and peaceful end to the conflict so lasting recovery may begin.

Footnotes

photos & interviews: Silke Von Brockhausen/UNDP Yemen, additional words: Dylan Heyden/UNDP

Button Label

FootNotes

photos & interviews: Silke Von Brockhausen/UNDP Yemen, additional words: Dylan Heyden/UNDP

À la recherche d’un équilibre

Start publishing stories like this

Portraits from Yemen

6 months of war have had a devastating impact on the lives of ordinary Yemenis, yet the conflict often gets overlooked. Help us share these touching stories, and give voice to those affected.

FootNotes

Trois communautés côtières mexicaines œuvrent en faveur d’un tourisme durable et communautaire

Un recorrido por tres costas mexicanas que avanzan hacia un turismo sostenible y comunitario

Tour three Mexican coastal communities working towards sustainable, community-based tourism

Tras casi tres años de guerra, el pueblo del Sudán sigue con la esperanza de reconstruir su vida

À bientôt 3 ans de guerre, le peuple soudanais a hâte de se reconstruire

As the war approaches the 3-year mark, Sudan's people can't wait to rebuild their lives