What is happening in Yemen?

Pic from Pexels

By Anis Albasha

A few days ago, my wife and I were watching the news on the TV. There was a news story about Yemen saying that the forces of the so-called “Arab alliance” along with its allied local forces have 'regained' control of a directorate located in the west of Yemen called Altahita!   

Many news channel hosted strategic experts to talk about that ‘breaking news’ from Yemen. Some of those experts were talking about the significance of this event and considering it as a turning point in the course of the war against Yemen. Since my wife and I are both from Yemen, we could hardly believe what we heard. It was really provocative because the only progress this absurd war, that has been going on for more than three years, could achieve was a total destruction of Yemen as well as causing the deaths of thousands of civilians, including children. 

This devastated directorate which is called Altahita has been suffering for decades from poverty, ignorance and lack of basic services. I am sure that the inhabitants of Altahita would never have imagined that their very poor directorate would be one day a hot topic in the top news channels. They would never have imagined that Altahita would be the main topic of many discussions and analysis among different kinds of experts. So, the question here is, in light of the deliberate media blackout regarding the war in the entire Yemen, why has a conflict that takes place in a very small neglected area become the focus of the news media? And how can we link the answer to this question to what is going on in Yemen?

About two years ago, my wife and I gave presentations about Yemen. The audience was German and we were talking about our country from cultural/social perspective. We also talked about the political satiation in Yemen and , of course, about the fierce war there. When I spoke about the reasons behind the international ignorance of the horrific war in Yemen, I have identified three reasons. The first one is that Russia did not intervene in the war of Yemen as it did in Syria. The second reason is the very powerful media outlets owned by the party waging the war against Yemen. And the third reason is the huge arms deals carried out by Western countries such as the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and other countries that sell and export weapons to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf states.

This was more than two years ago. Now, the war in Yemen has entered its fourth year while the reasons behind the world’s ignorance of the devastating consequences of this war remain the same! On the other hand, this recent regional and international media's focus on the conflict of Altahita and portraying it as the most prominent event that could change the course of this absurd war is another proof of what I have said earlier. This focus is an example of the power of the money (Saudi/UAE) to steer the media and to buy affiliations. No body is talking about the massacres, about the famine that is taking place in the country or about the dozens of civilian deaths every day by the raids of this coalition. Now, it is all about the battle of "Altahita" and to hell with the suffering of the Yemeni people. 

Out of desperation, this ill-fated coalition is trying to distract the world's attention from the atrocities committed in Yemen by focusing on such news and battles. They have been doing this for a long time in a successful way. No wonder, both the Saudi Arabia and the UAE are paying huge sums of money to a number of public relations companies in the United States so that they can mislead the public opinion in the West and act innocently. In fact, without the services provided by those companies, they wouldn't be able to play this dirty game. Everybody knows, at least in the Arab region, that those who wage this war, Saudi Arabia and UAE, have no political, strategic or even logical objectives. This is the reality which, unfortunately, most people in America and in Europe do not realize. I think it is difficult for the western people to imagine that there is such foolishness among persons who are supposed to be leaders of their nations.

The problem is that those imprudent Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia and in the UAE are no more than dirty claws and paws used by other superior powers that have their own goals and agenda in the region. Actually, some of these goals have already been achieved, but at the expense of the blood and the suffering of the Yemeni people. So back to the issue of Altahita's battle, which seems to continue being the media’s focus for an unknown time, this fierce conflict to get control over this unfortunate directorate are moving up and down and seems to have no end. The Saudi-led coalition mobilizes and tries to make a progress while the opposing resisting Yemeni forces are mobilizing and fighting back. As a result of this absurd conflict, the humanitarian suffering of the people of Altahita, and of the rest of the population, is compounded.  

But the regional and international media have another point of view. They portray the fight in Altahita as a very important battle which could make a fatal turn in the course of the war against Yemen. The truth is that, over more than three years, those who launched this dirty war against Yemen have not been able to achieve any victory or to make any tangible progress in any of the fighting fronts. So, what is the difference the battle of Altahita could make? The only thing this battle is going to achieve is shedding the blood of innocent civilians and adding more suffering for the people of the area. Worse still, this destructive scenario could be repeated in other areas of the country. It is very likely to hear the media talking about a new battle in another small district of Yemen in the same way they are using now to talk about Altahita's one. 

This is not about taking control over an area in the south or in the north of Yemen. In fact, this war against Yemen has lost its compass and it is going beyond all limits. In the light of the media's silence and the complicity of the international community, this war turned into a terrible destructive tool.  There are no suitable words that can describe the very deteriorating humanitarian situations in Yemen.  The whole image there is so bleak in a way that makes it difficult for any human mind to imagine. I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but if this futile war does not stop, the country is going to hell in a handbasket. Yet, nobody cares about what is going on in Yemen. Both the media and the international community are very concerned about what is going on in Syria. And of course, this attitude towards Syria is not out of any humanitarian sympathy. Otherwise, Yemeni people would get at least a small portion of that concern.

To conclude, what is going on in Yemen cannot be described as a ‘war’ because even wars have certain limits or at least they have specific targets to achieve. But when very modern warplanes bombard cars and public buses that carry civilians and children , And when these warplanes target schools, wedding and funeral halls, then we are talking about something worse than wars. So, until Putin decides to intervene in Yemen or until Gulf countries run out of money, the Yemeni tragedy will continue. Today they are talking about Altahita's battle, tomorrow they are going to talk about another battle in another miserable and perverted area. And this is, unfortunately, the only reality of what is happening in Yemen!