What’s Going on in Yemen: Yemen Humanitarian Crisis
Hi, Sunshine! Thank you so much for coming back to my page. I have been meaning to raise awareness about this ever since I first discovered what is going on in Yemen. Before I do, though, I want to talk about why the Yemen Humanitarian Crisis means so much to me. I figure that before I amplify its importance, I can share my story and my own perspective.
When I was a freshman in high school I started to wonder why I had it so…easy? I questioned why I am able to live with such luxury. I could be driving 30 minutes to the beach, blasting music freely, with the inability to decide what to eat for dinner as my biggest struggle of the day, yet there are 689 million people with an average daily income of $1.90. I feel so incredibly thankful and I wouldn’t trade the life I have for the world, but I just couldn’t (and still can’t) comprehend it. It will never seem fair to me.
I started watching Youtube videos and researching organizations that would allow me to contribute or make any sort of impact. I still remember the day I came across this video posted by the Save the Children organization.
After officially becoming affiliated with Save the Children and educating myself more on the struggles people were facing around the world, I started to find a deeper appreciation for humanitarian aid. Over time, I realized that I my life wouldn’t be fulfilled if I didn’t dedicate some part of it towards treating children with poor health/living conditions.
Fast forward four years: I found out about the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. At first I didn’t understand the magnitude of what people are facing on a daily basis, but after some research it became apparent that this is more than just a crisis. This is a wake up call. If you read just one of my blog posts, please read this one.
What’s Going on in Yemen:
Background:
This conflict in Yemen serves as the biggest humanitarian crisis in world history. But what exactly is a humanitarian crisis? The primary factors that make up a humanitarian crisis include critical threats to safety, health, security, and/or the overall wellbeing of a population in a wide area.
An estimated 24.1 million people in Yemen are in dire need of help (keep in mind Yemen’s population is about 29 million). Innocent civilians are suffering from poverty, food insecurity, severe health complications, and poor sanitation, and if nothing is done to help, a complete destruction of their country. Now with the COVID-19 outbreak, UN officials fear that Yemen will essentially disappear from the maps if people continue to die at the rate they are now.
How it Started:
The war in Yemen started 10 years ago during the Arab Spring (a series of anti-government protests that spread across a number of Arab countries) after Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was forced out of office.
Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi (his vice president) took over and was faced with many domestic issues (economic struggles, lingering tension between political/religious groups, rebellions, etc.), Hadi struggled to maintain political stability due to the vast number of uprisings from a group of Shia Muslims called the Houthis, and was thus helped by Saudi Arabian forces to intervene in these rebellions.
Included in this intervention was the repeated bombing of innocent Yemenis, which unsurprisingly killed thousands of people. The Saudi-led coalition initiated a complete land, sea, and air barrier around Yemen, preventing anyone from coming to the country’s aid.
Over time, conditions worsened and rebellions against the government led to a Sunni (Saudi Arabia) /Shia (Iran) proxy war in Yemen (which escalated in 2015). External parties like the United States, France, and the UK are now involved in supporting Saudi forces and the war still continues today.
How COVID is Affecting the Crisis:
Yemen has been an extremely easy target for coronavirus victims. With poor healthcare and exhausted immune systems due to prior conditions, approximately 30% of the people in Yemen who contract the virus die. This statistic is about 5 times the average COVID death rate.
So here we are. The worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The point is that innocent people are suffering….and not just a few. Over 20 million people have been affected. Watch this video to see the harsh reality.
What You Can Do:
Unfortunately, I am not finding a large variety of ways to help on a personal level. One of the biggest things that we can do is simply to donate to these organizations and do our own research in order to better understand the crisis. I wish we could rescue every person affected by the war and this would just end, but here are some ways we can make our own impact:
1. Donate
There are so many organizations that are doing what they can right now to supply injured and ill people with medical assistance. These organizations are also working to rescue displaced families, restore a way for kids to receive an education, and provide psychological support for those experiencing distress and war trauma. Donations also go towards rebuilding schools, homes, and communities that have been destroyed by the violence.
Click the button to donate to an organization involved in saving Yemen:
These are just a handful of them, but really anything helps.
2. Raise Awareness
It’s devastating that this is not getting the recognition it deserves on the media. The country is essentially hanging by a thread! I just can’t get past the fact that 24.1 MILLION people are being affected by the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, and not much is being done to help the innocent people at all. Social media is HUGE in today’s world! Why isn’t it being used to highlight this?!
3. Gratitude
I know this doesn’t account for the hundreds of thousands of lives lost and the millions currently in danger, but even watching the videos about the Yemen Humanitarian Crisis and learning about what people are really going through has made me more conscious of how blessed I am to live. If only the kids affected by the war could live a day in our lives…
I just wish there was more we could do.
Well, that’s it for today. I know this was not my usual uplifting post, but I want to use this platform to shed light and raise awareness whenever I can. Yemen needs our help. If you can donate, please do. If I am missing anything, please let me know.
Don’t forget to check out my last blog post, Sunshine. As always, follow the Instagram to stay updated whenever I post! You matter, never forget that.
Sources:
https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/health-crises/0/steps/22887
https://www.unocha.org/yemen/crisis-overview
https://www.wfp.org/yemen-crisis
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