Nihm, Sana'a – 9 April 2019: The happy Yemen is no longer happy, it became "the land of fear", since the Houthi militia, backed by Iran, and the war was started against everything and everyone that is Yemen; since the parties to the conflict directed their brutal attacks on everything and everyone, from monuments and artifacts to human beings and humanity, Yemen has been torn apart by the misery of war which resulted in the suffering of civilians, especially women and children.It has become one of the most catastrophic humanitarian crises.
shells of war did not distinguish between one Yemeni and another.
Thousands of Yemenis are mourning the martyrs who died because of the war, and thousands others are wounded and displaced. All of those are remembering a Yemen that was once "happy". On the land of Yemen, ancient civilizations were built, the most famous of which are Saba’ and Hamir, the Kingdom of Hadramout, Qataban and Maain, the former fell in 525 AD.
On the land of Yemen many religions and beliefs passed. Many events and historical incidents took place in Yemen; that is, of course, until the Houthi coup in September 2014. The coup was preceded by disturbances and sit-ins that paved the way for the Houthis to control the country. Consequently, the Yemeni issue got more complicated day after day. There is bloodshed in Yemen.
According to official and international statistics, including the United Nations Humanitarian Needs Report for 2019, the number of people needing assistance reached 22.2 million Yemenis. The number of displaced people in the country reached 3.44 million, while the number of war victims was 43,000, including13,389 killed and 30,000 wounded, between January 2015 and December 2018. Among those victims there were 5,212 children killed and injured, according to statistics of the Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights.
Such scenes of the Yemeni tragedy, reported by the foreign media, reports and statistics pushed us to take an “Risky journey” from the heart of the crisis. We wanted to repo on the reality of the humanitarian situation that comes as a result of the dirty war, including living challenges and crises caused by the war there, and the challenges that still face the stability of the Arab state.
The war is still ongoing in Yemen, between the Houthi militias and the Arab coalition forces who support the legitimacy in Yemen, Yemenis are the victims of that war. To report on this issue, Iman Hanna took A 30 ـ day trip in Yemen,to monitor the suffering of the Yemenis and human rights violations during the war, same time convey the views of a number of officials, politicians and military officials in exclusive interviews,It was written down in A series of 16 parts, investigative report on”Yemen: War Atrocities in the Land of Fear”, which document the Yemeni people’s heartbreaking stories.
This Series of investigative reports, “Yemen: War Atrocities in the Land of Fear,” from A 30 ـ day trip in Yemen, is a cutting edge, face to face report from directly inside of the War torn Country of Yemen. The insights are ones currently unavailable, taken directly from those affected By the systematic torture, kidnapping, rape, mine , stealing food and persecution and torment of the citizens of Yemen, most importantly children.
The exploitation of the adult population and Children in Yemen violates the UN’s mandate against human rights abuses. No matter the Year, every year is a year to work to end these grotesque abuses, as all Yemeni, Children can either be our future leaders, under the best circumstances or the worlds lead terrorists when they experience the atrocities occurring like those seen in Yemen, and documented with firsthand accounts as revealed in my multi-party series.
It is gripping and deeply saddening as the drama unfolds. The circumstances are horrific, yet told in a sober calm manner. The perspective of the plight is one seldom revealed and story that must be shared. The acclaim and honor will not be to the benefit of the author as much as it will chronicle the history of the Yemen War, revealing the evil that war creates, and most importantly, it will be a testament to the lives of the victims especially the child victims.
We met victims and eyewitnesses, also I met the officials in each sector in 5 Governorates and some officials of the Arab coalition forces in Yemen and US ambassador in Yemen and ministers to clarify the situation in Yemen and to know when the war and the suffering will end. My goal also was to urge the international community to seek solutions to save those victims of the war.
We revealed, through 16 episodes (Along with 10 documentary films), the war crimes against civilians in Yemen, such as theft of humanitarian aids, sexual harassment in IDP camps, child recruitment and sexual abuse, torture to death in prisons, trafficking in bodies and abductees, and indiscriminate shelling in Taiz. I interviewed a number of victims and their families, and I wrote their testimonials.
Arranging for the trip was not easy, and the preparation lasted for more than five months between contacting people and procedures. The journey covered five Yemeni governorates starting from the liberated governorates of Aden, Lahj and Marib, reaching Taiz besieged by the Houthis and the front of Nihm. Nihm is the first directorate of the province of Sana'a which is under the control of the Houthis and is currently the subject of a clash with the legitimate forces supported by the coalition.
I can’t deny that fear and anxiety surrounded me. The press assignment this time is accompanied by bullets and mortars. It is in a country that is unstable, and its officials and citizens are trying hard to bring it back to life. Still, the determination to convey the suffering of an Arab people was more powerful.
We wanted to show how the war transformed people's lives into daily tragedy by bombing, indiscriminate killing, enforced disappearance, the systematic torture, kidnapping, rape, mine, stealing food and persecution, while the Yemenis resisted for their lives.
We also conducted a series of interviews with politicians and officials highlighting the reality of the situation in Yemen, and we revealed the effects of the war on various sectors.
We listened to the testimonies of the people about the crimes in Aden, and monitored the catastrophic situation in Taiz city which is still besieged. We documented humanitarian stories of the victims of the indiscriminate bombing of citizens and children in the five governorates. We also met with residents of the camps of Marib and displaced people from Sana'a, Dhamar, and areas under the control of Houthis.
They told stories of what happened to them as a result of the attacks they were subjected to, although many of them refused to speak or to reveal their names and photos for fear of the violence of the Houthis, who muzzle the mouths by capturing members of a family in exchange for the release of a member of the same family.
We monitored the tragedy of an Arab country that turned into a “kingdom of fear”. We listened to human stories from the heart of the camps and hospitals. We conducted extensive investigations from the Yemeni street. Children revealed the secrets of the business of children recruitment in the Houthi militias. We also obtained documents that reveal the Houthi plan to spread Shiite ideology and the rule of the Faqih, and change the curriculum in Yemen.
The articles will look at Houthi aggression, Houthi attacks on hospitals, the impact of minefields on children and women, IDP camps and how the war has left millions displaces, child soldiers in Yemen, and torture in Houthi prisons, as well as a multitude of interviews with top officials.
Parts of series
Yemeni children reveal secrets of Houthi camps recruitment: Rape, drug abuse
I met the children who were recruited in Houthi’s camps as Houthis recruited 18,000 children within since 2015 till 2018. I interviewed 20 children who came from these camps, and they told me exclusive stories about childhood rights’ violations, such as rape, drug addiction, birth control drugs and weapon training.
Taiz City under the Indiscriminate Shelling
After that, I travelled to the besieged Taiz city. I took a rugged mountain road that witnessed a lot of murder stories as it is surrounded by the fire.
I am the first Arab journalist who visits Taiz to report the suffering of the Yemenis inside that besieged city 4 years ago. The city has been facing violent and intense battles between the army and the local militia against Huthis.
I met the children who live under the indiscriminate shelling there; shells hit some of them. I interviewed a number of women and children who live inside Taiz and suffer under the indiscriminate shelling, and I interviewed victims. Among them, I metone of the youngest victims“Alaa Al-Absi”, who is two-year-old. She lost her limbs while playing around at her house. Shrapnel broke their window, and Alaa was hit by a shrapnel in her legs to become disabled.
Displacement Camps
In addition, I went to the displaced in the camps in Ma’rib to document the suffering of the Yemenis there. I also reported the violations against women and children, including harassment, I monitored stories reveal that women are harassed, Even the children are harassed, in the exclusive investigative report “Displacement Camps in Ma'rib: Stories of Escape and Sexual Exploitation”, as10% of the families in the camps are dependent on widowed women (according to the statistics of the IDP camps).
I interviewed displaced Yemeni people in “Gaw El Naseem” Camps on the borders with Marib. I have interviewed women who are suffering from hunger, disease, harassment and rape. They narrated to us how they were able to flee away and told me exclusive stories about their suffering in the camps. They are the ones who pay the largest share of the war bill and its repercussions, mainly displacement. They bear the burden and suffering as they represent one third of the displaced persons in Yemen as a whole. They lost their dream of education, and they are also the most vulnerable to diseases.
Minefield in Yemen
I also went to a minefield in Yemen, specifically in Lajih Governorate. I have monitored the security and the living state of the citizens. Severe clashes with Huthis happened in this governorate. It also represents one of El Qaida spots in Yemen.
I have interviewed some of the mine victims who lost their limbs and I have interviewed the governorate, the citizens, and the soldiers. Besides, we visited a sample minefield to point out the problem. Minefields are one of the war consequences thatpose a threat, not only in Yemen, but also all over the world. No maps are able to spot them all. Only 2000 landmines have been removed according to human rights violations organization in Yemen.
The Front Line
I also visited front line in Sana’a. From Marib, we travelled to “ Nihm’s battlefield, one of the first San’a districts. It is also one of the battlefields between Yemeni army and Huthis. I documented the military state through interviews with Colonel Nasser El Debany, the military zone leader. I have also interviewed San’a’s governor who narrated the details of San’a’s battle. Besides, I interviewed Lieutenant General Mohamed El Maqdeshy, the Yemeni minister of defense, to cover the current military state of the war in Yemen and army preparations; it has been devastated completely in 2014. I have also wanted to investigate their stand concerning cooperation with Ali Abdullah Saleh’s forces. Another goal was to monitor soldiers’ humanitarian state in the battlefield. We documented stories for injured soldiers who still fight.
Further more, I sought to meet some parties of the war, including the Saudi ambassador in Yemen, the US ambassador in Yemen, the Yemeni foreign minister, and the prime minister to convey the suffering of the Yemeni people. I tried to get answers on how to end this misery.
through that inquiry,I tried to find answers about (Relief crisis in Yemen: Where do humanitarian aids go?
Torture in Houthi’s prisons
Moreover, I interviewed mothers of the kidnapped. They together created an “association” to defend the rights of those who are exposed to kidnapping from Houthis. One of those who survived from the Houthis’ prisons uncovered how he was tortured till becoming paralyzed.
Children Smile: A Unique Way of War Resistance
On the other hand, our camera captured a unique way of war resistance when we met children who insist on playing with their balloons facing destruction everywhere around them with a wide smile.
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