If you’ve been on social media recently, you probably know about the crisis going on in Aleppo, Syria. Pictures of bloody kids and sobbing parents have flooded everyone’s timelines. Syria is finally getting the attention it deserves, which is great. But why haven’t you heard about the civil war in Yemen?
The UN estimates that 10,000 people have been killed during 18 months. 7.6 million people are suffering from malnutrition and almost 3 million have been displaced. And the war is nowhere near over.
The civil war in Yemen started in March 2015. The Houthis, a shiite group, tried to overthrow the government, which is Sunni, and backed by Saudi Arabia and a coalition of other countries. The Houthis claim the government mistreated them for years.
Yemen is now divided. One side is being controlled by Houthi rebels, which are backed by Iran. On the other side is the president of Yemen, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Many believe it’s a shadow war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, trying to gain control over the whole region.
Saudi started bombing Houthi-held territory, which resulted in mass civilian casualties. They’ve destroyed hospitals and schools. Most recently, 140 people were killed and 525 were wounded at a funeral in October.
But what does the U.S. have to do with this? It’s no secret that the U.S. constantly supports Saudi Arabia, militarily. Saudi Arabia has bought more weapons from the U.S. than any other country. That’s not okay, and people need to stop acting like it is. The U.S. is supporting one of the most brutal countries in the world, and no one is saying anything about it.
The war in Yemen has killed thousands of people, but it isn’t getting the same treatment as Syria. Why is that?
Well, the death toll in Syria is significantly higher than the one in Yemen. But that shouldn’t be an excuse. A more important reason is that the U.S. may be committing war crimes in Yemen. And by getting the media to stay quiet, it draws less attention towards it. The difference between Syria and Yemen is that almost all of the bombs being dropped in Yemen were provided by the United States. If Saudi is found guilty of war crimes, the U.S. will be an accessory to that. And unfortunately, most Americans just don’t care about what’s going on in the Middle East, especially when they’re the bad guys.
The sad truth is that many civil wars end up like Yemen’s. And only a few get treated like Syria’s. Depending on mainstream media to spread the word on wars like this is useless. To get people to start talking and caring, we have to use our voices and educate them first.
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