Media coverage regarding the crisis happening right now in Yemen has been minimal. Thousands of children in refugee camps are now starving and so are civilians in neighboring villages. Who is the cause of this crisis? You may have guessed correctly: President Donald Trump.
There is a port located in Al Hudaydah along the west coast of Yemen, where majority of Yemen’s food is imported. The port is under Houthi rebels’ control. A little over a year ago, former President Barack Obama had called for a coalition, running it by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in order to seize any attacks in the city of Al Hudaydah. Conflict there would possibly be a cause for disruption within the prominent port, warned the Obama administration, hence the coalition.
The Trump administration has broken the coalition, ordering forces to attack Al Hudaydah. Recent U.S.-led airstrikes have damaged roads and bridges all across the city of Al Hudaydah, disrupting food, medicine and other humanitarian relief shipments. The action has reportedly caused for the redirection of cargo, requiring it to be shipped away from Al Hudaydah and toward a smaller port in Aden instead, located in the south. The cargo would then have to travel through war zones to reach millions in need in the west, decreasing the humanitarian aid upon arrival. The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, released a statement on Tuesday urging all parties involved to halt any clashing on land: “the best means to prevent famine in Yemen is for weapons to fall silent across the country and for the parties to the conflict to return to the negotiating table.”
According to the United Nations World Food Programme, about 3.3 million children and pregnant women are acutely malnourished, roughly half a million of that number being children under the age of five. This number is a 57% increase from the number reported in 2015. The United Nations has also stated that Yemen is “on the brink of famine,” with more than 7.3 million Yemeni citizens in need of urgent food and humanitarian aid.
– Jamie McGoldrick, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen
What can you do to help? The U.N. has called for emergency funding and has said that it would take about 2.1 billion dollars to save Yemen from famine. There are a number of organizations that you can donate to that will help prevent further starvation among the people of Yemen. Here are some credible suggestions:
- Islamic Relief USA (Nonprofit Humanitarian Agency) http://irusa.org/yemen/
- Mercy Corps (Humanitarian Agency) https://www.mercycorps.org/countries/yemen
- The United Nations https://secure.globalproblems-globalsolutions.org/site/Donation2?df_id=10789&10789.donation=form1
- Oxfam (Charitable Organization; Global Movement) https://donate.oxfam.org.uk/emergency/yemen
- UNICEF (U.S.A. Link) https://www.unicefusa.org/donate/protect-children-conflict/23581
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