hated war in Sa’ada:Outside the context of good governance!

Hassan Al-Haifi
It is really difficult for the observer to hear the sound of screaming Mig-29s and F-5s as they take off from their nearby base round the clock and not think of the very strong possibility that these screaming vehicles of death and destruction are about to kill some innocent child, somewhere in the hills and valleys of beautiful Sa’ada. Never mind that this child and his entire family have already been forced to flee their original home, where they once lived peacefully trying to make an eager living growing some of the best pomegranates anyone can find in the world and not just in Yemen. Never mind also that there is a possibility that the Government would have to bear full responsibility for taking the life of an innocent Yemeni child, who is already deprived of all the peace and quite that a child needs, in order to grow of sound body and mind. As it is the people of Sa’ada are already faced with the unadulterated deprivation of sound health facilities and fruitful educational facilities that will breed future generations of productive intellectually inspired Yemenis. It is this kind of breeding that normally produces loyal and God-fearing citizens, who would certainly be expected to be grateful if the Government would stop insisting that the population of one of the governorates of Yemen should be at the mercy of mercenaries of death, who the Government depends on to unleash the payload of its deadly fighter jets. A friend of this observer once opined, it would be more fruitful if the Yemeni Government channeled all the money used to buy these useless weapons he was seeing on parade in the TV to build schools and health clinics in the remote areas of the country, some of whom have never seen electricity. The observer reminded this friend that now even the not so remote are realizing that electricity can also be a luxury for only those who can afford to buy their own generators as the utility has failed to provide electricity for more than half of any given day. The public utility has been at a loss to be able to meet its mandate; the Government has forgotten that electricity is a very important essential service that has more priority than wasting the Government’s scarce resources for the elimination of an entire region of the country. He also noted that the arsenal at the disposal of the Government were originally purchased to safeguard the homeland and its citizens from any outsider who would dare violate the sanctity of life and freedom, which all Yemenis are guaranteed to enjoy by their Constitution. He further noted that not once have we seen these fancy weapons directed against any foreign enemy, or pirates who continuously violate our marine territorial rights. Even when a foreign enemy took possession of one of our islands in the Red Sea, we did not send any jet fighters on a “scorched earth” blitzkrieg that would have easily sent the Eritreans back to their barracks in Musawa’a or Diredawa. Yet the Government, now surely a candidate for a “failed state” status, insists that it is looking after the interest of all the people of Yemen. Even if it launches its deadly ordnances, cluster bombs and what have you against already fleeing war refugees, which is also for the interest of the Yemeni people. One truly wonders if the logic that it is better to look after a dead person than a living one has become prevalent within officialdom, especially in these days when austerity is considered sound official thinking. After all, dead people do not incur any expenses to be paid for out of the Government budget. In fact, for all intents and purposes, the Government has ceased to function as a viable institution, on whom the citizens can look to in order to rest assured that their interests AND THEIR LIVES are truly safeguarded. As it stands now, the Government is the biggest taker of human life in Yemen and there are quite a few of them loose in the street, not to mention the victims of traffic accidents. Whether Government troops, Houthis or the helpless innocent civilians of Sa’ada, the blame lies with the Government for their untimely death, unfortunately uncalled for broken limbs and of course their broken tongue, of which now all Yemenis seemed to be victims. The Government insists that if you know anything, presume anything or suggest anything about the Sixth attempt of the Government to eradicate the people of Sa’ada, then your name will be added to the 55 most wanted men by the Government. Incidentally if one is already announced “dead” by the Government, how could that person still be put on a “wanted list”? But then the media war is really proving that those who are “wanted” by the Government are showing more credibility in their communications with the public than the representatives of Reuters and Agence France Presse not to mention the fumbling Government media. The latter are at a loss for words trying to justify an unholy war against the population of one of the governorates of the Republic of Yemen. This war in Sa’ada is not at all popular with the Yemeni people. Even amidst cries for secession by some of the regions of Yemen, we find many of our brothers in the South, East and West of the country even understanding when it comes to explaining the revolt of the Houthis. Some are watching in amazement as they see their brethren in Sa’ada defiantly shouting, “Freedom is rightfully ours and we are ready to give our lives for it, for there is no more joy in life, if one is to live without freedom.” That is the crux of the struggle that is ensuing in Sa’ada, notwithstanding all the gibberish the official media blares out to the contrary.