Yemen:
When the world looks away
Over
the last year, the eyes of the world have occasionally turned to Yemen. And when
they’ve turned, they’ve seen and wept at the crisis and desperation. But fixing
focus has been harder. That focus is what is needed, according to Tearfund’s
Middle East Response Director, Kieren Barnes.
With over
700,000 cases of cholera affecting over 90 per cent of the country, and a
conflict that has devastated lives, and destroyed much of its infrastructure and
economy, this is a nation on its knees.
Our
News Editor Andrew Horton began by asking Kieren for an overview:
What
are the big headlines we should know about today?
This
remains the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. With everything else that's
going on globally, this is still the worst situation, and one of the most
under-resourced responses.
The scale
of need is increasing, so we haven't got past that point yet, which is a big
concern.
Employment
levels have plummeted. There are no jobs. There's no food coming in. There's a
lack of resources. Issues of not having enough safe water, etc, and therefore
problems become worse because of that. People are hungry, people are thirsty,
systems are not working.
Salaries
for doctors and nurses aren't getting paid. So, as much as these people want to
work to help their communities, they also need to feed their families. As much
as they would want to help those who are sick, they themselves are struggling to
provide food and support their own families.
Remind
us: how did we get to this desperate situation?
We're
looking at a conflict that's developed from multiple angles.
Civilians
are caught up in the middle, and that's our biggest concern. Yemen is fractured
into pieces, with different parts controlled by different groups.
Even
things like food coming into the country, the supply lines for people to live
and work, have all dried up.
So
you’re saying it’s like the people are trapped in a pressure-cooker
environment?
Yes, it is
a like a pressure-cooker. People don't have options. They don't have the ability
to leave. If you think about it, just simply geographically, it's incredibly
hard. You can't go north to Saudi Arabia, to the east is desert and everything
to the south is sea.
Added to
that you've got the various conflicts in the area and the different groups who
are fighting each other, it makes it almost impossible to leave.
The
pressure on those communities to survive in this environment is very high; their
coping mechanisms, their ability to handle this – they've all been depleted.
And
then there’s the cholera outbreak on top of all this?
Yes, this
is the largest cholera crisis recorded in one country in a single year. As we
speak, the number of cases recorded this year in Yemen stands at 738,719. That
is a shocking number in this day and age. We shouldn't be in a situation where a
preventable and treatable disease like cholera can get to the levels we’re
seeing in Yemen.
Our
partners are setting up cholera treatment centres. We're not only responding to
the cholera itself, but also working to prevent future cases. This is about
making sure there is safe water to drink, and good latrines where the
waste-water is dealt with appropriately.
We're
trying to increase the number of partners we have on the ground. We're trying to
increase our response and to reach into new areas. But it is challenging.
Famine
hasn’t officially been declared, but getting access to food must be challenging
as well?
As with
tackling cholera, we're working to scale up our response in the area of food
security. If you've got vulnerable people such as malnourished children, mothers
and pregnant women, they are not going to be able to cope with cholera anywhere
near as much as somebody who is better-nourished.
Our
partners – who have specialised skills – are setting up therapeutic feeding
centres to help deal with critical cases.
They are
also providing six months’ worth of food to families who are affected by cholera
and have malnourished children.
You
said this is a man-made crisis, but is there an end in sight?
At this
time, it’s hard to see an end in sight as the situation is still deteriorating.
The conflict needs to be resolved. Until that happens, the situation will
struggle to improve. This is a global crisis. It's not just about those inside
Yemen. There are external factors that all feed into this.
A
global crisis and a global responsibility?
Yes,
there's a responsibility that countries are not stepping up to.
It's an
ongoing and forgotten crisis. It's the biggest in the world, and we would
advocate that this needs to be more highly prioritised globally. Countries need
to take responsibility. That comes with funding the humanitarian response, and
that comes with ending the conflict and the civilian casualties it’s leading
to.
How
encouraged are you by the courage of our partners?
I'm amazed
by our partners. They have incredible resilience and commitment to these
communities. We have partners who are based on the ground, who are Yemeni, who
are local. They're committed to the Yemeni people, and we need to support them
as much as we can. They need time to rest, but it's relentless, and there is no
time, because this is life-saving. Their passion and their heart is
overwhelming.
We don't
want to give up, because we can't give up. If we do, then people will suffer,
people will die. So this is a life-saving response. There's no option. We won’t
stop.
Please
pray
- Please
lift up Kieren and the rest of the Tearfund staff and partners working in
extremely difficult circumstances to save lives and bring hope in Yemen.
- Pray
especially for crucial work to prevent the further spread of cholera; that it
will have a powerful impact, and quickly.
- Pray for
those lacking food, especially young children, babies and pregnant women. Ask
for God's blessing to be on the feeding centres set up to help them, and on
those who work there.
- Let's cry
out for an end to the conflict that is fuelling the crisis in Yemen.
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