Yemen's vibrant and diverse society has been decimated by this long ongoing war. UNICEF's recent report indicates that half the population of Yemen are living in a state of emergency. Yet the Yemeni people rise and resist in Yemen and abroad, standing up to injustice and working together to support families and heal wounds. The US-Saudi alliance has fueled and funded, and supported the war and destruction.(program)
Dr. Mahdi speaks to the historical, cultural and religious issues that complicate relations and the sharing of power within Yemeni society. Western reporting fails to do justice to the complexity of Yemen's national struggle, following a 30 year dictatorship that played one group against another and resulted in widespread distrust among the groups that will need to implement any future peace settlement. Meanwhile the U.S. and other foreign governments have manipulated the political scene in pursuit of their own strategic interest. The Houthis are opposed to all foreign powers in Yemen, while other Yemeni welcomed the Saudi entry.
Jehan Hakin spoke about organizing in the U.S. Yemeni community against US funding of the bombing and blockade and the travel ban that has stigmatized and traumatized the Yemeni community. She spoke of Yemeni Americans who were abandoned by the UI.S. Government, unable to return home from the war zone and efforts to correct the injustice.
Arab American Cultural Center -UIC SJI, Anthropology,GLAS, Sociology, The Middle East Cluster and Institute for Humanities - UIC
I was only able to mic Dr. Mahdi. Much of Ms. Hakim's comments on organizing and building solidarity across ethnic and community divides did not record well. What did is included with a related question from the audience.
Jehan Hakim chairs the Yemeni Alliance Committee in the Bay Area, which supports Yemeni communities impacted by the Muslim Ban.
Waleed F. Mahdi is Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma, with joint affiliation in the Department of International and Area Studies and the Department of Modern Languages, Literature, and Linguistics
Books he recommended: Yemen In Crisis by Helen Lackner
Tribes and Politics in Yemen - A history of the Houthi Conflicts by Marieke Brandt
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