The Tragedy of the Children in Yemen


More than six years of the tragedy of war has made the Yemeni children a victim of the negative impacts of political events. Today, the world stands ignoring the pain and struggle of these unknown children in the Republic of Yemen. Despite the promises we hear on international, regional, and local television channels, the reality appears different.

Story of the Sufferings 

Unfortunately, the suffering of Yemeni children exceeded analysts' expectations. For instance, in 2017, the numbers coming from international organizations were shocking to the international community and to analysts. More than two million children are without schools, while half a million suffer from malnutrition due to the effects of the war in Yemen.

An annual humanitarian response plan is presented to alleviate the human suffering in Yemen. Millions of dollars are provided for the children of Yemen. But based on reality, none of that aid actually reduces the size of the children's tragedy. And the evidence of this is the increasing tragedy of children in Yemen day after day.  

The children of Yemen depend on families that have a high capacity to assume responsibility, and all those families spend their day looking for a source of income to support their livelihood. The suffering of the Yemeni children increases day after day, and according to UNICEF reports, a large segment of children cannot receive education in Yemen


Education as the Source of Light 

Education is the path to the future of Yemen and a new beginning towards a real development based on firm rules. Children are the first building block in the future of his country and the beginning of real development in any nation. And the same applies to the Republic of Yemen.

One of the solutions that can be applied in Yemeni society in order to alleviate the suffering of Yemen is to build the future of Yemen’s children through education. The budget to support public education in Yemen is the most successful solution with positive results in the medium and long term. According to annual reports, more than 24 million Yemenis are under the line of poverty and the number increases every year. 

Currently, the war is no longer the only cause of the current Yemen crisis, as there are many variables involved in the field of the Yemen crisis. It seems that the Yemeni political system has been unable to bring about change in the future of the children.  Based on reality and evidence, we find that building the Yemeni child and providing him with an educational environment will limit the deterioration of conditions in the medium and long future.

Other Solutions to Lessen the Sufferings of Children in Yemen 

In my view, there are many solutions besides education. These can include providing a safe environment for Yemeni youth in order to enable them to work in the humanitarian and social fields so that they can provide for their children and their families. This will limit the humanitarian disasters in Yemen.

Annually, thousands of reports submitted to humanitarian organizations to approve and fund emergency projects in Yemen. According to analysts, literally hundreds of projects are being approved in order to alleviate the suffering of Yemeni children. However, their suffering has been increasing since 2015. According to WHO reports in 2017, 360,000 children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition, and this number has increased to more than 500,000 children in 2019.

Read more: UNICEF’s Report on Children of Yemen 


Conclusion

It seems clear that education in Yemen has been very poor for a long time. But during the war period, the percentage of children joining the battlefields reached tens of thousands. Donor aid did not stop these innocent children from joining the militia group. The war can be only a reason for those children to join with those groups. On the other hand, the international community tries to help Yemeni children by supporting organizations. However, the role taken by NGOs is not a success. One of the main reasons for the increase in the low level of education is the weakness of plans and the failure to implement programs that have the ability to positively affect the life of the Yemeni child.

Finally, the children of Yemen will continue to suffer from their daily misfortunes and suffer the burden of the ongoing war, just as the traffickers of their rights will not stop promoting projects and businesses that have nothing in reality.

Read more: Humanitarian Crisis In Yemen

Written By - BL. Hassan

Edited By - Neha Kundu