After 10 years of war, are Yemenis hopeless?
The war in Yemen has added a new group of internally displaced persons to that previously created during a decade of conflict between Houthis and the state.
SANAA, Yemen — Adam Radman Hadaj, a Yemeni man in his mid-30s, decided to flee the violence of war in Saada province, in northern Yemen, in the hope that Hajjah province, on the border with Saudi Arabia, would be a safe haven for him and his 25-member family. Hajjah province is as far from the war as he could afford to migrate. Hadaj, a dark-skinned man with the frail body common among refugees, spoke about his situation as a displaced person.
Having lived at a relatives’ home for the past 11 months, Hadaj told Al-Monitor, “I did not expect life to be so harsh. I've encountered numerous difficulties in my life, but never have I had such a hard time. We do not have enough food. We are surrounded by disease and threatened by war. Each time I leave the house, I feel I will not be coming back.”
The situation of other internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Yemen is no different. Being displaced in a poor country ravaged by war, in this case between the Houthis and the government, is the definition of real suffering.
“More than 2 million internal refugees were displaced from their areas, fleeing the violence,” Adnan Hizam, media officer for the Red Cross in Yemen, told Al-Monitor. “There are invisible displacement destinations as numerous people seek refuge with their relatives in quiet areas, while others, who are affluent, rent houses.” In past months, Sanaa, Ibb, Amran, Hajjah, Marib and Hodeida provinces have provided sanctuary for the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons from areas in the central and northern parts of the country.
