Three meals a day a luxury for Yemenis
Collected Photo
The wounds of more than a decade of war have yet to heal. As fresh fighting spreads across Yemen, the country is facing an even deeper crisis of hunger and displacement. Hundreds of thousands of people are now unable to afford three meals a day. Some manage to eat twice a day while others sometimes go without food altogether.
In the city of Taiz, 46-year-old teacher Mohammed Saeed lives with his wife and five children in a single room. He has been displaced three or four times since the war began. He has also been unable to pay his house rent for more than a year.
His children still call him to the dining table. But Mohammed often tells them, “My stomach is full,” even though he has no food in his stomach at the time.
Mohammed Saeed said, “We can no longer eat three meals a day. Maybe we eat twice a day, sometimes not even once.”
The situation facing Mohammed’s family is shared by hundreds of thousands of people in Yemen. Nearly 134,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to the renewed conflict that began in September.
According to UNICEF, an estimated 73,000 children are among those displaced. As a result, many families now have to decide which meal of the day they will have to skip.
Yemen has effectively been divided into two since Iran backed Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa in 2014. The Houthis control the northern and western parts of the country where most people live. Meanwhile, the Saudi backed internationally recognized government controls most areas in the south and east.
Intense fighting erupted again after the Houthis launched a major offensive west of Taiz on September 3. Within days, Houthi fighters entered Mokha. They then took control of almost the entire Red Sea coastline of Yemen up to the Bab al Mandab Strait. The strait is important for international maritime trade.
In response, Saudi Arabia carried out hundreds of airstrikes. The Houthis also launched drone and missile attacks on Saudi territory.
According to the World Health Organization, 838 people have been killed and more than 3,600 injured since early August after the Houthis began attacks on government forces. Most of the casualties occurred after the ground offensive began on September 3. As many as 164 people were killed in just one week through September 26.
UNICEF said at least 15 children have been killed and 14 injured since September 3. Another three children remain missing.
