The
United Nations’ goal was to raise
more
than $4.2 billion for the people of war-torn Yemen by March 15. But
when that deadline rolled around, just $1.3 billion had come in.
“I
am deeply disappointed,” said
Jan
Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. “The
people of Yemen need the same level of support and solidarity that
we’ve seen for the people of Ukraine. The crisis in Europe will
dramatically impact Yemenis’ access to food and fuel, making an
already dire situation even worse.”
With
Yemen importing more
than 35%
of
its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, disruption to wheat supplies will
cause soaring
increases
in
the price of food.
“Since
the onset of the Ukraine conflict, we have seen the prices of food
skyrocket by more than 150 percent,” said
Basheer
Al Selwi, a spokesperson for the International Commission of the Red
Cross in Yemen. “Millions of Yemeni families don’t know
how to get their next meal.”
The
ghastly blockade and bombardment of Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates, is now entering its eighth year. The United
Nations estimated
last
fall that the Yemen death toll would top 377,000 people by the end of
2021.
The
United States continues
to
supply spare parts for Saudi/UAE coalition war planes, along with
maintenance and a steady flow of armaments. Without this support, the
Saudis couldn’t continue their murderous aerial attacks.
Yet
tragically, instead of condemning atrocities committed by the
Saudi/UAE invasion, bombing and blockade of Yemen, the United States
is cozying up to the leaders of these countries. As sanctions against
Russia disrupt global oil sales, the United States is entering
talks
to
become increasingly reliant on Saudi and UAE oil production. And
Saudi Arabia and the UAE don’t want to increase their oil
production without a U.S. agreement to help them increase their
attacks against Yemen.
Human
rights groups have decried the Saudi/UAE-led coalition for bombing
roadways, fisheries, sewage and sanitation facilities, weddings,
funerals and even a children’s school bus. In a recent attack,
the Saudis killed
sixty
African migrants held in a detention center in Saada.
The
Saudi blockade of Yemen has choked off essential imports needed for
daily life, forcing the Yemeni people to depend on relief groups for
survival.
There
is another way. U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Peter De
Fazio of Oregon, both Democrats, are now
seeking cosponsors
for
the Yemen War Powers Resolution. It demands that Congress cut
military support for the Saudi/UAE-led coalition’s war against
Yemen.
On
March 12, Saudi Arabia executed
81
people, including seven Yemenis – two of them prisoners of war
and five of them accused of criticizing the Saudi war against Yemen.
Just
two days after the mass execution, the Gulf Corporation Council,
including many of the coalition partners attacking Yemen, announced
Saudi willingness to host peace talks in their own capital city of
Riyadh, requiring Yemen’s Ansar Allah leaders (informally known
as Houthis) to risk execution by Saudi Arabia in order to discuss the
war.
The
Saudis have long insisted on a deeply flawed U.N.
resolution
which
calls on the Houthi fighters to disarm but never even mentions the
U.S. backed Saudi/UAE coalition as being among the warring parties.
The Houthis say they will come to the negotiating table but cannot
rely on the Saudis as mediators. This seems reasonable, given Saudi
Arabia’s vengeful treatment of Yemenis.
The
people of the United States have the right to insist that U.S.
foreign policy be predicated on respect for human rights, equitable
sharing of resources and an earnest commitment to end all wars. We
should urge Congress to use the leverage it has for preventing
continued aerial bombardment of Yemen and sponsor Jayapal’s and
De Fazio’s forthcoming resolution.
We
can also summon the humility and courage to acknowledge U.S. attacks
against Yemeni civilians, make reparations and repair the dreadful
systems undergirding our unbridled militarism.
