How bad is the situation in Yemen going to get?
The situation has become perhaps one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, only made worse by the trickle-down consequences of Russia’s invasion.
Welcome to the 69th issue of The Supplement, a newsletter that fills in the gaps of your other news intake. This is Sierra, one-third of The Supplement team!
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This week, we’re tackling this question: How bad is the situation in Yemen going to get?
TL;DR: While all eyes are on Ukraine, there are also calls for attention to Yemen. The situation has become perhaps one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, only made worse by the trickle-down consequences of Russia’s invasion. And though it may seem far away, Canada plays a direct role in the violence too by supplying military equipment to Saudi Arabia.
As the invasion of Ukraine stretches into its 20th day, the story continues to dominate headlines. The refugee crisis is expected to see up to four million people fleeing the country in the coming weeks and months.
By now you've likely seen rhetoric online saying something along the lines of wishing the crisis in Yemen received the same level of outrage that people feel for Ukraine. That’s because the war in Yemen is entering its eighth year, and the crisis it caused hasn’t eased. Its coverage has also flown under the radar.
“I think it’s not about, is it Ukraine or not? Now it’s Ukraine and Yemen and Syria and Iraq and Congo and so on. ... We have to add Ukraine on all the crises, but we shouldn’t shift,” said Katharina Ritz, the International Committee of the Red Cross’ head of delegation in Yemen.
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is going to get even worse in the coming months. In particular, the estimated number of people who will be unable to meet minimum food needs could reach a record 19 million people by the end of the year, according to a recent joint report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The IPC is a global partnership of 15 UN agencies and humanitarian organizations.
It doesn’t help that Yemen imports around 40 per cent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine. The two countries are some of the biggest wheat exporters in the world, and the current conflict is setting the stage to disrupt the global food supply.
The conflict in Yemen started in 2014 when Houthi rebels took control of much of the country’s north. In 2015, a Saudi-led coalition – backed by the US and the United Arab Emirates — moved to fight what they said was a growing Iranian influence and to restore the previous government. The conflict has since become a regional proxy war that has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Al Jazeera has a great explainer with plenty of infographics to explain the conflict, and the situation it’s caused. The BBC has a breakdown from last year, but the explanation of how the war started is still useful today. At least four million have been displaced by this war so far.
A UN report projected that the death toll from the war would reach 377,000 by the end of 2021 (counting those killed indirectly and by direct causes). Children account for 70 per cent of deaths.
Yemen is highly reliant on humanitarian assistance. But UN special envoy Hans Grundberg said that major UN aid programmes are being scaled back or even closed as combat zones are multiplying. Funding shortages could also deprive 3.6 million people of safe drinking water.
More guides to foreign news from The Supplement:
This war might seem far away and unrelated to your life, but Canada has been playing a role in fueling the on-going violence.
In 2021, for the second year in a row, a UN panel named Canada as one of the countries selling arms to those waging the conflict in Yemen: the Saudis.
“Saudi Arabia is Canada’s largest export market for military goods after the United States,” wrote The Globe and Mail’s Steven Chase. In 2020, more than $1.3-billion worth of Canadian equipment, including armoured vehicles with machine guns or cannons, was sent over.
“All Canadians should be ashamed about Canada’s dishonourable inclusion in this damning report,” said Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Ploughshares, a Waterloo, Ont., disarmament group.
Amnesty International published a call to the Minister for Foreign Affairs to suspend arms transfers to Saudi Arabia, citing a 2016 Globe and Mail story that launched an investigation into the potential misuse of Canadian-made light armoured vehicles (LAVs) by Saudi security forces.
Amnesty International Canada and Project Ploughshares wrote a report in 2021 about Canada violating international law by selling weapons to Saudi Arabia. Even after journalist Jamal Kashoggi was confirmed dead in 2018 after visiting the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Canada continued to supply LAVs to the Saudi monarchy.
Here’s someone to follow:
If you don’t follow Evelyn Kwong, where have you been? You might know the Toronto Star editor from the paper’s personal finance section, where she makes millennial money content. Or, you might know her from The Star’s TikTok, where she has appeared on my FYP many times. Either platform, she’s a good follow to have in your Canadian Media pocket.
Here’s a story to check out:
This week, The Globe came out with a piece about coercive control, a form of abuse that can materialize before manifesting and physical violence. And it often goes unrecognized. “Though coercive control is one of the least understood forms of violence, the psychological consequences of this kind of controlling behaviour can be long-lasting.” Read the full story here.
