For the next month, the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) will run a campaign to raise funds for the rebuilding of Yemen. Yemen certainly needs it. Even before the intervention to stop the Houthi rebels, the country was in dire straits. Since the Houthis rampaged across the country, first taking Sanaa, the capital, and then heading south to the second city Aden, the devastation they have wrought has been astonishing. It will take years for Yemen to recover.
For that reason, in the words of Mohammed Al Falahi, secretary general of the ERC, the scale of the rebuilding must match the scale of the damage.
Until the Houthis are pushed out of the capital and the rest of the country, it is impossible to know the true scale of the damage. But the situation in Aden gives a glimpse. One estimate by a Yemeni official was that about half the buildings in the southern city had been severely damaged. Economic life had ground to a halt. Tourism had vanished. Multiply that devastation across the country and it is clear how much work is needed to recover.
The ERC campaign, then, is important for the money it will raise. But there is also a second reason. The UAE’s Government and military have contributed so much to Yemen’s liberation. This is a chance for individuals and businesses to play a part and contribute.
As is natural for countries so geographically close together, ties between Yemen and the UAE are significant. Many Emirati families either claim descent from Yemen or currently have ties through marriage. There are long-standing business relationships, and, of course, many Yemenis are residents in the UAE. When Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region and the chairman of the ERC, reflected on the strength of relations between the two countries and called Yemenis “our people”, he was not exaggerating the ties.
Over the next four weeks, then, all those who wish to contribute will have a chance to play their part, certain the money will reach those who need it.
Rebuilding Yemen will be a long road, and this campaign will take us a few steps further along that path.
