Armies of Liberation

(Corrected: My dyslexia or perhaps wishful thinking had the title as lowest when it should have read highest.)

In 2005 when i started paying attention to this stat, it was about 46% of children were physically stunted from malnutrition, and of course those numbers were higher in some areas specifically in Saada. And the sad reality is that now 58% of all Yemeni kids are too small for their age and many die of malnutrition.

Along with physical stunting often comes permanent brain damage, a lower IQ and cognitive faculties. Its important to reverse this trend ASAP through international cooperation and support: feeding centers, plump-n-nut, school lunches etc. The problem always was that the corrupt officials in the Yemeni regime stole the vast majority of international aid. Here in the new improved transparent Yemen, that should be less of a problem in theory. Many of the donors are in fact stepping up to the plate.

UNICEF official voices concern over child malnutrition in Yemen [24/January/2012] Saba: SANAA, Jan. 24 (Saba)- UNICEF Regional Director Maria Calivis concluded on Tuesday a two-day visit to Yemen where she saw first-hand the impact of malnutrition on children’s health.

“This year alone, half a million children in Yemen are likely to die from malnutrition or to suffer lifelong physical and cognitive consequences resulting from malnutrition if we don’t take action. Malnutrition is preventable. And, therefore, inaction is unconscionable,” Calivis said.

“Conflict, poverty and drought, compounded by the unrest of the previous year, the high food and fuel prices, and the breakdown of social services, are putting children’s health at great risks and threatening their very survival.”

With 58 per cent of children stunted, Yemen has the second highest rate of chronic malnutrition among children in the world after Afghanistan. Acute malnutrition affects as many as 30 per cent of children in some parts of the country, nearing the levels observed in south Somalia, and twice as high as the internationally recognized emergency threshold. (Read on …)

Well over 100,000 residents of Zinzibar fled their homes (which were then thoroughly looted by al Qaeda which transported the bounty back to Marib) when al Qaeda occupied the city and others. The areas are still under occupation and only by surrendering their civil and political rights are residents allowed to return. The families are still living in about 60 schools in Aden, causing the city’s children to miss a year of school. The US-allied Yemeni regime is thought to have green lighted the al Qaeda expansion into Abyan, Shabwa and recently al Baydah order to create chaos and delay the political transition.

Yemen Post Yemeni children direly suffer due to the current political conditions and insecurity, particularly in South Yemen, said Rima Salah, Deputy Executive Director of he UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (Read on …)

IDP’s in Yemen exceed a half million: 300K Saada, 100K Abyan, 200K (at least) Somalis; one doctor per 100K in some areas, one third of children malnourished, education on hold, humanitarian access denied and the whole UN relief project is underfunded by 40%:

Raxanreeb: U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said millions of people in Yemen face “a daily struggle for survival” due to conflict, poverty, drought, soaring food prices and collapsing state services. (Read on …)

It was scary before. As of 2005, half of all kids were physically stunted from chronic hunger.

ADEN, 18 August 2011 (IRIN) – Continuing fighting in various parts of Yemen, which has recently displaced thousands of people especially in Abyan Governorate and the Arhab District of Sana’a, could compromise the nutritional status of those affected, especially children, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns. This, it said, could potentially increase morbidity and mortality rates, especially among children under five.

“Yemen could become the next Somalia as child malnutrition is as big as it is in the Horn of Africa,” said Geert Cappelaere, a UNICEF representative in Yemen. While malnutrition was widespread in Yemen, the condition of many children had been worsened by displacement, he added. (Read on …)

Military recruiting up including among children

FPB: the Defense Minister decided a few months ago to reopen the door of its training camps, hoping that the promises of a steady income and a state pension would encourage many Yemenis to sign up. Officers close to defected General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar are saying that al-Islah and the 1st Armored Division are also following suit, trying to enroll more men to their cause, promising them a resemblance of financial security.
In a country where over 40% of the population is out of work, finding a government job is pretty much what everyone is after. Although the salaries are no more than 25,000 YER, about $110, many are attracted by the guarantee of a lifetime income.

And if this tactic is pretty much “old school” when it comes to the military, a worrying trend is starting to emerge, as many of the new recruits are actually children.

Blast from the past: 10/25/10 Obama decides US National Security requires us to overlook the large percentage of child soldiers in the Yemeni military so we can keep funding the Saleh regime which months later recruits more child soldiers and commits overt massacres.

White House.gov By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, pursuant to section 404(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA), title IV of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110 457), I hereby determine that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application to Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Yemen of the prohibition in section 404(a) of the CSPA.

Seeks a savior

Hodiedah: In an interview with Marib Press, 12 year old “Hanadi” said she was forced into marriage by her impoverished father to pay a debt. Her husband tried repeatedly to rape her, her tears were no deterrent, and he threatened to beat her. After three days, he drugged by her with sleeping pills in her juice. She woke up bruised, confused and bleeding. The child ran away and is currently in the Hodiedah CID, appealing to Human Rights Organizations to save her. A medical exam proves the child was violently raped. The father and husband were interviewed by police. The father asserts the husband promised not to engage in intercourse until she was older. The husband says he didn’t touch her.

“12 year old Hanadi launched a distress call to the Ministry of Human Rights and human rights organizations demanding urgent intervention and to direct the security agencies to arrest the looter of her childhood and to investigate him and refer him to the judiciary.”

The issue is where is she going to go live. And its questionable if either the father or husband will be charged with a crime. There is no law in Yemen designating a minimum marriage age. Without publicity, she might have to go back. If she does not return to her husband, the father’s debt is still in force because she was basically sold like a slave. Children are frequently used as chattel. At least half of all marriages in Yemen occur before 16. Unsurprisingly, Yemen’s youthful female revolutionaries are quite determined to overthrow the system.

Beeb: The UN has added two groups in Yemen and two in Iraq to its annual list of those recruiting or abusing children during armed conflicts.

During Yemen’s recent civil war, as many as 15% of the pro-government militia and 20% of the Huthi rebels were made up of children, the UN says.

Even though that conflict was now over, nobody knew where the children were, said a UN special representative.

The annual report said children were involved in warfare in 22 countries.

“2010 proved another tragic year for children in conflicts all over the world,” said Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict

Update: retracted by HOOD. I was never more happy to be duped. The issue of the rape is before the court and the boy is not dead.

A truly horrendous crime. There’s no immunity under God or man for crimes like this. Six year old Omar’s mother gave testimony, despite many threats, to the prosecutor after she witnessed the Central Security murder 13 year old Rami Salem Barmeel in Haramout March 12. This statement was issued May 1.

Seyaj and Hood organizations are condemning the rape to death crime against a child because of a testimony against Security personnel accused of killing another child in Hadhramout

Statement of condemnation

Seyaj organization for childhood protection and Hood organization for defending rights and freedom condemn the rape crime to death against the child ( Omar. J.S 6 years old) due to a testimony of his mother against members of the Central Security who fired intentionally on a peaceful protest resulted the death of a participated child in the protest.

The mother reported to the two organizations that she was the only witness against the Central Security who fired a peaceful march for Omar Al-Mokhtar school in “Foah” , Al-Mukalla in Hadhramout at March 12th 2011, causing the death of Rami Salem Barmeel, 13 years old. (Read on …)

The Saada Wars were fought by children and the state’s policies of collective punishment targeted children. The kids interviewed had been fighting for years already. The age of maturity in Yemen is 15– by that age many are married, armed, working and chewing qat.

The Obama admin exempted Yemen from legal repercussions for the use of child soldiers.

Yemen: Stop Using Children in Armed Forces HRW: Child Soldiers Recruited by Army Now Deployed by Opposition

(New York) – Child soldiers recruited by the Yemeni army are now being used by a breakaway unit to protect anti-government protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. The United States and other governments should call for an immediate end to the use of children as soldiers or in other security forces, whether for the Yemeni government or the opposition. (Read on …)

These figures are up slightly since 2005. The good news is that one million poor Yemeni women and children who never had access to health services in their lives will now receive some support from the international community. Less than half of Yemenis have access to medical services. Clean water, sanitation, electricity, and other basic services are similarly lacking. This World Bank press release contains the appalling medical current stats. Update: Neonatal tetanus kills 30,000 new born Yemeni babies a year. Pampers SA is chipping in for some vaccines, but over three million doses are needed. (Read on …)

Riyadh police round up 109 in clampdown on beggary
ARAB NEWS: Jan 21, 2011, RIYADH: Riyadh police rounded up 109 beggars in the capital city during the past week as part of an intensive campaign against beggary, authorities announced on Friday. A police official said most of those caught were foreign nationals….A survey conducted by UNICEF in 2007 found that up to half of child beggars in the Kingdom entered the country with their parents.

It is reported that Saudi authorities arrest each month around 3,500 Yemeni children who are smuggled into the country to work or beg.

1.8 million are out of school, many work on family farms in addition to the half million street children. Poverty drives child marriage and child trafficking in addition to child labor.

Yemen Observer: More than 500 thousand children working in the streets

Article Date: Dec 20, 2010 – 4:19:37 PM

More than 500 thousand children are working in the streets, according to new statistics from the Central Bureau for Statistics. This number has been documented to the Social Affairs Ministry through several implemented surveys. (Read on …)

Amnesty International statement issued today:
JUVENILE OFFENDERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
Amnesty International has received information that the President of Yemen has signed the death sentences of two alleged juvenile offenders. One of them has been scheduled for execution on 19 December. They are both at imminent risk of execution. (Read on …)

Update: the baby was released from prison after 24 hours. Prison conditions in Yemen are truly horrific. Another young detainee is 15 year old Moataz Alasiaii.

Sabri Ahmed Mohsen Suhaibi, three years old, was arrested along with his father on Saturday in the city of Habilayn, Lahj. Aden FM reports his fifty year old father pleaded, “Take me and leave him.”

Local reports indicate “Habilayn was bombed with light and heavy weapons and aircraft flying in the sky of the city today after a protest against the arrest of one of the citizens named Mohsen Suhaibi, a citizen 50 years and his son, child 3 years old. Mohsen Suhaibi does not recognize the authority of the occupation regime.”

For God’s sake, get this child out of jail. Furthermore, it was a perfectly legitimate protest. Who wouldn’t protest the arrest of a three year old? And in response to the demonstration, the military attacks the city, instead of releasing the kid. Next they will call him al Qaeda. Beyond the immorality and inhumanity of arresting a child to torture the parent, the act is surely against international law.

Update: The Yemen Post reports on the arrests and ensuing clashes:

Fierce clashes erupted between the military camp stationing in downtown Al-Habilain in Lahj Province and gunmen in which light and medium weapons were used…The fighting started after soldiers arrested a separatist activist, Muhsen Al-Suhaibi, 43, from Yafi’a, the sources said, adding that the arrest took place while on his way back after he drove his kids to school.

Also lets take a look at this, the PSO torturing imprisoned democracy activists with electric batons in Hadramout:

Local sources said on Friday that the Yemeni occupation forces proceeded to torture ثلاثة من نشطاء الحراك الجنوبي السلمي في وادي حضرموت خلال احتجازهم Three of the southern movement of peaceful activists in Wadi Hadhramaut during their detention بسجن الامن السياسي بسيؤن. Political Security Prison Bsiwn. (Read on …)

A 14 year old girl was raped by her father and became pregnant. For God’s sakes, why would the judge put her in jail and not a hospital?

al Tagheer: Lawyer Adnan Al Jabri, who pleads in the case of a child raped in the governorate of Ibb, expressed his displeasure at what was happened to Sumaia M. A. A. (14 years) who was raped by her father and then sent to prison, when he tried to release her through a number of memoranda from many authorities, including human rights, but all the attempts have failed.

The Yemeni police has arrested on October 5, 2010 a person accused of raping his daughter, who made pregnant.

According to exclusive sources of “Al Thagheer” the Security Administration in Khadeer Al Odein in Ibb governorate accused “M. A. A. 37-year-old,” of raping his daughter (Sumaia) 14-year, last month.

Lawyer Al Jabri, said in a statement to “Al Thagheer” that the head of Mudaikhara Court, Judge Ali Issa, is insisting on imprisoning her without justification.

Al Jabri added: she was investigated just as a defendant and was taken into the custody of the central prison in Ibb, rather than taking care of her in any social department, and her only fault that she was raped by her father and made her pregnant, which caused her psychological health to decline, as well as the continuous delay of the DNA examination, pointing out that the lack of such tests in such issues, which happen to lives of female children, that the scarcity of centers or private hospitals is the biggest obstacle in the proceedings of the case, stressing that such an examination identifies the perpetrator of the crime and according to it the litigation continues. (Read on …)

Aden Gulf Net: Urgent appeal: Freedom for the smallest political prisoner in the world

To all activists in the field of human rights,
To all human rights organizations in Yemen, the Arab countries and world wide,
Herewith I would like to inform you about one of many cases of human rights violations that the people of South Yemen are exposed to. We consider this case as a major violation of the human rights of a 14 year old child. It is a case of a young boy called Moataz Al-Essawi who was arrested on October 13th 2010 on his way from Aden to the province of Radfan to participate in a festival organized and hosted by the Peaceful Southern Movement. (Read on …)

Yes I know that’s a poor google translation of an al Wasat headline about the dispute over the marriage age in Yemen, but the fanatics are claiming their right to have intercourse with children all over Yemen, they might as well do it in the Parliament.

The Yemeni Parliament is overwhelmingly illiterate, and comprised of powerful sheiks and businessmen. Half of Yemeni female children are married before 15, and many before 12 and mortality rates are very high. Most drop out of school if they ever attend. With 70% in rural areas, most spend their lives doing manual labor. Here’s an English language write up of last week’s debate, which came to blows with sticks and fists, but it is not only Islah’s MP’s that support child marriage, some in the GPC do as well. The drive is to set the marriage age at 18, but even 15 would be a vast improvement.

YemenOnline.oct 28,2010- Debate was intensified between the MPs of ruling party GPC and opposition Islamist Islah party in the House of Representatives last Wednesday because of determining of marriage age of minors in Yemen . MPs of GPC demanded to vote on the new law that Which sets the marriage age from 18 years old while the Islamists MPs rejected that on the grounds of its contrary to Islamic dispensation. Sultan Al-Barakni,head of MPs group of GPC stressed that his party has the majority and they approved to determine minors marriage age.

We decided to vote in favor of law’ Al-Barakini declared. Two of Islamists MPs attempted to attack Al-Barakini using their hands and sticks . So, the Spokesman of the parliament decided to postpone the vote on the law until another session

Seyaj rejects the pressure of a police officer to marry a child

Seyaj organization for childhood protection has directed a letter to the Interior Minister and Taiz’s governor demanded them to guide the Security’s manager in Maqbanah district to respect the orders of judgeship as enforceable to implement and as the responsibility of the police. (Read on …)

The school systems like everything else in Yemen are hyper-politicized, with teachers and students unions thwarted from self-representation, soldiers on campus and attempts at reform derided as opposition propaganda. The curriculum is outdated, cheating rampant and scholarships are awarded on the basis of nepotism. And the graduates are mostly humanities majors, when societal demands are in other areas.

ARAB NEWS, Oct 22, 2010,
SANA’A: A recent government report warned that the number of unemployed graduates in Yemen is on the rise.

The report pointed out that thousands of university and secondary schools students with humanities majors who later struggle to find jobs are the reason for rising unemployment rates in the country. (Read on …)

White House.gov By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, pursuant to section 404(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA), title IV of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110 457), I hereby determine that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application to Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Yemen of the prohibition in section 404(a) of the CSPA.

(Read on …)