Armies of Liberation

The corruption is predictable but the UN’s incompetence and complacency in the face of these disasters, from the refugees, to Sa’ada to Hadramout, is staggering.

IRIN

SEYOUN, 1 April 2009 (IRIN) – Delays in distributing food aid are generating anger and despair among people in the southern Yemeni governorate of Hadhramaut affected by the October 2008 floods, flood-displaced people and community leaders say.

“We only received food rations for one month after the disaster,” said Issa Awadh Sedan, a mason from Mashta, a severely affected part of Tarim District in Hardhamaut. Sedan lost his house in the floods which left 47 dead and displaced 25,000 others. (Read on …)

Mukallah Press reports Yemen is making hundreds of millions in contacts for illegal dumping of radioactive waste. There’s a lot of environmental damage to the country side but this is deliberate, the paper claims. I wouldn’t put it past them, but its an unsubstantiated claim and the first I’ve heard of it. Radioactive is harder to believe than toxic waste somehow. Still its good to keep an eye on radioactive substances in Yemen in particular.

Caused the spread of cancer .. شركات اجنبية بتواطئ نافذين تدفن نفايات اشعاعية على طول خط قرية المعيان بالشحر الى تريم – ساه بحضرموت The complicity of foreign companies burying radioactive waste in force along the line of the village to Taryam Almaian Baahr – Sah Bhoudermott الشحر – المكلا برس – خاص التاريخ: 7/3/2009 Ash – Makla Press – a special date: 7/3/2009
كشفت مصادر مطلعة للمكلا برس عن وجود نفايات أشعاعية دفنت خلال الفترة الماضية القريبة على طول الخط الممتد من قرية المعيان بمديرية الشحر حتى تريم – ساه بحضرموت الداخل جلبت من الخارج وبتواطئ مسؤولين من ابناء المحافظة . Knowledgeable sources told the Press of Mekele on the presence of radioactive waste buried in the past period, close along the line extending from the village of Ash, even Almaian Department TRIM – Sah Bhoudermott brought home from abroad and the complicity of officials of the sons of the province. (Read on …)

IRIN

MUKALLA, 8 December 2008 (IRIN) – Agricultural experts, government officials and local communities in Hadramaut Governorate, southern Yemen, are urging the government to tackle an evergreen and fast-growing shrub which has been blocking waterways, with sometimes devastating consequences.

They say the shrub is responsible for exacerbating the late October floods by blocking watercourses and diverting floodwater into villages which might otherwise have been unscathed. At least 90 people were killed, and 20,000-25,000 were made homeless by the floods. (Read on …)

That’s a friendly nation. Now they just have to oversee it to make sure at least half gets to the actual vicitms in an efficient manner.

Emergency grant aid to the Republic of Yemen for flood disaster
On December 9 (Tues.), the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency grant aid of about 800 thousand dollars (about 90 million yen) through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to support the victims of the serious flood disaster in the Republic of Yemen.

The Government of Japan has decided to extend this emergency grant aid in view of the necessity of humanitarian assistance and the friendly relationship between Japan and Yemen.

Prior to this decision, the Government of Japan provided emergency relief goods equivalent to 18 million yen. With this further grant aid, the total of emergency assistance from Japan for this flood disaster will be 108 million yen.

Relief Web: Humanitarian agencies appeal for $11.5 million to help flood survivors in Yemen

(New York, 10 November 2008): United Nations agencies in partnership with nongovernmental organizations today appealed for $11.5 million to enable them provide humanitarian aid to an estimated 650,000 people affected by the recent severe floods in Yemen.

Torrential rainfall lashed eastern Yemen on 24-25 October causing floods that inundated villages, killing at least 73 people, and destroying homes, crops and other property. The Wadi Hadramout valley and coastal areas were particularly hard hit. At least 3,264 houses, made mainly of mud bricks, were totally destroyed or damaged beyond repair, leaving between 20,000 and 25,000 people without shelter. Hundreds of other homes have been rendered unfit for human habitation.

The funding sought under the Yemen Floods Response Plan will be used to assist those affected with food, water and sanitation, health and nutrition services, shelter, protection and education. The plan comprises projects proposed by seven United Nations agencies, the International Organization for Migration, and two non-governmental organizations in coordination with the Government of Yemen.

Survivors also need help to restore their means of livelihood quickly. Funding needs for early recovery efforts will be identified in the coming weeks in consultation with the Government of Yemen. Several health facilities and an estimated 166 schools and educational facilities were damaged or destroyed. Flood water caused extensive damage to local agriculture and honey production.

The timeline for the humanitarian assistance will range from two to six months, with the food assistance expected to extend until the next harvest in April 2009. Assistance provided by the UN and NGOs will focus primarily on short-term humanitarian assistance, while addressing the outstanding gaps in immediate assistance and initiating the first activities related to post-floods early recovery.

US Flood Aid: USD 350,000

SANA’A, NewsYemen

The United States of America, through the Office of Foreign Disaster Relief, has disbursed $299,000 to the United Nations to support their disaster relief efforts for victims of the flooding in Hadramout and Mahra governorates, a press release sent by the U.S Embassy in Sana’a on Sunday said.

In addition, the United States Agency for International Development has re-deployed five of its Mobile Health Teams to the affected areas. Three have been sent to Sah, and the remaining two have been sent to Tarim. Each Mobile Health Team can care for 50 to 70 patients a day, it said.

The press release said these funds and services add to the $50,000 in emergency funding provided by the United States in late October to the World Food Program for the delivery of emergency food and supplies to the region.

The Embassy of the United States in Sana’a continues to coordinate with the Government of Yemen, the United Nations, and the international non-governmental organization community to determine how best to provide emergency relief to the victims of this disaster, said the Embassy.

Up to $ 970 million are estimations of floods’ damages

[06 November 2008]

SANA’A, Nov. 06 (Saba)-Government and donors held on Thursday an expanded meeting headed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi for discussing results of evaluating floods-damages in eastern area.

The meeting dealt with two surveys made by the World Bank and the United Nation on losses and damages which have been estimated at nearly US $ one billion and on the needs of quick relief.

Minister Al-Arhabi called on donors to support exiting efforts for supporting Yemen facing floods’ catastrophe that caused great damages in infrastructure and of public and private possessions.

Minister of Health reviewed nature of measures health authorities have taken in the affected areas while Minister of Public Works and Roads asserted in his report on providing funds needed for starting reconstruction process in these areas.

GENEVA (AFP) — The UN’s refugee agency said Tuesday that 180 people have been killed by devastating floods in Yemen which have forced more than 10,000 people to flee their homes, citing Yemen government figures.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists that the death toll was provided by the Yemeni government on Monday, but cautioned that “these figures cannot be confirmed as several areas remain inaccessible.” (Read on …)

update: no food or medicine for three days:

(ap) SANA, Yemen – Flooding caused by a tropical storm has killed 90 people and displaced 20,000 others in southern Yemen, police and the World Food Program said Monday.

The WFP, which said 20,000 people were displaced, said it has been difficult to get aid to hard-hit Hadramut province because many roads were destroyed by floodwaters after Thursday’s storm.

A police official said 90 people died and 24 farms were wrecked. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Yemenis and non-governmental organizations to help flood victims by donating money and other aid.

“Efforts are too slow,” said Akeel Al-Ataf of Hadramut province’s municipal government. “We haven’t seen any food or medicine in three days, and the relief efforts are chaotic.”

Yemen Times

SANA’A, Oct. 26 — 58 have been killed, dozens of citizens are missing and over 20,000 people are homeless due to flash floods that resulted from heavy rains in the eastern areas of Yemen including Hadramout and Al-Maharah.

In a report by Minister of Interior Mutahhar Rashad Al-Masri, the death toll from the floods in Hadramout and Al-Maharah governorates was estimated at 58 and rescue teams had been able to shelter 3,000 people whose houses were destroyed.

The Ministry of Defense declared in its latest statistics published in its electronic “September mobile” service that 1,700 houses and public buildings had collapsed and that power lines, telephone wires, roads and bridges had been cut due to floods in many areas of the two governorates.

In Al-Maharah governorate, 1,318 kilometers east of Sana’a, floods caused more than 45 fishing boats to sink, an Indian ship to break down and a cut in telecommunications in the districts of Hawf, Qishin, Shahin and Saihut due to damage to optical fiber cables and the destruction of mobile phone coverage towers.

In Hadramout governorate, located some 794 kilometers east of Sana’a, eyewitnesses said that floods are threatening the historical town of Shibam, a UNESCO world heritage site, after heavy rains resulted in the collapse of archeological buildings and had eradicated features of other historical ones.

Salem Al-Khanbashi, governor of Hadramout, said in a statement to the state-run Saba News Agency that the executive authority in Hadramout had received field notifications which indicate that a number of dead bodies are floating in the flood water.

The rescue and emergency committee formed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh last Friday has declared the governorates of Hadramout and Al-Maharah devastated areas “due to the major damage that befell them.”

Hasan Al-Lawzi, Minister of Information and member of the emergency committee, told Al-Siyassiya newspaper that the committee is currently surveying human and material damage and said that “flash floods resulting from heavy rain [had] caused huge damage to roads and bridges and cut electricity and telecommunication cables in addition to the human damage.”

(Read on …)

Yemen reveals maritime pollution in Gulf of Aden

[05 September 2008]

ADEN, Sep. 05 (Saba)- Yemeni authorities revealed a maritime pollution emerged recently in the Gulf of Aden, accusing a Yemeni businessman of causing this pollution.

Interior Ministry said that the pollution caused by diesel leaking to the sea, pointing out that the coastguards’ investigations showed the involvement of the al-Amodi Company for Constructions which is currently implementing the project of a maritime bridge.

Last month, the Ministry formed a committee to investigate a similar marine pollution took place in the province of Hodeidah.

The numbers are all wrong, and the scenario espoused doesn’t fit the physical reality. There was an IED, not a pipe failure, and the amount spilled could never amount the the numbers presented in Parliament. If there’s 420,000 barrels of oil missing, its probably on a tanker, not in the ground.

al-Sahwa

Sahwa Net – A Yemeni parliamentarian, Abdul-Karim Jadban, accused on Tuesday the French company, Total, of wasting 420,000 barrels of oil worth 11 billion and 700 thousand Yemeni rials, affirming in the meantime, that the firm manipulated international standards of oil pipelines which, in part, led to leak amounts of oil in March 2008 and spoil environment.

On the other hand, Jadban further revealed that the UK firm Dove Energy had embezzled 11 billion and 423 million Yemeni rials, asking the Oil and Minerals Minister about the realities of referring the firm to a public fund court.

How do we go from 1000 barrels leaked to 420,000 barrels wasted, ’splain please.

SANA’A, NewsYemen

Member of the Parliament Abdul-Karim Jadban asked at the Parliament’s session on Tuesday the Minister of Oil and Minerals about 420,000 barrels of oil that he claimed wasted by the French TOTAL last March.

Jadban accused TOTAL of “playing with international specifications of oil pipelines that led to the explosion of a pipeline that has been linking block 10 to block 14 last March 14, 2008.”

Jadban said the explosion cost Yemen YR 11.7 billion and that the production stopped from March 27 to April 5, 2008. He added that a quantity of oil estimated at 1000 barrels leaked out and that “may destroy the environment.”

Hadhramout compels Arab CC to get rid of its oil residues

[06 May 2008]

MUKALLA, May 06 (Saba)- Arab Contractor Co. (CC) working in oil block No. (49) in al-Dhalieah distract in Hadhramout was compelled to get of the oil residues that resulted from its work there.

This commitment came after the governor asked the company to put a mechanism to get rid of the oil residues under the supervision of oil environment experts.

During a meeting gathered deputy of Hadhrmaout Omair Mubarak and representatives of Arab CC and general director of Oil Office Salem bin Qadim, they affirmed the importance of the continuation of the company’s work in the distract.

Yemen on Line

Ransack & Destruction of the Archeological Site, a Great Loss of Yemen History ?

January18,2008-The archeologist team in Al Osaibah site was surprised to realize that the discovered archeological grave was free of all its contents which were under police protection.

Official sources said that a number of armed men attacked the site late at night after all police security personnel left the site except for one car with 6 policemen. The armed men surrounded grave, broke the two coffins and ransacked their contents.

The archeologists said that the crime committed yesterday made Yemen lose evidence of great ancient civilization that traces back to the Sheba era , 2000 years ago.

The grave included coffins containing gold, metal and bronze materials of two or three corpses which are likely to trace back to the family that ruled Sheba and Thi Raidan in the first three centuries.

Ecological disaster already, fish washing up on shore.

HODEIDAH, NewsYemen

Reliable sources in Hodeidah said that Yemeni Coast Guards have found, two miles off Al-Salif port, 26 bags contain poisonous materials threw out in the Yemeni territorial waters near Camaran island by an unknown trade ship last Wednesday.

The coast guards along with teams from the ministries of fisheries, environment and maritime science are looking for more bags might be thrown out and washed by wind to somewhere else, said the sources. They said that many fish and other sea livings were found dead on shores near Al-Salif port.

Official bodies do not talk about this fearing a horrible environmental crisis may happen due to such materials if searching teams could not find them and get them out, said the sources.

Sources pointed that each bag contains 400 gram of such dangerous materials.

This incident came few hours after Yemeni Coast Guards lifted up bodies of ten thousand livestock hurled by a ship coming from the African Horn to water off Hodeidah coasts, according to official sources that did not identify the ship.

Yemen Times

SANA’A, Dec. 16 — 10,000 livestock have sunk in the red see as a result of a U.A.E ship turned over. Likewise, another boat, belonging to Yemeni traders, carrying a huge quantity of pesticides made the same problem in the red see. Livestock and pesticides endangered the Red Sea resources, confirmed Yaha Al-kynaei, Chairman of the Yemen Authority for Developing Yemeni Islands. (Read on …)

Socotra is a global gem, a gift.

Yemen Times: SOCOTRA, Oct. 21— There are numerous threats to the future of Yemeni Socotra island and their wildlife, said an environmental expert yesterday.

“Road-building presents one of the greatest threats to Socotra’s environment. Thoroughfares far in excess of local people’s needs have already destroyed and fragmented delicate and rare habitats. Grander schemes are on the drawing board which threaten to further damage Socotra’s unique and fragile ecosystems and threaten to cause the extinction of endemic wildlife.” He warned, adding that Over fishing of sharks and sea cucumbers may disrupt food chains at both ends with potentially calamitous effects on the marine biome. “Lobsters are another marine resource, the harvest of which must be strictly regulated if environmental damage is to be minimized.” Said David Stanton, who is a member in Yemen Society for the Preservation of Wildlife. (Read on …)

News Yemen

The reporter of al-Sahwa, the Islah party’s newspaper, in Ibb Nasr al-Masadi and five teachers are said to be tried before Demt Primary Court next Sunday for publishing articles and distributing corruption documents against businessmen in Demt.

Last July, the Prosecution accused al-Masadi and teachers of insulting businessmen and merchants who occupy tourist and investment posts in the Medical Tourism City which belongs to al-Dalei province.

Al-Masadi was arrested months ago after writing an article, published by al-Sahwa, alleging cases of corruption by those businessmen and merchants.
The five teachers were arrested over distributing materials showing issues of corruption against local investors in Demt district.

The Prosecution said the documents were falsified and aimed to defame investors.

Head of the Demt Primary Court judge Mohammad al-Dailami adjourned the case until the end of October due to judicial vacation.

The lawyer Salah Badr said that hundreds of people exchanged such materials, not only his clients.
This is not a crime and law does not criminalize information exchange, said the lawyer.

almotamar.net – Director of Agriculture and Irrigation Office in Hadramout Valley on Wednesday said President Ali Abdullah Saleh has given his orders for the reclamation of agricultural land, allocation of YR400 million for that purpose and to distribute pieces of land among the youth and the unemployed graduates in addition to providing them with palm shoots of high quality production for planting them in a number of the Valley districts. (Read on …)

SOCOTRA, July 29 — The Swiss foundation “New7wonders” has registered Socotra Island in the list of world’s seven natural wonders, this is different from the general new 7 wonders declared earlier this month. The New Seven Wonders of the World were announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday, July 7, 2007.

On Wednesday, July 25, Ministry of Tourism announced that it had finished procedures to include Socotra Island among the world’s new seven wonders of nature. Additionally, he pinpointed that his Ministry followed up the nomination process with the Swiss-based-for-profit Corporation called New Open World Corporation. “The island of Socotra has been declared to be among the best natural tourist sites in the world.” Nabial al-Faqih, Minister of Tourism, stated.

According to him, the process of voting will be through the internet and there will be a special website for voting which is www.new7wonders.com. The Minister also clarified that the voting process will continue till August 2008, when the results will be announced. “The registration site for voting is ready so I call upon the citizens to vote for the attractive and amazing island.” The Minister noted.

The first vote will be free and then any additional votes may be acquired through payment to NOWC organization. On August 8, 2008, the voting count will decide seven natural wonders from a list of 21 worldwide natural candidates.

The other six new wonders are the Colosseum in Rome, India’s Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Jordan’s ancient city of Petra, the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and the an
A drive to Ras Momi (Irisal) at the eastern end of Socatra takes almost four hours, but the scenery en route just gets better and better with isolation. there are plenty of snorkeling spots on the way and no shortage of sparklingly white sandy beaches close to the end. Photo by Catherine Cheung.

cient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico.

The U.N. World Heritage Administration has declared 200 World Heritage cities and reserves worldwide, including Sana’a and Shibam Hadramout. Apart from the cultural heritage cities in Yemen, Sharma and Bura’a Natural Reserves are due to be officially declared, thanks to their rare animal species.

The long history of Socotra begins in the mists of mythology. The origin of the name of the island remains highly mysterious and controversial. Today’s linguists think that it most likely came from the Sanskrit name “Dripa Sukhadara,” meaning “Island of Blessing,” which was also the origin of the name by which the island was known in ancient

Some brave person appears to be fighting alone to implement the law on bringing in banned pesticides, and of course the persons bringing them in are powerful merchants and importers:

Almotamar.net – Official sources issued warning Tuesday that there are attempts of fraud by some importers and merchants of pesticides regarding the list of prohibited insecticides representing 349 active substances containing more than 800 trade marks of dangerous pesticides and most of them cause cancer.

A source close to the committee registering pesticides at the ministry of agriculture said some importers and merchants of insecticides were trying to enter large quantities of them, which are prohibited from circulation, on the list of allowed types of pesticides.

The source appealed to all concerned government institutions for activation of the list of banned materials and toehold accountable anyone who tries to trade with those pesticides with only aim of profit at the expense of the public health of the citizens, soil and plants.

Yemen Times

Official studies carried out by ministry of social affairs showed that 292.000 children who work in the agricultural sector. A study prepared by the same ministry which covered only three governorates (Sana’a, Albitha and Dhamar) exposed that yemeni children who are working in the agricultural sector, are undergoing many infections and diseases, adding that that 45% of the children are suffering of dermatitis, 30% of ophthalmia that may develop to become blindness, 20% are suffering of intestinal disease and 5% have epilepsy

The study attributed the reasons of such diseases to the misuse of herbicides and insecticides. Many children, according to the study, don’t use any kind of protection means during spraying the plants with insecticides. Unconsciously they confuse these poisons with water without looking at the instructions that are written on the containers. The direct and constant exposure to dust also makes the children an easy object to respiratory diseases such as asthma, allergy, etc.

Most children who work in the fields tend to work quickly, paying no attention to close the spray and thus some of the herbicides get to their neck and shoulders. They get inflammations in a form of burns.

According to the study 90% of the children from those regions chew Qat that is polluted by herbicides. 56% of the children who spray those poisons are between 8-10 years old.

SANAA, 11 July 2007 (IRIN) – The Yemeni authorities have sent teams to combat desert locusts in southern Yemen after UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) eradication operations failed to start as scheduled on 28 June.

Officials at Yemen’s Desert Locust Control Centre (DLCC) are worried the locusts are increasing in number and, if not controlled, could damage crops. The government’s capabilities are limited and international support is needed to prevent the locusts spreading to other countries, they said.

DLCC Director-General Abdu Farei al-Rumaih told IRIN on 11 July the latest bombing in the governorate of Marib was the main reason for the delay in FAO operations.

FAO said a three-month US$2.6 million eradication campaign was due to target locust-affected areas in the governorates of Hadhramaut, Shabwa and al-Mahra over a 31,000sqkm area.

“The [FAO] operation’s aeroplanes have not arrived, and we had to start combating the locusts using our own capabilities,” al-Rumaih said.

“Locusts have caused damage to corn and palm trees in some areas of Hadhramaut Governorate, as well as in Shabwa,” he said, adding that they had multiplied and spread to other areas. Between 300 and 500 locusts are found in each square metre, he said.

Over 26 vehicles and 108 field experts have been sent to the affected areas. The country has been on alert since February 2007.

New FAO campaign in July

FAO said in a statement on 4 July that desert locusts had infested large areas in the remote interior along the southern edge of the Empty Quarter, stretching from Marib to the border with Oman.

“Locust numbers are likely to increase dramatically as a second generation of breeding continues in these areas. Agricultural crops in Wadi Hadhramaut and other areas including the Sanaa highlands could be at risk,” FAO said.

FAO said it was organising an emergency aerial control campaign in the interior of Yemen to start later this month. According to FAO, the $5million campaign will be financed by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund ($2.4 million) and the government of Japan ($2 million), with the government of Yemen providing the rest.

The funds will support two helicopters, pesticides, equipment, vehicles, and locust control and logistics experts, it added.

“If the campaign is not successful, there is a risk of numerous swarms forming and invading countries along both sides of the Red Sea during the autumn,” FAO warned

Yemen Times

After Yemen Liquefied Natural Gas (YLNG) selected Shabwa governorate’s Balhaf area for its company’s location, the area’s fishing environment was affected and residents began facing problems related to compensation and laborers’ jobs.

Area fishermen are demanding fair compensation, as they were banned from fishing around Balhaf and kept from their boat shelters in the area surrounding the company.

Although the liquefied natural gas project represents a large portion of Yemen’s income, Balhaf residents stress that their problems should be resolved properly, as the company has affected them greatly, both as fishermen and landowners. For this reason, the firm has implemented a program to provide area fishermen with a replacement fishing environment by installing fish aggregation devices and establishing breakwaters.

However, controversy continues regarding compensating landowners whose properties the company consumed either for construction or extending gas pipelines. (Read on …)