As the Media turn once again their attention away from Yemen onto the unfolding Palestinian drama of statehood, Yemenis continue to fall in the streets of the capital, Sana’a and across the nation.
Inspired by the success of the Egyptian revolution, Yemen rose against its 3 decades long president back in February, demanding his immediate departure and the implementation of more democratic state institutions.
Started Yemen’s long fight for freedom…
But if the World has followed from afar the unraveling of yet another autocratic regime, the hidden victims of the revolution were being ignored, silent victims of a bereaved nation.
The Victims
Although no mention has been made of them in the Media, hundreds upon hundreds of Yemenis throughout the past 8 months of protests have died across the nation, leaving behind shattered lives and broken homes.
Fathers who did not come home at night for they were struck by the regime’s bullets, sons whose lives were cut short for they dared hope, everywhere wreckage, everywhere sorrow. Buried in haste, unknown to many, those men and women will probably be forgotten in a hurry by a World which only craves the sensational.
Last week atrocities however, brought home the reality of the revolution. As the World watched stunned the streams of injured enter “Change Square’s” makeshift hospital in Sana’a, they realize how very violent was the fight for Yemen.
Soon enough, medical staffs were overwhelmed, unable to cope with the numbers of patient and the severity of the injuries. A doctor recalled that protesters were brought through the doors with wounds as large as eggs. “They [the regime] are not using normal bullets anymore; they are firing 50 caliber guns at us.”
A BBC reporter witnessed a Republican Guard firing an RPG straight towards the head of a civilian.
But most tragic of all, a little boy, a 10 month old infant was shot while in his mother’s arms as she was stepping out in Hayal Street to do her shopping. Struck at the head, Anas al-Saidi died, taking with him what was left of the regime’s humanity.
As foreign nations continue to push for a political solution, the government is declaring war on its people, unleashing their heaviest weapons onto its civilian population, caring little for the numbers of casualties.
Entire neighborhoods in Taiz have been shelled continuously over the past few days, destroying homes which took lifetimes to build, and housed several generations of the same family. Businesses have been reduced to rubbles, leaving many to fear the future as they wonder how they will feed their children.
In the southern territories where thousands have been displaced by war, families are still leaving in schools and abandoned warehouses, left to rot in abject poverty while a few are battling for power.
Medical Crisis
To make matters worse, doctors are reporting a shortage in medical supplies, warning that more deaths will ensue if the matter is not addressed immediately.
"We are facing an unprecedented shortage of medicine and qualified staff. All the roads leading to the hospital are either blocked or unsafe, putting the lives of dozens of wounded at high risk," Mohammed al-Qubati, head of a private field hospital (set up in February by businessmen linked to the opposition) which has been treating injured protesters, told IRIN.
Valerie Petitpierre, the deputy head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s delegation in Yemen, accused the government forces of attacking and illegally confiscating some medical equipment in order to prevent doctors to treat the injured.
Doctor Noman at the University begged other hospitals to take on the wounded as there were too many cases to deal with at the same time. A young man shot in the foot had to wait for 3 long days before being treated as doctors had more urgent cases to deal with first.
Ali al-Ghashm, deputy manager of the government-run Military Hospital in Sana’a, said the hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is filled with seriously injured soldiers following clashes in Sana’a and nearby Arhab, or with Islamic militants in Aden.
"There is not enough space to receive injured civilians… Some of the seriously injured cases in the ICU have no beds. The unit is also facing a shortage of artificial breathing tubes.”
As Yemen enters its most violent chapter of the revolution, many are fleeing the capital, desperate for a safe haven.