Looting of salaries and revenues and tampering with aid.. Yemenis search for food in piles of waste
English - Thursday 15 December 2022 الساعة 09:13 am
Sana'a, NewsYemen, exclusive:
It has become commonplace to see women with their children searching for leftovers in piles of waste in the streets of Sana'a and neighboring Yemeni governorates, in light of the difficult living conditions left by the Houthi militia, Iran's arm in Yemen. Amidst the continuation of the looting of employees’ salaries, the imposition of levies and royalties, and the tightening of the screws on the residents of those unliberated areas.
Great deprivation experienced by Yemeni families in areas controlled by the Houthis. With the lack of job opportunities, widespread poverty, and plundering the salaries of state employees, the Houthi militia and its leaders live in an unprecedented affluence, amid the squandering of the state's revenues and harnessing it for its personal interests and military actions.
denial of aid
Dozens of human rights and civil activists in Sana'a and areas controlled by the Houthis confirm that the reason for the high rates of families who are now looking for food in waste barrels is due first to the looting of employee salaries by the Houthis, as well as the great manipulation of the disbursement of humanitarian aid provided by the World Food Program and other international relief agencies. .
A relief worker in Sana'a told NewsYemen: The monitoring and evaluation teams found many unworthy cases of families benefiting from the World Food Program in Sana'a. These cases were imposed by civil parties loyal to the Houthis, who participated in the preparation of special lists. Eligible families included in the disbursement of food aid.
He added, "Houthi's major manipulation in the disbursement of aid and its failure to reach those who deserve it, and this was confirmed by the reports of the World Food Program, which confirmed that the Houthi militia steals food from the mouths of the hungry." He pointed out that some poor and needy cases were denied aid because they were not loyal to the Houthi militia or did not push their children to the frontlines.
The educator, M. Al-Azazi, an Arab teacher in one of the schools in the capital city, says: Our salaries were cut off years ago, and even the financial assistance provided by UNICEF was looted and manipulated, and even the food baskets provided by relief organizations were forbidden to us and our names were excluded.
He added, "All this suffering and harsh conditions will push many teachers and government employees to go out to search for jobs in private sectors to provide a living for their children, and in return they will dismiss you from their profession and replace you with others loyal to them."
Frightening expectations
Food insecurity in Yemen is still very high, according to United Nations reports, the latest of which is the World Food Program, which confirmed that half of Yemeni families were unable to meet their minimum needs during the month of October.
Several indicators show the high rates of unemployment and the spread of poverty among the Yemeni people. Recent statistics indicate that about 25.5 million people in Yemen out of a total population of 30 million are now living below the poverty line, and they are in dire need of support more than ever.
Alarming statements indicate that the coming months will witness an increase in the number of families who will not be able to secure basic meals or obtain the minimum amount of food. Where UN reports confirm that the level of annual deterioration in food security in Houthi-controlled areas is much higher than what is found in government-controlled areas. And that food access to Yemenis is still restricted, because the cost of the standard food basket is still high.
International aid groups have issued reports expressing concern about the impact of the global economic crisis on millions of Yemenis. They are already facing severe hardship due to the country's protracted war (now entering its ninth year) and are calling for increased international aid that will be directed to the country's most disadvantaged citizens.
However, doubts about the expected contribution of these organizations in facing new challenges are increasing due to their relatively poor performance during the previous period regarding the amount of funding they received.
Houthi starvation policy
The Houthi militia played a negative role in the deterioration of the economic and living conditions, after accumulating the largest possible amount of public funds, regardless of the losses to people's lives in the areas it controls. The group has been blatantly taking money from public revenue streams without giving it back to the people, including the salaries of public servants.
In a report, the Emirates Center for Studies confirms that the illegal fees imposed by the Houthi militia and the exorbitant taxes and fees imposed on merchants and importers in the areas under its control contribute to exacerbating these repercussions on the local population under its control.
The center stressed that the recent rise in global inflation has made Yemen's economic outlook more bleak. The humanitarian crisis in the country is expected to worsen with annual inflation rising to 45 percent this year, and food price inflation, in particular, rising to a much higher level of 58 percent.
According to the report, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance is expected to rise to 23.4 million by the end of the year. The number of severely food insecure people is expected to rise to 19 million.
As a result, it seems unlikely that the Houthi group will present constructive initiatives to address the negative effects of the new global economic challenges on the citizens in the areas under its control. It is also unlikely that it will follow procedures and measures to alleviate their suffering as long as these required measures are not consistent with their interests and their ability to generate higher financial income.
Spending money and looting revenue
Iran's repeated tampering with public money and its systematic policies of repression, looting and looting are among the main factors that forced the poor residents of the areas under its control to live in difficult conditions that cannot be expected or tolerated, despite the fact that the militias reap government revenues, especially from the port of Hodeidah, which amount to billions of riyals.
According to economic reports and official statistics, it revealed that the Houthi militia earns annually more than 600 billion Yemeni riyals (equivalent to one billion US dollars), which are huge revenues from customs and tax revenues, not to mention the hundreds of millions that it reaps from the revenue sectors, foremost among which are communications, one billion riyals, and duties The zakat from which you reap huge amounts of money.
During the last 6-month UN armistice period, until mid-November, the Houthi militia obtained huge revenues from the port of Hodeidah, amounting to about 400 billion Yemeni riyals, but these revenues go in favor of higher Houthi leaders, or to arm the militias and support their military operations.
All these revenues and large numbers of money looted by the Houthis for years, but government employees in the areas under their control have been deprived of their salaries for years. At a time when the militia is reviving parties and events affiliated with it and squandering billions of riyals to achieve its sectarian and military agenda, including holding recent wedding ceremonies on which sums of more than 6 billion riyals were spent. With the aim of attracting more new fighters and sending them to the battle fronts.
