Dreams of Yemen

"A dreamer is one who can find his way by moonlight and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world"  Oscar Wilde

I dream of a Yemen where everyone has a roof on top of their head
I dream of a Yemen where everyone has a meal on their table
I dream of a Yemen where poverty is addressed and managed

I dream of a Yemen where electricity and water are a norm not a privilege
I dream of a Yemen where health and education are a basic right
I dream of a Yemen where infrastructure is actually built not just planned

I dream of a Yemen where a woman in labour can see her newborn *
I dream of a Yemen where an infant * can survive and grow into a healthy child
I dream of a Yemen where a child can safely go to school, instead of work or be wed

I dream of a Yemen where freedom, justice, and equality are a reality
I dream of Yemen where rights are respected, granted and opinions freely expressed
I dream of a Yemen where we can choose who represents and leads us

I dream of a Yemen where there is no North or South
I dream of a Yemen where injustices and grievances are rectified
I dream of a Yemen we all, equally strive to repair and rebuild together

I dream of a Yemen where positions are earned due to merit not family name, gender, tribe or region
I dream of a Yemen with a civil state that adheres to human rights and gender equality
I dream of a Yemen where a woman's role is not confined to her household or family

I dream of a Yemen where Qat chewing is an old shunned habit
I dream of a Yemen where water is efficiently used to irrigate crops
I dream of a Yemen where fields and valleys are filled with coffee and grapes

I dream of a Yemen with no association to al Qaeda and terrorism
I dream of a Yemen as a tourist destination for heritage and hospitality
I dream of a Yemen as a haven for tourists to admire and enjoy

I dream of a Yemen who's resources are reinstated, enhanced and generated
I dream of a Yemen who's lands and ports are respected and safeguarded
I dream of a Yemen where neighboring countries leave us alone, if not wanting our well-being

I dream of a Yemen where foreign companies are not exploiting us
I dream of a Yemen where western and regional forces can't choose our leaders, nor shape our future
I dream of a Yemen where dominant political figures empower our youth to lead

I dream of a Yemen where change yearned for, is attained and dignity restored
I dream of a Yemen where precious martyrs lives are not lost in vain
I dream of a Yemen where no further blood is shed nor homes destroyed

I dream of Yemen where the revolution albeit the longest will be the most peaceful
I dream of a Yemen who's revolution succeeds and is taught in history books
I dream of a Yemen which we struggled for, become what we want and more

I dream of a Yemen that is respected and esteemed by the world
I dream of a Yemen that can once again be called Arabia Felix
I dream of a Yemen that we can all return to and proudly say is our homeland

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe"- Gail Devers

Peace

Links used:
UNICEF statistics
Child Labour in Yemen

Faces from Yemen's Revolution: Noon Arabia

It was an honor to be featured  as a 'Face from Yemen's Revolution', in an article in Yemen Times by Shatha al-Harazi
Faces from Yemen's Revolution: Noon Arabia

Shatha Al-Harazi
Published:22-08-2011


Noon Arabia has become one of the main sources for information on currents events sprouting out in Yemen in the world of Twitter. Her up-to-date page usually receives ‘Top Tweets’ which has earned her 2496 followers. Noon advocates for the success of the Youth Revolution in Yemen – her news tweets is written in both Arabic and English which has earned her a wider audience across the web. Noon Arabia also keeps her identity anonymous due to security reasons; however this has not been a set-back as people seem more readily to trust the information she tweets.

Her twitter sub-heading is simple yet lyrical ‘Yemeni by birth, Egyptian by choice, Arab by identity, A diplomat’s daughter, a citizen of the world, a natural born activist with a passion for politics and poetry’. Not a soul knows the location of Noon Arabia except that she’s tweeting from outside Yemen nevertheless she tweets a great deal of information in relation to the Youth Revolution protests which has gone on for over 6 months in Yemen. Therefore Yemen Times newspaper has obtained an interview with the mysterious activist. When asked why she doesn’t reveal her true identity, she explained quite resolutely “My father was a prominent and known statesman and Ambassador and I keep my name mysterious not out of fear but because I don’t want to jeopardize my family.” Noon explained.

Noon is not a stranger to travelling, while her father was an ambassador she travelled to many places across the world; Canada, Italy and Iran to name a few. And due to her Egyptian husband’s job, she’s travelled further afield. Conclusively she’s lived in Yemen only for a few years, she further said “I lived in Yemen a total of 7 years yet I have a strong sense of pride and belonging, thanks mainly to my father who made sure every year that we spent most of our summer holiday in Yemen”. A mother of four children and her new line of work is an online activist, championing for the Revolution across the Arab world to blossom and thrive. An educated Yemini with a B.A in Political Science with a minor in Economics and thus she explains her passion for politics.

With various skills and tools at her disposal, most notably her expertise in languages, she has contributed immensely to the cause of the Yemeni Revolution with up to-date information on the humanitarian crisis and changes occurring on the ground.

She became politically active during the Egyptian revolution using Facebook as her vehicle of choice. And as the revolution spread to Yemen she readily switched her platform to Twitter because as she pointed out it has a more dynamic feel and she can reach more people. She exclaims “I had no idea I would have so many followers, what mattered to me the most is for people to know what was going on in Yemen, since there was minimal news coverage about the revolution in Western and Regional media-outlets who all seemed to support President Saleh ” She further added “I am also an admin on one of the Facebook pages that covers the news of the revolution and I have been hosted on BBC Arabic and English radio stations a couple of time to express my views.”

Noon believes that social media is an important tool to be used and utilized for the Yemeni revolution because it formulates interaction between the youth in Yemen and those abroad and among activist in other Arab countries. Social media has helped the flow of information to be available among different regions of Yemen, conversely one would think that due to the high level of illiteracy in Yemen and the increasingly power outages across the country, social media would have been sidelined and not used as a mobilizing force as we’ve seen in other Arab countries but even through these set-backs are severe, Noon mentions “it served to expose to the outside world what is really happening in Yemen, through the blogs, Facebook pages, YouTube videos and mainly twitter.”

Her anonymity online has proved to be a shield against threats or reprisals attacks “I am sure I would’ve otherwise [been attacked]. Many people I know whose names are public have been and a close family friend was shot at and survived an assassination attempt.” Noon remarked.

Posts on Noon Arabia are updated almost continuously throughout the day, her research takes her to websites bearing the support of the State, oppositional websites, Yemeni Facebook pages, and YouTube videos, tweets and International news sources, and she asserted “Before I publish anything I usually verify the information with more than one source. I think my [real] name wouldn’t make a difference to my credibility, my followers know that I am a Yemeni who cares a lot about my country and want to make it a better place.”

At this critical juncture in Yemeni politics, she explains the best strategy is for the opposition, the Youth and all the factions in Yemen who are playing a part in the revolution to set aside their differences, political ideologies, principles and agenda’s and unify under one umbrella to coordinate their efforts efficiently to topple President Saleh’s regime, she exclaims “The National Council [which was recently formed –Editors note] is a good step, yet what is needed is better organization and coordination among its members, an equal representation of South Yemeni’s and more members from the civil society. The old political figures need to step aside and empower the youth to play a bigger role and bring about the change Yemen needs, after all this is a Youth’s Revolution”.

Yemen's Arhab, Bombarded Back to Prehistoric Times

While the world's media has been dominantly following news of  Libyan's rebel's advancement towards Libya's capital Tripoli, the massacre of civilans across the cities of Syria and the famine in Somalia, Yemen's news seem to be more and more marginalized.
Yemen hasn't been enjoying much media coverage since the beginning of the revolution mainly due to the lack of international and regional support for it. In addition there were only a handful of foreign journalist based in Yemen reporting. Most of the news about Yemen that seemed to make it to the headlines were the ones involving al Qaeda or President Saleh's medical condition after the June 3rd attack and his statements. News especially about Yemen's humanitarian suffering came secondary and hasn't reached the international media, as much, if ever.

Arhab is a district 20 kilometers north of Sanaa. It is near three camps of the elite Republican Guards, who benefited from significant American counterterrorism aid and are strategically located there guarding an entrance to Sanaa and the city's international airport. The Republican Guard forces headed by Saleh's son Ahmed, who also heads the special counterterrorism unit, have been brutally shelling and bombarding Arhab villages after they declared their support for the revolution, especially after some tribesmen prevented Republican Guards from heading to other provinces to crack down on anti-government protesters. Many tribal fighters, soldiers and civilans have been killed as a result and hundreds of families displaced yet the world rarely hears about them despite their daily suffering.

Since March 30th, the Republican Guards aided by the Air Force launched massive daily attacks against the tribes of Arhab and those of the nearby district of Nehm. The shelling disrupted the villagers lives, destroyed their homes and caused many residents to flee for safety elsewhere. Many of them sought refuge from further shelling in the caves of the surrounding mountains. By the end of June more than 1500 families were displaced, 95 houses completely destroyed and 150 houses partially destroyed, 28 citizens cars, in addition to 16 water wells, 10 farm valleys and 4 mosques were also destroyed during the bombings. By July, and according to UN reports an estimated 9500 IDPs fled their homes in search of safety from heavy shelling and air strikes. In August 6th, 40 people had been killed, 120 wounded and more than 15 abducted and in August 16th alone 40 more people were killed, 26 were civilians, of which 14 were women and children.

The grounds of Arhab villages are filled with missile fragments and corpses scattered in different parts. Many efforts by the tribesmen and members of the International Red Cross to remove the decomposing dead bodies were prevented due to the continuos agressive military operations. 

The endless shelling of the Republican guards have terrorized the district and turned their lives into a living nightmare. Electricity and water has been absent for over 2 months. Due to the continuos shelling, supply lines have aslo been disrupted causing many to go hungry and much of the fruits and vegetables produced in the village fields were left to rot. As many homes became uninhabitable, people started living in caves, similar to prehistoric times, which have been randomly fitted with only floor mattresses, sheets or blankets as furniture, obviously lacking basics running water, sanitation and electricity.

"What criminal would force old women and children to live like this, especially during the holy month of Ramadan," said Hail Mohamed Ali, who has taken refuge in a cave with her daughters and grandchildren. "All of Arhab is against the regime, and those that surprised it in the past curse their stupidity."

Government rhetoric blamed the violence on, as usual, "armed militant groups"whom they claim are based in the district to justify their killings, yet residents blame the government for this unwarranted aggression.

The villages in the town of Yahis close to the 62 Republican Guard camp is one of the most damaged areas from the ongoing violence.

Amidst endless shelling many residents who feel helpless, angry, fearful and anxious, wonder if their life would ever be calm again. "I don't understand how a few villages of farmers could deserve punishment like this," said Saddam Haizan, pointing to his leg which was amputated below the knee after he was injured when a missile hit his home. "I just pray to God that this hell eventually ends."

Despite thier misery the children of Arhab still manage to put a smile on thier faces. Don't these innocent children deserve to live a peaceful and normal life like our children enjoy? Why should they be paying such a price for a conflict they were fatefully caught into?

Tribal leaders launched an appeal to the media and humanitarian organization to visit their villages and document the crimes committed daily against civilians and to expose to the international community the brutality of the Yemeni regime. 

If you read this posting and are a public figure or work in the media or a humanitarian organization, please help the villagers of Arhab and Nehm by shedding some light on their humanitarian crisis which is ongoing yet seems to be overlooked or ignored. 

Peace

For further links: 
http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2011/07/31/arhab-the-northern-frontline-of-the-yemeni-revolution/
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/08/07/119796/yemen-remains-unsettled-by-violent.html?
http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=3854 
http://www.yementimes.com/DefaultDET.aspx?SUB_ID=36442
http://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/arabic/subjects/5/2011/8/15/12014.htm
http://yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=36473
http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=3916&MainCat=3

Yemen's National Council

Opposition parties met today August 17th, to announce the formation of the long awaited national council which should lead the forces of the revolution aiming to take over power from President Saleh. It included members from the youth activists, civil society, Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), tribal, southern separatist and military leaders. The national council structure is a general assembly made up of 20 members, a national council names here below, and an executive board consisting of more than 1000 members. The executive committee consists of 20 names among these members. 
The opposition meeting was held at a hall in Sanaa University with tight security enforced by the defected First Armoured Division led by Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar.


English Names of the members of the National Council are:
1. Ahmad Al-Qatabi
2. Ahmad Bahaj
3. Ahmad Bazarah
4. Ahmad Salem Obeid
5. Ahmad Said Hashed
6. Amat Al-Salam Raja'a
7. Amal Al-Basha
8. Ameen Al-Akemi
9. Ensaf Mayo
10. Bushra Al-Maqtari
11. Bakeel Najee Al-Sofi
12. Taqeyah Abdulwahid Noman
13. Tawakul Karman
14. Jazim Saleh Al-Hadi
15. Jalal Faqerah
16. Jamal Al-Mutarib
17. Hassan Zaid
18. Hussien Abdo Abdullah
19. Hussien Arab
20. Hussien Ali Haitham
21. Hamoud Al-Hitar
22. Hameed Al-Ahmar
23. Hameed Al-Athari
24. Hamiar Abdullah Al-Ahmar
25. Horiya Mashhoor
26. Haidar Al-Attas
27. Khaled Ahmad Abdurabo Al-Awadi
28. Khaled Hareri
29. Rana Ahmad Ghanim
30. Salem Bin Taleb
31. Sa'ad Al-Deen Bin Taleb
32. Saeed Sa'adan
33. Sultan Al-Aradah
34. Sultan Hazim Al-Atawani
35. Sameer Shaybani
36. Sha'afel Omar
37. Shafee Al-Abd
38. Sheikh Najee Al-Shayef
39. Sadeq Bin Abdullah Al-Ahmar
40. Saleh Bin Fareed Al-Awlaqi
41. Saleh Samee
42. Saleh Obied Ahmad
43. Saleh Mohsen Al-Haj
44. Sakhr Ahmad Al-Wajeeh
45. Salah Muslim Batees
46. Tareq Al-Fadli
47. Al-Thaheri Al-Shadadi
48. Abdulhafed Noman
49. Abdulrazzaq Al-Hajri
50. Abdulsalam Razaz
51. Abdulqawee Rashad
52. Abdulallah Hassan Al-Hajj
53. Abdullah Salam Al-Hakemi
54. Abdullah Awad Bamatraf
55. Abdulbaree Doghesh
56. Abdulrahman Al-Jefri
57. Abdulrahman BaFadl
58. Abdulqaweee Al-Shameri
59. Abdulkareem Al-Aslami
60. Abdullah Al-Nakhebi
61. Abdullah Hassan Khayrat
62. Abdullah Sa'atr
63. Abdullah Ali Alewa
64. Abdullah Awbal
65. Abdullah Noman
66. Abdulmalik Al-Mikhlafi
67. Abdulwasi Hayel
68. Abdulwahab Al-Anesi
69. Abdulwahab Mahmoud
70. Abdo Beshr
71. Abdulbaree Taher
72. Alawi Al-Basha Bin Zai
73. Ali Al-Hadi
74. Ali Al-Amrani
75. Ali Al-Mamari
76. Ali Al-Yazeedi
77. Ali Bin Ali Hadi
78. Ali Hassan Zaki
79. Ali Hussien Ashal
80. Ali Saleh Abad
81. Ali Abdurabo Al-Qadi
82. Ali Abdulkareem
83. Ali Ali Al-Emad
84. Ali Muhsen Saleh Al-Ahmar
85. Ali Mohammed Al-Faqesh
86. Ali Munaser
87. Ali Najee Al-Salahi
88. Ali Nasser Mohammed
89. Omar Abdo Qaed
90. Aydaros Al-Naqeeb
91. Ghassan Mohammed AbuLohoom
92. Fadl Ali Abdullah
93. Faisal Mana'a
94. Qaed Ali Shater
95. Lutfi Shatarah
96. Majed Al-Thahab
97. Muhsen Basurrah
98. Muhsen Bin Fareed Al-Awlaki
99. Mohammed Abubakr Bin Ajromah
100. Mohammed Ahmad Al-Zayedi
101. Mohammed Al-Hamed
102. Mohammed Al-Sa'adi
103. Mohammed Al-Sabri
104. Mohammed Al-Thaheri
105. Mohammed Al-Mikhlafi
106. Mohammed Al-Mansour
107. Mohammed Al-Yadomi
108. Mohammed Bin Najee Al-Ghader
109. Mohammed Hassan Dammaj
110. Mohammed Salem BaSendewah
111. Mohammed Abdullah BaSharaheel
112. Mohammed Abdulmalek Al-Mutwakil
113. Mohammed Ali Abulohoom
114. Mohammed Ali Ahmad
115. Mohammed Ali Al-Bukhaiti
116. Mohammed Ali Al-Shadadi
117. Mohammed Qahtan
118. Mohammed Muqbel Al-Hemyari
119. Mohammed Najee Alaw
120. Mohammed Haitham
121. Mukhtar Mohammed Saeed
122. Mansour Al-Zandani
123. Mona Safwan
124. Muneer Al-Maweri
125. Nasser Ahmad Abad Al-Shareef
126. Nasser Al-Awlaqi
127. Nayef Al-Qanas
128. Nasr Al-Shaheri
129. Nasr Taha Mustafa
130. Hadi Mohammed Amer
131. Hayel Salam
132. Huda Alban
133. Huda Al-Attas
134. Hisham BaSharaheel
135. Haitham Qassim Taher
136. Waed BaTheeb
137. Waheeba Sabrah
138. Yaseen Saeed Noman
139. Yahya Mansour Abo Osbah
140. Yahya Al-Jaferi
141. Yahya Munasser142. Brigader Yahya Al-Shami
143. Ameen Al-Ghabesh

: أسماء اعضاء المجلس الوطني لقوى الثورة السلمية
1. احمد القعطبي
2. أحمد باحاج
3. أحمد بازرعة
4. أحمد سالم عبيد
5. أحمد سيف حاشد
6. أمة السلام رجاء
7. أمل الباشا
8. أمين العكيمي
9. أنصاف مايو
10. بشرى المقطري
11. بكيل ناجي الصوفي
12. تقية عبد الواحد نعمان
13. توكل كرمان
14. جازم صالح الحدي
15. جلال فقيره
16. جمال المترب
17. حسن زيد
18. حسين عبده عبدالله
19. حسين عرب
20. حسين علي هيثم
21. حمود الهتار
22. حميد الاحمر
23. حميد العذري
24. حمير عبد الله الأحمر
25. حورية مشهور
26. حيدر العطاس
27. خالد احمد عبدربه العواضي
28. خالد حريري
29. رنا احمد غانم
30. سالم بن طالب
31. سعد الدين بن طالب
32. سعيد سعدان
33. سلطان العرادة
34. سلطان حزام العتواني
35. سمير شيباني
36. شعفل عمر
37. شفيع العبد
38. الشيخ ناجي الشائف
39. صادق بن عبدالله الاحمر
40. صالح بن فريد العولقي
41. صالح سميع
42. صالح عبيد احمد
43. صالح محسن الحاج
44. صخر أحمد الوجيه
45. صلاح مسلم باتيس
46. طارق الفضلي
47. الظاهري الشدادي
48. عبد الحافظ نعمان
49. عبد الرزاق الهجري
50. عبد السلام رزاز
51. عبد القوي رشاد
52. عبد الله حسن الحاج
53. عبد الله سلام الحكيمي
54. عبد الله عوض بامطرف
55. عبدالباري دغيش
56. عبدالرحمن الجفري
57. عبدالرحمن بافضل
58. عبدالقوي الشميري
59. عبدالكريم الاسلمي
60. عبدالله الناخبي
61. عبدالله حسن خيرات
62. عبدالله صعتر
63. عبدالله علي عليوه
64. عبدالله عوبل
65. عبدالله نعمان
66. عبدالملك المخلافي
67. عبدالواسع هائل
68. عبدالوهاب الآنسي
69. عبدالوهاب محمود
70. عبده بشر
71. عدالباري طاهر
72. علوي الباشا بن زبع
73. علي الحدي (يافع)
74. علي العمراني
75. علي المعمري
76. علي اليزيدي
77. علي بن علي هادي
78. علي حسن زكي
79. علي حسين عشال
80. علي صالح عباد
81. علي عبد ربه القاضي
82. علي عبدالكريم
83. علي علي العماد
84. علي محسن صالح الأحمر
85. علي محمد القفيش
86. علي منصر
87. علي ناجي الصلاحي
88. علي ناصر محمد
89. عمر عبده قائد
90. عيدروس النقيب
91. غسان محمد أبو لحوم
92. فضل علي عبدالله
93. فيصل مناع
94. قائد علي شاطر
95. لطفي شطاره
96. ماجد الذهب
97. محسن باصره
98. محسن بن فريد العولقي
99. محمد أبوبكر بن عجرومة
100. محمد احمد الزايدي
101. محمد الحامد
102. محمد السعدي
103. محمد الصبري
104. محمد الظاهري
105. محمد المخلافي
106. محمد المنصور
107. محمد اليدومي
108. محمد بن ناجي الغادر
109. محمد حسن دماج
110. محمد سالم باسندوه
111. محمد عبد الله باشراحيل
112. محمد عبدالملك المتوكل
113. محمد علي أبو لحوم
114. محمد علي احمد
115. محمد علي البخيتي
116. محمد علي الشدادي
117. محمد قحطان
118. محمد مقبل الحميري
119. محمد ناجي علاو
120. محمد هيثم
121. مختارمحمد سعيد (المهرة)
122. منصور الزنداني
123. منى صفوان
124. منير الماوري
125. ناصر احمد عباد الشريف
126. ناصر العولقي
127. نائف القانص
128. نصر الشاهري
129. نصر طه مصطفى
130. هادي محمد عامر
131. هائل سلام
132. هدى البان
133. هدى العطاس
134. هشام باشراحيل
135. هيثم قاسم طاهر
136. واعد باذيب
137. وهبية صبره
138. ياسين سعيد نعمان
139. يحى منصور ابو اصبع
140. يحي الجفري
141. يحي منصر
142. يحيى الشامي (اللواء
143. امين الغبش

P.S: This post will be updated regularly once more details are available.

The Holy Month of Ramadan

Allow me to tell you what is Ramadan and why is it Holy to Muslims. Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic Lunar Calender and the first month in which the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). "Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down to mankind as a guidance and judgement between right and wrong..." (2:185). The word Ramadan derives from the Arabic word "Ramida" which means intense heat and dryness, the feelings a Muslim experiences during fasting.
Ramadan is a holy month observed by more than 1 billion Muslims. It is the Islamic month of fasting in which Muslims restrain themselves in many ways, not only refraining from eating or drinking from the first ray of sunlight till sunset. By experiencing hunger and thirst a Muslim sympathizes with those underprivileged, who have little to eat every day of the year. Ramadan teaches lessons of equality, patience and humility. In this month Muslims are generally more spiritual and submissive to God, whereby they purify their behavior (practice good manners and speech), increase their good deeds, give more charity, intensify prayers and spend more time reading the Quran. Ramadan is also a festive season, where Muslims break their fast and share their meals together with family, friends and neighbors. Streets are decorated and young children go around their neighborhoods holding colored lanterns and chanting songs of Ramadan, this ritual whoever in no longer seen in many modern Islamic cities. Ramadan is an occasion to strengthen the bonds among the family, the community and the world. Hence it is a month of spirituality, mercy and compassion, charity and generosity, solidarity and joy, patience and perseverance and above all peace. 
Muslims celebrate the arrival of the holy month by greeting each other with phrases such as "Ramadan Karim" i.e Ramadan is generous or "Ramadan Mubarak" which means Ramadan is blessed. Many prefer the first phrase especially since the second one reminds them of an era they don't wish to remember! Ramadan is a special time for Muslims where great values are manifested and observed during the month and should also be present during the whole year. 
This year Ramadan will be different and particularly difficult on Arab countries struggling in the Arab Spring. Many people are fighting for their freedoms and the word mercy unfortunately doesn't register with their regimes, nor with the soldiers and mercenaries who do not hesitate to kill any time of year.
May God bless us all during Ramadan and throughout the year with his forgiveness, mercy and peace and bring us closer to Him and to each other. Peace.