Message for The International Community : A Permanent Peace is Better than An Unstable One
Since I was born, civil wars have always been part of my life and the lives of mostly all Yemenis. The modern history of Yemen can be easily read through series of civil wars : the 70’s war in the North, the 60’s and 86 wars in the South, the 94 one, and so on, till the global one, right now. No need to even mention the rigmarole of coups and tribal wars
We are not strangers to conflicts, but rather to permanent, democratic and sustainable peace. But today, the international community can make it happen
The agony of war is unintelligible in the hearts of the multitude. To fully comprehend it, you must be a victim of a violence conflict ; otherwise it will only remain an idea/a concept/an assumption of . what it is like to be living in a conflict
The United Nations and many international peace initiatives describe conflicts in terms of refugees, humanitarian crisis and number of deaths, among other criteria. Such a description results « reasonable » to give a big picture of what the suffering is about/looks like for the international audience and to intend to trigger an action
Yet, it fails to recognize, name and convey the deep agony and unspeakable grievances gradually ruining the hearts of this multitude surviving under civil wars
In this lies the collective indignity of my nation
Before the civil war erupted in Yemen, my country benefited from a certain level of respect and consideration among nations, built on our ancient history, culture and tradition. Unfortunately, this level of respect no longer exists, both nationally and internationally/at the national and international level. We are now looked upon as a battlefield between regional rivalries, a humanitarian crisis that must end and a nation with continuous need for international donations in order to save its children from famine
Stop. This narrow narrative must change and begin to shed light on the non-material aspect of the conflict, by recognizing and assuming (shouldering) the roots of the matter, and not only considering its consequences
We must end the civil war in Yemen by acknowledging the facts
Simple : Houthi rebels have been challenging the State institutions since 2003, and captured it in 2015 by violence means against civilians and non-civilians: killing and torturing, destroying houses and mosques
For what ends ? Clearly not with the aim of building a democratic State governed by the people, but rather establishing a theocratic Republic ran by a supreme leader like Iran (Iran like-minded)
Thus, our civil war is in actual fact about democracy, rule of law and imperative of justice. It is about the right of people to participate in political process through elections
These are the roots of conflict that international community has the moral obligation to tackle and restore, ceasing thus to legitimize militias over the State and above all people’s dignity
I am not saying that the legitimate government is innocent : it has failed to protect its citizens from the brutality of the rebels, and also failed to provide essential services in areas under its control. But we can fix the government, not the militias
We must save the remains of this democratic institution of Yemen, fix it and build on it
The real danger lies in contemplating the Government as one party of the conflict, among many others. No. Government is our social contract and thus it has to be protected. Within the Government and through State institutions, we can solve our differences and become capable of including all Yemenis in a collective process
We should not reward violence over democratic process. In doing so, we would pave the way to the greatest incentive to the next war
Let’s end the humanitarian crisis together, and maintain the surviving State institutions. Both are essential to the achievement of the permanent peace and democracy my people deserve
By
Mohammed bin Al-Wazir Al-Awlaqi
