A review on the series “Sweet Magnolias”

by the deafening sounds of bombs destroying hospitals and every other building near them. Thousands of children are injured, laying in hospital beds all over the country. The wounded need food and medical supplies, but there is not enough. Parents watch their kids at the brink of dying from starvation and there is absolutely nothing they can do for them. This is what the world’s worst humanitarian crisis looks like.

Yemen is a country in the Middle East. It is also one of the Arab world’s poorest countries which was caused by the ongoing civil war. Yemen is suffering the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with over 24 million people in need of aid, and the world is silent. The media is not giving this serious situation even a fraction of their attention. These people are already experiencing famine and a plague, and the Coronavirus pandemic is adding more misery.

When and how did this all start?

It started in 2015, when the Houthis (a political and armed movement) rebelled against the government and began to seize territories. They managed to take over the capital of Yemen, Sana’a. Saudi Arabia started bombing Yemen to keep the Houthis out, but that just caused problems. With the support of the US, UK, and France, Saudi Arabia kept bombing Yemen, resulting in the death of thousands of civilians.

Who are Yemen’s Houthis and what do they want?

Houthis is a political and armed movement and their main goal is to fight political-religious issues. According to a Newsweek report, Houthis are fighting for “government accountability, the end to corruption, regular utilities, fair fuel prices, job opportunities for ordinary Yemenis and the end of Western influence”.

Both the Houthis and Saudi- led coalition are both at fault. The Houthis are not about to give up, meaning Saudi Arabia and their allies will not give up either. They will continue bombing Yemen, and we have no idea when they will stop. This is not fair to the Yemenis. The children of Yemen do not deserve to suffer for something that is not their fault.

“To help the situation in Yemen, I have used social media as a platform to spread awareness. I repost humanitarian organizations that collect donations towards Yemen on multiple social media platforms,” junior Imman Yimer said.

 

Yimer’s mother is half Yemeni. She never had a communication source with her family members from Yemen. Much like many other people, Yimer learned about the crisis in Yemen mostly from social media. She had heard about it a few times before, but she never got a grasp of the real situation until she saw posts about the war.

 

This conflict has left the children of Yemen traumatized. These families have been through unimaginable things including the non-stop violence. More than 2 million children have been displaced since this conflict started back in 2015. These children will need psychosocial support to help them overcome this extremely horrible situation and the traumas caused by the war.

 

“Even if the war ended today, it would be hard for Yemen and its people to go back to what it was like before,” Creator of Instagram account, Yemenforgotten, said.

 

Today there are hundreds of social media accounts that are dedicated to spreading awareness on what is going on in Yemen. “Yemenforgotten” is an Instagram account where two friends post pictures and explain what is happening in Yemen. They started this account 2018 because they were frustrated that Yemen was not getting the attention they deserve.

 

“It’s not right for this country live this way and it’s not right for us to act as if this is normal, and ignore the cruelty that is taking place here,” sophomore Amina Ali said.

 

How can you help?

I encourage others to educate themselves in order to support Yemen. When learning about this topic, consider that Yemen need us, regardless of who you are. With an understanding of what is going on, you can then spread awareness and donate money to credible charities. Another way you can help is by sharing GoFundMe/fundraising links and talking to your friends and families about what is happening. The people of Yemen are in desperate need of your help and support.

 

 

 

It is [NN1]

 

bright, sunny [NN2]

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to know more about these people. How big is this group? What is their end goal? Why is this happening? [NN7]