The current military conflict in Yemen started in 2015 as a civil war and has escalated further into an international issue. The country is experiencing the current biggest humanitarian catastrophe in the world. Approximately 24.1 million people are in urgent need and 3.3 million people had to leave war-torn Yemen in a search for a shelter and survival (UNHCR, 2019). Djibouti and the coast of Yemen are approximately 20 km away from each other, in a straight line by the sea. Djibouti is a place where thousands of people with different stories, reasons and problems meet. Around 27 thousands re ..read more

AUTHOR: ELLEN GRANT *ALL VIEWS ARE THOSE OF THE WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS OF THIS BLOG Ahmed Alshaiba is a Yemeni musician, now based in New York. He initially rose to prominence after posting videos of himself covering modern, Western pop songs, such as ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran, on the oud. The oud is a traditional string instrument, similar to a lute and most commonly used in Western Asia and North Africa. Although it was his versions of contemporary songs that first garnered attention, Ahmed’s own original songs have also attracted millions of views, and he is currently working on a debut al ..read more

AUTHOR: BEATRICE EFIMOV *ALL VIEWS ARE THOSE OF THE WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS OF THIS BLOG Firstly, let us be clear that both US and UK made weapons are being used in the war in Yemen. This has recently been corroborated by a report published in 2019 by Mwatana for Human Rights, University for Human Rights and Pax, which examined 27 unlawful Coalition led attacks in Yemen. The report has found that out of the 27 attacks, remnants of US- made weapons were found in 25 of the cases and remnants of UK- made weapons were discovered in five of the cases. It must be noted that alone in 2018, Mwatana ..read more

AUTHOR: STINA NOELKEN *ALL VIEWS ARE THOSE OF THE WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS OF THIS BLOG  The word of 2016, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, was “post-truth”, a term that describes the triumph of emotion over reason, lies over truth (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016). In focus here were primarily the U.S. with its presidential election and the UK’s Brexit referendum, debates that arose in the culture of post-truth politics and that prioritised the appeal to emotion over facts and expert opinion. And now in 2019, post-truth politics still play a major role in the U.S.’s and UK’s external af ..read more

AUTHOR: Bonnie Mayall *ALL VIEWS ARE THOSE OF THE WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS OF THIS BLOG In March of 2015, Yemen’s civil war mutated into a full-scale conflict which has already claimed the lives of around 6,000 people and forced a further 2.5 million to flee their homes. (Independent, 2016) These staggering figures are the effect of Saudi-led airstrikes targeting civilian hubs - schools, hospitals, and markets - catalysed by the deposed Yemeni government in an attempt at political restoration. The conflict’s devastation is deep and ongoing, with the UN estimating that 8.6 million Yemenis are ..read more

AUTHOR: MANAL GHANEM *ALL VIEWS ARE THOSE OF THE WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS OF THIS BLOG There comes a time when you question where you belong in this life. Is the nationality stamped on your passport the definitive answer to this question? Confusion about your place and identity can become more apparent when your country is not going through stable times. I come from Yemen, and I have struggled with my country up until I felt rooted so deep due to the current war raging and destroying my country.  Growing up I realized it is not utter devotion that makes you a good citizen. It is a mixture o ..read more

AUTHOR: LYNSAY HOLMES *ALL VIEWS ARE THOSE OF THE WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS OF THIS BLOG I do not know her, her life not in view, Privilege removed from the war at weigh, Little souls losing their light day by day, I will never understand all she’s been through.                                              Uprooted to hospital, futile fight, Now nothing but beds of sunken faces. Yet human hope grows in hard places, A prayer on her finger waiting for light With hope of healing for the ones she loves, She has survived beating all that has been. The seeds outside in wait of waking bring Hope th ..read more

Author: Ellen Grant *All views are those of the writers and contributors of this blog Despite the hyper-connectedness of our world, the borderless reach of the internet, the multiculturalism of our cities, it has, in recent times, felt like our societies are starting to splinter. Our differences are being touted as a threat rather than an opportunity; barriers are being built rather than broken. Working against this trend is Ravid Kahalani and his musical collective, Yemen Blues, who use their art to transcend borders, stereotypes and limitations. Yemen Blues is a celebration of diversity. A ..read more

Author: Alison McIntyre *All views are those of the writers and contributors of this blog When the Arab Spring swept across North Africa and the Middle East in 2011, Yemen was ready for change. High levels of unemployment and dissatisfaction with the then president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had been ruling since the reunification of Yemen in 1990, meant that a change in leadership was imminent. In 2012, the appointment of Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi as the new president promised to bring stability to Yemen. Instead he inherited a country weakened by unemployment, food insecurity, jihadist attacks, s ..read more