“Imagine losing one of your legs while you are in the prime of your youth!” With this hypothetical question, the 23-year-old Yemeni young man, Majed Saeed, begins his talk to “Khuyut”. He answers himself: "You will lose everything, and you will become just a body lying there in the corner of your place; no one will care about you."
Three years ago, Majed was in his early twenties, after completing his secondary education, dreaming of moving from his small village in the district of Mawza (southwest of Taiz) to the city, in order to start his university studies; Had it not been that a landmine assassinated his dream and turned his life to hell, he says.
After examining his shattered leg in the hospital due to the mine explosion, it seemed to the doctors that not amputating it would cause him serious health complications, so they resorted to amputating it. With great sadness, Majed says that this injury stopped his life completely, and he could do nothing; Even taking care of himself requires someone to help him.
Majed describes the three years he spent on a wheelchair as the most difficult period of his life, as he never expected that he would lose his leg and sit at home in bed, and sorrowfully see his friends playing football while is unable to join them although he has never missed playing with them for years.
Many perpetrators
It had not been a year since Mutee' Saif, 32, was displaced from Al-Arbaeen Street, northwest of Taiz, to a nearby neighborhood there until the beginning of 2020. Unfortunately, while returning home, he was hit by a shell coming from a site controlled by Ansar Allah (Houthis), which led to the loss of his legs, in addition to injuries to his viscera and some vital organs such as the lung and spine; which caused him a complete paralysis in his lower limbs, making him confined to bed.
Despite the many health problems caused by the "stray" shell inside Mutee''s bowels, the loss of his legs was, for him, more painful incident which affected his life, he said.
The day after the injury, Mutee was in the third level at the Faculty of Law at Taiz University, and because of it, he could no longer continue his eduction. He tells "Khuyut" in a sad tone: "I want to continue my studies, but what do you expect from a person with a mobility disability who is no longer able to get to the university or move with ease?"
Mutee' is supporting two children. He is no longer able to work to provide everything they want, after he is confined to the house. Moreover, he is obliged to pay medical expenses on regular basis, and to pay the rent for housing. He says there are other difficulties associated with his transportation from home to the medical treatment centers; as he is in constant need of visiting the doctor, and it became necessary now to have a companion to take him from home to the doctor.
Mutee confirmed that he could not accept or adapt to his new situation, and the most painful is the fact that he was healthy and with a big dream, and suddenly becoming on a wheelchair and unable to move; all your dreams have become just phantasm. He said.
However, the causes of disability are not always because of land mines; it may also come from above, as a result of the air raids of the "coalition" aircrafts, as is the case with Mohammad al-Matari, who lost his left arm, during an air raid targeting Attan Mountain neighborhood (southwest of Sanaa) in early 2016.
It is noteworthy that the aircraft carried out more than three raids on the neighborhood in which he lives, one of them was very close to his house, whose windows turned into flying shards, one of which hit his arm. After a while, his injury worsened to the extent that the doctors were unable to contain the damage, so it was decided to amputate it, according to Al-Matari statement to "Khuyut".
He added that he has been suffering from severe pain because of the injury for long time; As per the doctors, that is because the shrapnel perhaps contained chemicals used to make missiles which is the reason his treatment took so long.
Physical therapies may not be of any benefit if the amputee is not psychologically supported; Therefore, psychological rehabilitation is very important, in order to help the disabled to recover and accept their situation.
Scars that don't heal
Far from the handicap and physical disfigurement left by that "reckless" shell, Mutee' has psychological scars that he suffers from, which are almost unhealed. Until this moment. He still remembers the details of the incident that changed his life completely, and sometimes feels that his existence is useless, as his feeling of disability is so severe that it has become, for him, the loss of life in general.
On the other hand, Majed Saeed suffers a great pain as a result of losing one of his limbs, and confirms that his psychological state is no longer the same as before, and that he has retracted many things he was planning, He concluded that he gave up many things he was planning, and considers that losing one of his limbs is also no less important than losing his life in general.
In the same regard, Dr. Muhammad Hizam Al-Maqrami, professor of psychiatry at Sana’a University, said in his interview with “Khuyut” that many people who lost their limbs because of the war need psychological rehabilitation above all, because it is not easy for someone accepts the disability that has occurred to him. Therefore, physical treatments may not be of any benefit if the person is not psychologically supported; psychological rehabilitation is very essential, in order to help the disabled to recover and accept the new situation.
There is no confirmed statistics on the number of mines that were planted in some areas that were a field of conflict between the warring parties, but the United Nations holds the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) fully responsible for the lives of civilians who are victims of mines.
What did the war do?
Statistics indicate that there are more than six thousand civilians who have lost their limbs due to the war in Yemen, most of them as a result of an explosion, a mine or a gunshot, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and most of them suffer from poor health, in addition to the dire economic conditions of many of them that hinder their recovery.
The parties to the conflict have planted huge areas in various regions of the country with landmines, which have caused disabilities to thousands of citizens, in addition to claiming the lives of others. Until the end of 2019, the Group of Eminent Experts (GEE) had documented about 728 child mine victims in different areas of Taiz Governorate including about 579 wounded who lost parts of their bodies.
According to Oxfam, mines in Taiz disabled 1,040 people between 2015 and 2019. There is no confirmed statistics on the number of mines that were planted in some areas that were a field of conflict between the warring parties. However, the United Nations holds the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) fully responsible for the fatalities among civilians who are victims of mines, as it is responsible for planting most of the areas with landmines.
Further, a study issued by Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, early last year, entitled "The Hunger Industry", revealed that the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) had planted thousands of landmines in different areas, including Taiz governorate, and they impeded the movement of citizens. The same study indicated that the "joint forces" on the western coast (backed by the UAE) have not cleared mines from those conflicting areas since they took control of the area in 2017, which makes the residents under constant risks.
