The war in Yemen since the middle of the second decade of the third millennium has led to the fragmentation of the country's geography into parts shared by the parties to the conflict, while this fragmentation has caused major problems for the movement of citizens throughout the country. Since the parties to the conflict have shared influence over Yemeni geography, the traveler cannot move from one governorate to another and from north to south - and vice versa – without the countless obstacles on the way; confusion, suspicions, imprisonment and even death awaiting travelers at checkpoints and contact lines between the battle fronts.
In light of the rupture of the military establishment into wings loyal to this or that party in the war going on until today, the military and security sectors, which supposed to be charged with protecting the citizen and organizing the affairs of daily life, have been replaced by sectarian armed groups that glorify fighting as a sacred duty. They even wear military uniforms and security clothes, until these two most important institutions that guarantee the security of citizens and their rights to freedom of movement, tainted with violations of most human rights, and stained with the blood of innocents.
This fragmentation has created multiple problems for citizens and business owners, as movement between one governorate and another, or between Yemen and other countries, is still very difficult and fraught with risks that may amount to arbitrary detention or killing. In addition, travelers between governorates still suffer from the hardship of long and rugged roads, which were developed after the geography of the country was divided into squares shared by conflicting parties for armed confrontations.
Impacts of the war
The war generated more fears due to the emergence of regional, racist and sectarian tendencies, as not a day passes without dozens being detained or imprisoned because of their family surnames or even the similarity of names, and sorting out at the level of party, ideological and tribal affiliation, all in light of the absence of the slightest margins of personal freedoms and violation of civil rights.
Ahmed Mohammad, a resident of Ibb governorate, was on a visit to his sister in Al-Baidha governorate, as she has a newborn and social traditions require exchanging visits on such occasions. However, Ahmed was unable at that time to conduct his family visit, as a result of the difficulties and obstacles he faced on the Dhammar Al-Bayda road. In his talk to "Khuyut", he describes the tragedies of the war and its division of the one and unified Yemeni geography, which dragged us back to before the nineties of the last century, and reminds us of the bloody conflicts in the pre-unity era until 1994.
Ahmed says: "When I was on my way from Ibb, I did not face any problem, until I reached the outskirts of the city of Al-Baidha, specifically at the "Abu Hashem" point, as they call it. This check point affiliated with the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) became known to travelers for its strictness in implementing unjustified security measures, sorting out every suspect or reported person, and arresting some travelers.
The "Abu Hashem" security point is located near the city of Rada'a, on the road linking the northern governorates under the control of Ansar Allah (Houthis), and the city of Marib, which is under the control of the internationally recognized government - as a point of contact between the parties to the conflict - and Ahmed added: "When we arrived in a bus full of passengers, we were surprised by the long queue of cars on the road, while the passengers, waiting for investigation by the security check point director, when it was my turn, he read my name, looked at my card and said: "The nickname is suspicious, and you will remain here until the investigations are completed; Let us make sure that you are not heading to Marib or Aden.” Thus, I was detained without committing any illegal act or knowing the reason why I am arrested, and then I asked myself: “Is my surname which has been passed down from the ancestors for generations shall be considered a crime that resulted in my detention!?”
The citizen, Naef Saleh, was on his way to Aden airport along with his mother, who had heart disease, seeking medical care out of Yemen, but a checkpoint at the entrance to the city of Aden did not allow him to continue on his way, so he was unable to travel.
Ahmed underwent extensive investigations at the checkpoint, during which Ahmed’s mobile phone was inspected and all of its contents were reviewed without regard to personal privacy. His phone was also subjected to a procedure to restore all deleted contents. However, they found nothing to condemn him. “They found nothing to support their hypothesis that I was a suspect, but they insisted on holding me in a place where I could not breathe, without giving me food or drink.” Ahmed later learned that the checkpoint members suspected his family surname, because one of the ministers in the internationally recognized government had the same surname. He continues: "This was the main reason for all that investigation, and after mediation and communications, they released me on the third day of arbitrary detention, but they did not allow me to continue traveling. They brought me back to Ibb governorate suffering of fatigue and travel and feeling sad about this painful reality."
From Ahmed’s talk, the scale of the tragedy that the Yemeni citizen suffers from under compelling circumstances and an absurd war, and how the fabric of the unified Yemeni society is being torn, appears, but Ahmed is only a model for the thousands of travelers whose human rights and the rights of their citizenship have been violated since the beginning of the war.
Naef Saleh, a resident of Sana'a governorate, spoke to Khuyut about the catastrophe of the war and its negative impact on the citizens in various areas of life, including the story of his attempt to transfer his mother for treatment outside Yemen. Naef says that his mother, who suffers from heart disease, was scheduled to travel abroad to implant a heart battery, and since Sanaa airport is closed to all flights, he had no other choice but to travel through Aden, and from there to outside Yemen.
He adds, "on our way to Aden, the road was full of potholes and bumps, and checkpoints, but according to the medical report from Azal Hospital, we were passing safely despite strict investigations at the checkpoints."
Naef also talked about the miserable of travel, and how the earth was burning while he was traveling the distance that has been increased in length, time and doubled its hardship between Sana'a and Aden. He says: "In August 2019, the conflict was raging between the UAE-backed Transitional Council and the internationally recognized government, and along the main roads to Aden, military posts stationed that sort out citizens on the basis of the side: north/south." According to the citizen, Naef Saleh, a checkpoint at the entrance to the city of Aden prevented him from continuing his trip towards the airport to transport his sick mother for treatment outside the country.
Peace is not reachable
Slogans of peace that Yemenis used to recite along the roads, vanished and disappeared, and in their place were slogans calling for the continuation of the war, and next to them are many pictures of the dead, and during all this, dozens of checkpoints that have been very aggressive and intimidating in dealing with travelers coming from areas controlled by the opposing party.
Amjad Majed, a resident of Taiz, a university student, talks to "Khuyut" about his travel trip after the exams, the troubles he faced while traveling from Sana'a to Taiz, and the extent of the hardship that burdened people, compared to the past, when the trip was by car or inter-provincial buses, take five hours at most. At the time of this war, Amjad's journey took about 15 hours, with the main port leading to the city from its eastern side closed. This difference in itself reflects the enormity of the war in destroying the infrastructure of both people and the state.
Goods are transported from the port in exchange for sums of money paid by merchants, including truck rentals and checkpoint fees. However, the density of points on the roads requires additional payments, and thus the costs of goods double above the purchasing price, transportation and levies, so that the final sale price becomes imaginary.
Amjad says: "I was on my way from Sana'a to Taiz, and when we reached the Al-Hawban area after a lot of trouble (east of Taiz city), we were stopped by a checkpoint where a number of soldiers wearing military uniforms were stationed. We all got down, men, women and children, according to the instructions of the personnel of the check point." Amjad adds that he later learned that all the passengers were removed from the bus, due to the presence of a passenger who was reported by the security operations room in Sana'a. He continues: "It was not our fault in that, and despite this, they stopped us for more than three hours in an investigation session, checking cards and phones, and a heavy search, speculating that the passengers were accomplices to the reported passenger. They did not respect women and children, or consider for the Yemeni and tribal customs, which requires protecting any person with his family and not obstructing his travel as a respect for women and kindness to children."
Death on the road
Fear intensifies in people's hearts day after day, fear of traveling in a homeland that is no longer safe. As has been seen and heard since the beginning of the war, many lives were lost on the roads as a result of armed robberies in long routes and deserts. Many travelers were also subjected to the theft of their money and savings by armed robbery gangs deployed in long and alternative lines, and left them to return to their homes empty-handed except from the misery of their long and exhausting exile outside their homeland.
Variety of Risks and damages
The damage was not limited to unarmed travelers, but the circle of danger expanded to include major merchants and businessmen, and truck drivers belonging to major merchants, whose goods were confiscated or prevented from reaching their destination if they did not pay huge amounts of money in exchange for allowing trucks transporting goods to pass through the checkpoints.
Another story reported by one of the drivers of oil and gas truck who was transporting a load of oil and gas from Ma'rib to Sanaa and to the rest of the governorates, spoke to "Khuyut", asking not to be named, about his experience in paying levies to checkpoints on the roads in areas controlled by the two main conflict parties. Yassin (a pseudonym) says that the goods are transported from the port, in return for sums of money paid by the merchants, including truck rentals and checkpoint fees. However, the density of checkpoints on the roads requires additional payments, especially at the points whose personnel demand large sums of money. “This is how the costs of goods double over the purchasing price, transportation and taxes, so that the final sale price becomes unbearable, and the victim of all this absurdity is the simple citizen,” Yassin added.
