Last January, a British child starved to death next to his father's body, who is believed to have passed away due to a heart attack. This incident shocked the British public, prompting accusations of negligence against various authorities for failing in their duties. Both the police and social services were accused, and the incident was referred to the judiciary, awaiting the results of the investigation.
This is how state institutions behave; as there is a responsibility assigned to an individual or entity that they have not fulfilled. It is natural for them to bear the responsibility for their shortcomings and negligence because accountability necessitates it. The presence of that individual in that position was not a reward but a commission, with its benefits as well as its requirements and duties. It seems that this incident will continue to trouble the media and public opinion for a long time, and its repercussions may extend to the upcoming electoral campaigns.
Such matters in our society are considered very normal, and perhaps occur on a daily basis; people die of hunger on the roadside and in their homes without anyone noticing them. This inevitably happens in normal circumstances when some believe that things are stable. Here, in our context, there is no legally authorized entity to monitor people's conditions, but there are many entities lurking around them at every corner.
In January, a professor at Aden University passed away in her apartment in Al-Mu'alla. No one knew about the incident until the smell of death emanated from the apartment. What is strange is that the university did not notice or miss the lecturer, who had spent thirty years of her life in the corridors and halls of the Faculty of Education in Aden. Of course, the university didn't fall short in its duty; it sent a message of condolence!
It is said that the position of Dr. Tahira Issa's body indicates that she was attempting to seek help from her neighbors, but she did not succeed. The neighbors themselves did not feel any responsibility towards their neighbor, which is a religious, moral, and humanitarian responsibility. The Prophet Muhammad said: "Gabriel continued to advise me about the neighbor until I thought he would make him an heir." Actually, that is a nation that has strayed from its values, and it seems that we have lost them irreversibly.
“The economic issue emerges as a culmination of the idea of the blitzkrieg war, which has extended over time, nearing a decade, and whose threads slipped through the fingers of the coalition. In a moment when all local and regional agendas intertwined with the coalition's agendas, which are no longer hidden, forming a rolling ball of crises resulting from contradictions in intentions and goals.”
The issue may seem ordinary in the circumstances of contemporary civil life in many countries. However, we have surpassed these ordinary cases conventionally, towards the evasion of those who appoint themselves “in place of state authority," from their simplest constitutional responsibilities towards their homeland and the citizen (regardless of their origin, gender, ethnicity, region, lineage, or status).
Likewise, on a scorching summer day, a retired man passed away while waiting in line, hoping for a pension to be granted to him, symbolizing the end of a lifetime he spent in the service of a virtual state that considered him nothing but a number among countless others. The tragedy passed unnoticed during the month of fasting, yet only a few protested in a low voice that could hardly be heard. It was said that the Prime Minister was unaware of the incident at the time; otherwise, he would have swiftly ordered the arrest of all those responsible for delaying people's salaries, and that even he and his team would have tendered their resignation as a gesture of acknowledgment of the magnitude of the tragedy. But, unfortunately, he was sluggish that night after a heavy, exhausting meal, and was unable to perform his duties, sparing the government from his wrath.
Similarly, just a few days ago, a starving child girl was killed by a garbage container overturned on her already lifeless body. Perhaps the container felt pity for the child and her bleak future amidst the merciless hunger, or perhaps it wanted to expose the hypocrisy of the authorities' claims and the contradiction between their rhetoric and actions regarding their dedication to serving the community and its needs, with children being the priority. There has been no investigation into the incident, and not a single voice has stirred. We are a people without a guardian.
The Bitter Harvest Disaster
Hunger gnaws at everyone except those favored by the authorities with their abundant generosity. Salaries are either nonexistent or delayed, their value dwindles, and the means of survival vanish without any official contemplating the dire circumstances under which people continue to cling to life.
For instance, once after the Dhuhr prayer at the mosque, as we were preparing for the funeral prayer, a man rose from the back row, shouting at the top of his lungs, expressing his willingness to relinquish his four children to anyone capable of providing them with food. He could no longer afford to feed them or provide medical care for their mother, who was suffering from a malignant illness. Can poverty drive a father to abandon his children? Yes, it can. When one is overwhelmed by humiliation, indignity, and poverty.
Recently, extremely alarming statistics regarding the numbers of suicides in some regions of the country have been published. Indicators of the suicide phenomenon are high in all regions of the country, even if they are being overlooked. The underlying and most common reason for this phenomenon is the loss of livelihoods and the lack of hope for the availability of opportunities in the near future. Some forces attribute cases of suicide in the West to the absence of religious moral restraint, whereas in our case, they have silenced their tongues; because they themselves represent a major cause of what is happening.
In fact, the Chamber of Commerce in Aden is the only institution among all others that has raised its voice against the dire state the country has reached. It is the only one that has addressed the real actor and perpetrator behind what is happening—the coalition—and therefore did not direct its discourse to the authorities here and there. The Aden Chamber of Commerce reminded the two poles of the coalition that these people are "your brothers" and therefore "it informs you" as a reminder about the situation that you have created with your hands, represented by "continuous deterioration of living and economic conditions resulting from a significant increase in inflation rates, coupled with the continuous deterioration in currency prices."
The currency's deterioration emerges as a single facet of a multi-faceted mythical creature that wreaks havoc on people's lives, While war comes as the biggest and foremost face in the scene for us and the most disappointing in all its aspects and manifestations for the coalition,
Then, the economic problem emerges as a culmination of the idea of the blitzkrieg war, which has extended over time, nearing a decade, and whose threads slipped through the fingers of the coalition. In a moment when all the local and regional agendas intertwined with the coalition's agendas, which are no longer hidden, forming a rolling ball of crises resulting from contradictions in intentions and goals.
“The dollar evaporates in auctions without achieving the proclaimed objectives. After the first auction of the current year, the local currency lost 20% of its value, and furthermore, there is a plan for a new auction that will devour $60 million. So, even if a slight improvement is achieved, it will not last long; 410 million dollars cannot save a state budget.”
The Chamber of Commerce's message to the Saudi and Emirati leadership has been interpreted in various ways, depending on the perspectives of those who read it. Some perceive it as an appeal and plea to the two states to address the issue and the dire situation stemming from the unknown that emerged in the country following their military intervention, while others interpret it as a poignant complaint against the entrenched corruption lobby that failed to accomplish even the slightest progress, especially in the economic file, as the economy continued to head towards disaster. The message unequivocally states: "We, at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with great sadness and pain, observe the dire situation and the poverty, hunger, and misery that have befallen the citizens, reaching a point where most of the population can no longer secure their food needs, and many families are limited to one meal a day, barely alleviating their hunger." It is noteworthy that individuals with financial resources and means are more cognizant of the potential consequences of the economic downturn, as they express feelings of "concern for the consequences of the current situation, which will inevitably lead to many economic and social disasters and disruptions, which have become imminent, with some already looming on the horizon, posing a serious development with unpredictable implications and repercussions." The essence of the message lies in this final statement only, while the rest preceding are empty phrases considering the actual meaning of the discourse, and here lies the call to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to rectify what has been corrupted before it is too late.
Where Does the Money Go?
Honestly, from our perspective, the message constitutes a clear indictment of the abysmal failure in managing the economic file that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have undertaken, mirroring precisely the military and security failures. The tempting question that arises for observers to pose is: "Why couldn't the two countries prove to the citizens that their presence in the country constitutes a better alternative? Was the contradiction in the goals of the two states the reason for the emergence of this situation? Or was it intentionally created from the outset to generate a turbulent state from all aspects, making stability an impossible demand, thereby thereby enabling the two states to achieve their own goals far from the eyes of people preoccupied with their daily concerns?"
The currency's value deteriorates daily (as if it were deliberate and planed), while the central bank lacks cash liquidity in the local currency despite the staggering amounts printed on an uncovered basis. Consequently, there's a missing link where money loses its way to the central bank; where does the money go? Neither the bank nor the authorities can collectively answer the question.
Moreover, the US dollar evaporates in auctions without achieving the proclaimed objectives. as after the first auction of the current year, the local currency lost 20% of its value, and there is a plan for a new auction that will devour $60 million. Even if a slight improvement is achieved, it will not last long; 410 million dollars cannot secure and save a state’s budget. On the other hand, the deterioration and scarcity of the old currency banknotes worsen daily, and they may soon lose their usability in the absence of logical alternatives capable of supporting the faltering economy.
Accordingly, price indicators are a decisive factor in determining the value of the currency, as citizens will not benefit from currency stability amidst rapid movement in the price index. Therefore, if the value of the Riyal improves against the dollar or any other currency while prices remain unstable, then that indicator is necessarily deceptive and false. In conclusion, filling or digging some pits and painting some walls have no relation to reconstruction or revitalizing the economy.
