Since March 2015, the war in Yemen, has left many tragedies, whose burdens have been borne by civilians, who have become fuel for the war that was imposed on them. Consequently, they share its suffering and the miserable impacts of seven years of displacement, poverty and deprivation.
IDP Abdo Qassem Seif (45 years old), a landmine victim. He did not know - after a year of displacement - that he would lose a limb upon his return to his village in the western countryside of Taiz which was full of mines.
In late 2016, the battles between the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) and the internationally recognized government forces led to the displacement of the residents of Al-Kadaha village, including Abdo Qassem and many of his villagers, to the Al-Safia area in the south of Taiz governorate.
A year later, the fighting subsided, and some of the displaced decided to return to inspect their homes, or to stock up on some of the things they needed. Among them was Abdu Qasim, who was unaware that his village had become strewn with landmines.
Qassem tells "Khuyut": "After the war extended to our village, my family and I fled to Al-Safia area, and when I learned that the battles had calmed down, I decided to return to my village, and as I approached the house, I stepped on a landmine; it exploded and I lost consciousness, and I only woke up in the hospital. My neighbors tried to rescue me and I had been transferred from one hospital to another, due to the lack of medical capabilities, until I reached Al-Thawra Hospital, where the doctor told me that I needed an amputation of my right foot, which was damaged by shrapnel, but the hospital is not equipped to perform it.”
Qassem endured a lot of pain in the search for a hospital to perform the amputation, at a time when most hospitals in Taiz lacked doctors and medical tools, he finally found a hospital in the city center, supported by a humanitarian organization, “After a week of exhaustion and research, I was transferred to Al-Ta'awin hospital, which carried out the amputation for me with the support of one of the humanitarian organizations working in the governorate,” Qassem added.
Most of those who lost their limbs go through major psychological challenges that affect their lives, as specialists stress the need for the victim, before installing a prosthetic limb, to receive psychological support and motor rehabilitation
Doubled Suffering
Abdo Qassem’s suffering did not end with displacement and amputation only, but it became the beginning of a new tragedy that he was not taken into account, after he fitted a prosthetic limb that was not equal to his other foot. He says, "I got a prosthetic limb through the Red Cross in Al-Thawra Hospital, however, it was not equal to my other foot; it caused me friction in the pelvis, paralysis and atrophy of the spine."
In this regard, one of the technicians specialized in prosthetic limbs at the King Salman Center in Taiz explains to “Khuyut”: “The damages resulting from the installation of a prosthetic limb differ from one person to another, especially if the injured person is still in the growth stage, as if he continues to use a prosthetic limb. A prosthesis is not suitable for a long time, it may cause him lower back pain with a deviation in the spine, with an imbalance in gait.
If the affected person has exceeded the growth stage, the consequences are limited to severe lower back pain, with uncomfortable walking; Therefore, the necessary procedures must be taken before the prosthesis is installed for any person, whether it is a child, an adult or an elderly person, according to the specialist.
And because most of those who lost their limbs go through major psychological challenges that affect their lives, as specialists stress the need for the victim to receive - before installing a prosthetic limb - psychological support and motor rehabilitation, in order to adapt to it and make it easier for him to use it and practice his daily activities normally.
As for Abdo Qassem, he realized that that foot did not fit him, and decided to return to the hospital for an examination. The doctor assured him that the foot was not his size, and that he needed another foot that was slightly shorter than the current one, but he did not get anything at that time, he said.
Persistence in life
Despite all the harsh conditions that Qassem went through, he did not give up to the pain and hardship of life as he was head of a family consisting of nine sons and a wife (five boys and four girls) whom he must support. He states that his return with one foot was more painful for him than the mine itself, "I was thinking how I would live, and how I would earn the daily income for my children. I used to see life as impossible."
Despite this, Qassem insisted to defy his disability, and returned to Al-Barakani shelter in the western countryside of Taiz, with an amputated foot, and began working in a wheelchair selling ice cream to the camp’s children.
“I work from morning to evening selling ice cream with my son who helps me bring ice cream and push the cart, but all our earnings that we collect was not enough for all the needs of the house; I earn about five or seven thousand riyals (about 5 US dollars) maximum a day, and this amount is not enough to support an entire family and buy medications, especially since the prices are high at this time. A single bag of flour costs 40,000 riyals,” Qassem says.
Hundreds of victims
Many civilians in Yemen have fallen victim to remnants of war, such as mines and unexploded ordnance, due to the lack of awareness and the absence of instructions, especially as reports by local and international organizations indicate that Yemen has witnessed the largest mine-laying operation in the land since the end of World War II.
In September 2021, the United Nations announced that 1,424 civilians were killed during four years as a result of mines and unexploded ordnance left over from the war in Yemen.
A statement issued by the Office of the Representative of the Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen (OCHA): "Landmines and explosive remnants of the bloody war that has plagued Yemen for seven years, continue to kill and maim civilians, and pose great risks to aid workers."
It is worth mentioning that tens of thousands of mines and bombs are spread across several Yemeni governorates, which were planted by the parties to the conflict which has been going on since 2015, between Ansar Allah group fighters (Houthis) and government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition.
