Food running out in Yemen refugee camps: UN

Josh Goodman
9/23/09
5:14 pm

Shiite rebels in North Yemen have clashed with government forces for weeks on end. This has displaced over tens of thousands of civilian refugees spread across four camps in Saada, another six thousand in Baqem, and another seven thousand in the Al-Jawf province. Continued fighting between the rebels and the government has blocked roads and halted all attempts for humanitarian aid to these refugees. They are quickly running out of food and nothing is being done about it. The UN is calling for a ceasefire and re-opening of the roads to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. The problem is there have already been two ceasefires. Both of these lasted mere hours and each side blames the other for violating them. The world seems to be acknowledging the fighting and forgetting about the refugees who are in dire need of assistance. Over fifty-five thousand people have fled the country since the fighting began and there seems to be no likely end in sight.

Independent humanitarian aid agencies like the Oxfam agency are actively attempting to reach the refugee camps in order to provide them with foodstuffs and other humanitarian aid. The UN needs to acknowledge the refugees deteriorating conditions and take a step towards forcibly stopping the fighting in order to aid these starving refugees. The world can't just sit back and wait for the government and these rebels to solve their differences. Not only are they killing each other, they are killing the very citizens of Yemen by not allowing humanitarian aid. There is no reason why refugees should be displaced in the first place. To deny them aid from other countries and agencies is even worse. Both sides call for a ceasefire and both sides seem to break it. The world needs to think of the greater good in situations like this and understand that a ceasefire is the only right thing to do, the only humanitarian thing to do. Not only does continued fighting cause the death of countless soldiers, but it also causes the death of innocent civilians and refugees.