Office raids and arrests shock aid workers in Yemen happymamay

When Hannah arrived at work a few months ago, she found “drawers and doors broken, and the coach is surrounded by security personnel.”

Computers, phones, cameras and documents were confiscated, and its president was arrested and the organization’s bank account was finally frozen.

Hanaa works in a non -governmental organization with the United States (NGO) in Yemen, which supports women’s empowerment and trains people to solve problems through negotiation.

But the country’s civil war, which has lasted more than a decade and created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, has made life for workers of NGOs is increasingly dangerous.

Twenty -four United Nations employees have been detained, along with workers from other local and international NGOs by the Houthi rebels in the past few months.

A wave of arrests increased in January from the climate of fear – one person from the World Food Program that was detained in reservation died.

The situation has left the human workers who feel that the freedom of their movement is largely restricted. As a result, many organizations, including the United Nations, are expanding the scope of operations, threatening to make life for people who were already destroyed by war.

Ten years ago, the Houthi -backed Houthi militants took control of most of the West from Yemen, including the capital, SANA, from the internationally recognized government. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has since made extensive air strikes on its neighbor – with the support of logistics and intelligence from the United States and the United Kingdom – to try to prevent the Houthi rebels from controlling the entire country.

It was the Houthi officials who raided Hana’s office and arrested her president, and feared revenge if she spoke. Therefore, for their safety, we changed the names of Hanaa and others in Yemen that we met in this article.

By eliminating human workers, Hanna believes that the Houthis aim to spread fear among the public. But what hurts me deeply is how the audience’s reaction was.

“When I reviewed social media, it was convenient to know that people see us as a spice,” she says.

A day after her president was detained, Hanna was stuck on her TV, and a pro -Houthi channel was watching as it described as spying confessions, which was made by nine local people who were once working at the long -dwinded American embassy in SANA. They were arrested in 2021.

That was the moment when she was afraid that things would get worse for her, as she was working in a non -governmental organization funded by the United States. She decided to leave her house in northern Yemen.

By the time when I arrived in the south, I was shocked. “For three days I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stop crying,” she says.

She is now concerned that US President Donald Trump’s decision to redesign the Houthis as a terrorist organization can lead them to target all those working in US -funded projects.

Once someone was arrested, it may be difficult for them to obtain any support, according to Yemeni lawyer Abdel Aziz, who represents 14 detainees. They were behind bars for several months – three United Nations employees, while others are employed by local NGOs. “During the first three months of detention, my client did not communicate with anyone,” he says.

Abdel Aziz’s concern is increasing that their whereabouts are still unknown. Recently, he says that his clients have been able to make some few phone calls to their families. “Every call was between five to 10 minutes,” he explained.

BBC approached the Houthis to ask about their treatment of relief workers, but they did not get any response.

In addition to frustration, life saving assistance from the United States Development Agency (USAID) was stopped as a result of the freezing of President Trump in the organization’s operations all over the world, amid allegations of waste and abuse of funds.

Human Rights Watch warns that the influence of President Trump’s policies and the arbitrary arrests of the Hythia “nothing devastating”. “It will have a tremendous and exciting impact on providing aid in Yemen,” says Niko Guevarnia, a Yemeni researcher and researcher in Bahrain in the organization.

According to HRW, the United States funded about a third of humanitarian aid in Yemen, and many of them through the United States Agency for International Development. Between 2015 and 2021, it provided more than $ 3.6 billion, making it the largest humanitarian assistance in the country, according to the United Nations.

“The cutting of aid will be the death penalty for us,” Amal warns, which is nine. She lives in a home camp internally in northern Yemen, along with thousands of other families.

Even over the phone, it is clear what this heavy woman holds. Her slow discourse is loaded with passion. Nearly 10 years have passed since she lost her home.

Amal supported alone her huge family. Her husband suffers from acute asthma, so he cannot work. The family had to flee its hometown north after the conflict began.

Since then, life has been increasingly unfamiliar to them. The camp, on the arid desert land, barely resembles a house. Their only shelter is a dilapidated plastic tent, with no chairs or beds. It is difficult for her children to find joy in a place that lacks almost everything.

“If the supply line provided by NGOs is reduced, my children may die. We have no jobs, no income, nothing,” he adds.

About half of the population is in a bad need for humanitarian assistance, including approximately 10 million children, according to UNICEF charitable UNHCR. The United Nations Human Development Index lists Yemen as one of the 10 countries in the world.

Amal tells us that she receives a monthly food basket from the United Nations World Foods Program (WFP), but it hardly lasts two weeks. When the food has run out, she says her only choice is to leave the camp and go out in the city’s streets. It passes restaurants and shops, hoping to get a few loaves of bread or a bundle of rice.

“I am ashamed, but should I leave my children to include? I am completely powerless,” explains Amal. The deficit often affects it. “I cry a lot when I realize that I do not have a penny fils,” she says, her voice is accompanied and bitter.

A large number of children suffer from diarrhea and pneumonia due to poor hygiene, malnutrition and miserable living conditions, but adequate drugs are rarely available.

In a clinic in northern Yemen, shelves that should be empty medications. Employees told us that their medical stocks are not anything compared to the needs of people.

BBC called with the United Nations for a comment on the current aid distribution process and recent arrests, but she did not receive any response.

However, the United Nations Security Council treatment, Hans Grendberg, the United Nations Special Envoy of Yemen, condemned the detention of its employees as “not only a violation of basic human rights, but also a direct threat to the United Nations’ ability to distribute aid to more than others in need.” He also called for the immediate release of all detainees, whether from the United Nations or from other local and international NGOs.

For families like Amal’s to try Hanaa and her workshops to make life better.

You proudly remember how they sent girls to school in a conservative northern region. When we conducted discussions between the population, when we had discussions between the population, and they eventually agreed to cover the stadium, so that the girls can return to the chapter. “

It is afraid that the lack of this support, due to fear and lack of money, may increase illiteracy rates. “We are the only ones who survived during the collapse of the state, to serve people,” says Hana with a sigh.

The names of Hanna and Abdelouziz were changed and hoped for this article.