Office attacks and arrests to shock help workers in Yemen

When Hanaa arrived at work a few months ago, he found “drawers and crushed doors, and the boss surrounded by security personnel.”

Computers, telephones, cameras and documents were confiscated, their boss was arrested and the organization’s bank account finally frozen.

Hanaa works for a non -governmental organization (NGOs) funded by the United States in Yemen, which supports women’s empowerment and enables 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 NGO workers more and more dangerous.

Twenty -four UN employees, together with workers from other local and international NGOs have been arrested by Hutis rebels in recent months.

A wave of arrests in January has intensified the climate of fear: a person from the World Food Program that was arrested died in custody.

The situation has left humanitarian workers feeling that their freedom of movement has been very restricted. As a result, many organizations, including the UN, are reducing operations, threatening to make the lives of people already devastated by war.

Ten years ago, the hutis militants backed by Iraní took control of much of the western Yemen, including the Sanaa capital, of the internationally recognized government. Since then, Saudi Arabia has carried out intensive air attacks in its neighbor, with logistical support and intelligence of the United States and the United Kingdom, to try to prevent hutis rebels from taking control of the entire country.

It was the Houthi officials who assaulted Hanaa’s office and arrested his boss, and fears compensation if he speaks. So, for their safety, we have changed the names of Hanaa and others in Yemen to whom we interview for this article.

By taking energetic measures against humanitarian workers, Hanaa believes that the hutis aim to spread the fear among the public. But what hurts it deeply is how the public reacted.

“When I checked social networks, it was frightening to discover that people see us as spies,” she says.

A day after his boss was arrested, Hanaa was stuck to his television, watching a pro-houti channel that issued what he described as spying confessions, made by nine local people who had worked once at the United States embassy In Sanaa. They were arrested in 2021.

That was the moment when I feared things worsened for her, since she worked for an NGO financed by the United States. She decided to leave her home in northern Yemen.

When he reached the south, he felt traumatized. “For three days I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stop crying,” she says.

He is now worried that the decision of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to redirect the Hutis, since a terrorist organization could lead them to attack all who work on projects financed by the United States.

Once someone is arrested, it can be difficult for them to obtain any support, according to Yemeni’s lawyer, Abdulaziz, who represents 14 detainees. They have been behind bars for several months: three are UN employees, while the others are local NGO employees. “During the first three months of detention, my clients did not communicate with anyone,” he says.

Abdulaziz is worrying more and more that his whereabouts is still unknown. More recently, he says that his clients could make some brief phone calls to their families. “Each call was between five and 10 minutes,” he explains.

The BBC approached the hutis to ask about their treatment to humanitarian workers, but did not receive an answer.

In addition to the arrests, the life of lifeguards of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has stopped as a result of the freezing of President Trump on the organization’s operations worldwide, in the midst of accusations of waste and misuse of funds.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warns that the impact of President Trump’s policies and the arbitrary arrests of the hutis is “nothing less than devastating.” “It will have a massive and dramatic impact on the provision of help in Yemen,” says Niku Jafarnia, a Yemen and Bahrain researcher in the organization.

According to HRW, the United States was financing approximately one third of humanitarian aid in Yemen, much of it through USAID. Between 2015 and 2021, it provided more than $ 3.6 billion, which makes it the largest individual donor of humanitarian assistance in the country, according to the UN.

“Cutting aid would be a death sentence for us,” says Amal, a nine -year -old mother. She lives in a camp for internally displaced people in Northern Yemen, along with thousands of other families.

Even by phone, it is clear what heavy load this woman wears. His slow speech is loaded with emotion. They have spent almost 10 years since he lost his home.

Amal supports his huge family. Her husband has acute asthma, so she can’t work. The family had to flee from their hometown further north after the conflict began.

Since then, life has been increasingly unpleasant for them. The camp, in the land of the arid desert, barely resembles a home. His only refuge is a worn plastic store, without chairs or beds. It is difficult for your children to find joy in a place that lacks almost everything.

“If this supply line provided by the NGOs is cut, my children could die. We have no work, no income, nothing adds Amal.

About half of the population needs a bad need for humanitarian assistance, including almost 10 million children, according to the UN beneficial organization for the Unicef ​​beneficial organization. The UN Human Development Index lists Yemen as one of the 10 less developed countries in the world.

Amal tells us that he receives a monthly food basket of the UN World Food Program (PMA), but hardly lasts two weeks. When they run out of food, she says that her only option is to leave the camp and leave in the streets of the city. Pass restaurants and shops, with the hope of some bread loafs or a rice package.

“I am covered with shame, but should I leave my children of hunger? I am totally helpless,” says Amal. Impotence often takes its toll. “I cry a lot when I realize that I don’t have a penny,” she says, her voice distressed and bitter.

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

In a clinic in northern Yemen, the shelves where medications must be empty. The staff told us that the medical actions they have is nothing compared to the needs of people.

The BBC contacted the UN to find comments on the current aid distribution process and recent arrests, but did not receive an answer.

However, addressing the UN Security Council, Hans Grundberg, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, condemned the arrest of his staff as “not only a violation of fundamental human rights, but also a direct threat to the capacity of the UN to distribute the aid to the majority needed. ” He also requested the immediate release of all detainees, either from the UN or other local and international NGOs.

It is for families like Amal’s that Hanaa and his co -workers try to improve life.

Remember with pride how they sent girls to school in one of the conservative northern areas. When the parents complained that the neighbors could see their daughters during the rest time, “we maintained discussions among the residents and finally agreed to cover the recreation courtyard, so that the girls could return to class,” he explains.

She fears that the absence of this support, due to fear and lack of funds, can increase illiteracy rates. “We are the only ones who have survived during the collapse of the State, to serve people,” says Hanaa with a sigh.

The names of Hanaa, Abdulaziz and Amal changed for this article.