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Inequity and conflict in Yemen: interview with UN's David Gressly
Why you should remember Yemen’s forgotten war In Yemen, the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis you’ve probably never heard of, 80 percent of people need international aid just to survive.
Two-thirds are hungry, and half don’t know where their next meal will come from.
Life is very hard in Yemen, UN Resident Coordinator David Gressly tells Ian Bremmer. Most infrastructure is destroyed, few can access clean water or health care, and many Yemenis are afraid to go outside because of landmines.
Meanwhile, 1.2 civil servants continue to show up to work, with little or no pay. If they stayed home, the state would cease to exist. The UN is asking for $3.6 billion simply to feed Yemenis and keep the lights on through 2022, but is now still short $1.6 billion. Gressly says that means many Yemenis will go hungry next year.
Regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia have turned Yemen into a seven-year proxy war, with civilians paying the price. The country is divided between the Houthis, an Iran-backed Shia militant group, and the internationally recognized government with Saudi Arabia on its side.
It’s unlikely the conflict will end anytime soon. The Biden administration has delisted the Houthis as a terrorist organization and stopped selling weapons to the Saudis. Gressly thinks that’s a step in the right direction, but not enough.
Watch the episode of GZERO World on Yemen's forgotten war: https://www.gzeromedia.com/gzero-world-with-ian-bremmer/caught-in-the-crossfire-yemens-forgotten-war
Why Yemen’s doctors and teachers work without pay
Around 1.2 million government employees, including teachers and doctors, show up to work every day in Yemen with unpaid or partially paid salaries, committed to their fellow Yemenis. UN Coordinator David Gressly emphasizes that if their contributions are lost, the state will collapse.
In his 40 years of experience working as a humanitarian worker, he’s seen that war can often cause destruction of infrastructure and more importantly, a loss of the public sector. Therefore, preserving Yemen’s civil service is a pressing issue that has both short—and long-term consequences, and should be immediately addressed.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Caught in the crossfire: Yemen’s forgotten war
The proxy war (still) raging in Yemen
For seven years, regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia have fought each other... in Yemen. As usual, civilians are paying the price.
The Iranians back the Houthi rebels, who control Sanaa, while a Saudi-led coalition supports the internationally recognized government in Aden.
Unfortunately, neither side seems willing to back down, as recent fighting in Marib suggests. There's no road to peace.
The Biden administration has changed tack on Yemen by delisting the Houthis as a terrorist organization and no longer selling weapons to Riyadh — which UN Coordinator David Gressly sees as a productive step in the conflict.
But that’s not enough.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Caught in the crossfire: Yemen’s forgotten war
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Building a post-war economy in Yemen
Will Yemen be able to regenerate its economy if the war ever ends?
Definitely, according to UN Resident Coordinator David Gressly, who says the country has immense human capital because it's full of talented, resilient people eager for peace.
Yemen, he adds, will have a tough time growing enough food for itself in the short term, although it's well-known for its coffee and honey. But it still has active fisheries, and even more importantly untapped oil and gas resources.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Caught in the crossfire: Yemen’s forgotten war
Caught in the crossfire: Yemen’s forgotten war
In Yemen, the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis you’ve probably never heard of, 80 percent of people need international aid just to survive. Two-thirds are hungry, and half don’t know where their next meal will come from.
Life is very hard in Yemen, UN Resident Coordinator David Gressly tells Ian Bremmer. Most infrastructure is destroyed, few can access clean water or health care, and many Yemenis are afraid to go outside because of landmines.
Meanwhile, 1.2 million civil servants continue to show up to work, with little or no pay. If they stayed home, the state would cease to exist.
The UN is asking for $3.6 billion simply to feed Yemenis and keep the lights on through 2022, but is now short $1.6 billion. Gressly says that means many Yemenis will go hungry next year.
Regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia have turned Yemen into a seven-year proxy war, with civilians paying the price. The country is divided between the Houthis, an Iran-backed Shia militant group, and the internationally recognized government with Saudi Arabia on its side.
It’s unlikely the conflict will end anytime soon. The Biden administration has delisted the Houthis as a terrorist organization and stopped selling weapons to the Saudis. Gressly thinks that’s a step in the right direction, but not enough.
Meanwhile, in New York City: Yemeni coffee! Did you know that war-torn Yemen still produces one of the tastiest coffees in the world? It’s hard to get the beans now, but Diwan Café in Brooklyn has found a way.
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Podcast: The human tragedy of Yemen’s intractable civil war
Listen: After 7 years of conflict, Yemen is often called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Ian Bremmer speaks with UN Resident Coordinator David Gressly about the dire situation in Yemen, where half of the population doesn’t know when they will eat their next meal. Seen as a proxy war between the Saudis and the Iranians, civilians are caught in the crosshairs.
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Living in Yemen's "devastating" civil war
Life is very hard today in Yemen, the country with the worst humanitarian crisis you may not have heard about lately.
UN Resident Coordinator David Gressly paints a grim picture of destroyed infrastructure and people scared of moving around. There are so many landmines, he says, that many Yemenis stay away from health clinics and schools because they fear being killed or maimed.
And every year the war drags on, it gets worse.
For Gressly, the average Yemeni cannot get basic services from any of the two rival governments. They are too busy fighting each other, and wouldn't have the resources anyway.
Yemen, he says, is (barely) running on an annual $2 billion in international assistance, but even that won't be enough very soon. The value of the local currency has plummeted so much and logistics become so complicated due to the war that the cost of food has skyrocketed.
That's why the UN is now asking for $3.6 billion to fund their operations in Yemen in 2022. If that target is not met, Gressly warns Yemenis will start to go hungry and hospitals won't be able to treat patients — which will kill as many people as lack of food.
Watch his interview with Ian Bremmer in the upcoming episode of GZERO World.