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About half of the Yemen population needs humanitarian assistance, including nearly 10 million children
When Hanaa came to work a few months ago, she found “drawers and broken doors and the boss surrounded by security personnel”.
Computers, phones, cameras and documents were all confiscated, his boss was arrested and the organization’s bank account was finally frozen.
Hanaa works for a non-governmental organization (NGO) funded by the United States in Yemen, which supports the empowerment of women and trains people to solve problems by negotiation.
But the country’s civil war, which lasted more than a decade and created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, made life to workers in increasingly dangerous NGOs.
Twenty-four UN employees, as well as workers from other local and international NGOs have been detained by the Houthi rebels in recent months.
A wave of arrests in January intensified the climate of fear – a person from the World Food Program who was deceased has died in detention.
The situation has left that humanitarian workers feeling their freedom of movement have been very limited. Consequently, many organizations, including the UN, reveal operations, threatening to make life for people already devastated by the war still worse.
In Yemen, 4.5 million people have been moved internally, living in camps, according to the United Nations C charitable unicef
Ten years ago, Houthi activists supported by Iran took control of a large part of western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, of the internationally recognized government. Saudi Arabia has since made intensive air raids on its neighbor – with logistical and intelligence support from the United States and the United Kingdom – to try to prevent Houthi rebels from taking control of the whole country.
They are Houthi officials who have made a descent into Hanaa’s office and held her boss, and she fears reprisals if she talks. So, for their safety, we changed the names of Hanaa and others in Yemen that we interviewed for this article.
By repressing humanitarian workers, Hanaa thinks that the Houthis aim to spread fear among the public. But what hurts her deeply is how the public reacted.
“When I checked social media, it was appalling to discover that people see us as spies,” she said.
One day after the detention of her boss, Hanaa was stuck on her television, watching a pro-Houthis channel broadcasting what she described as spying confessions, produced by nine local populations who had formerly worked at the Embassy American for a long time in Sanaa. They were arrested in 2021.
It was the moment when she feared that things will get worse for her because she worked for an NGO funded by the United States. She decided to leave her home in northern Yemen.
As she reached the South, she felt traumatized. “For three days, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stop crying,” she said.
About half of the population of Yemen needs humanitarian aid, according to UNICEF
Now she fears that the decision of American president Donald Trump to redesign the Houthis as a terrorist organization can lead them to target all those who work in projects funded by the United States.
Once someone is arrested, it may be difficult for him to obtain support, according to Yemeni lawyer Abdulaziz, who represents 14 prisoners. They have been behind bars for several months – three are UN staff, while the others are used by local NGOs. “In the first three months of detention, my clients did not communicate with anyone,” he said.
Abdulaziz is becoming more and more worried that their fate is still unknown. More recently, he said that his customers have been able to make some short telephone calls to their families. “Each call was between five and 10 minutes,” he explains.
The BBC approached Houthis to ask questions about their treatment of humanitarian workers, but has received no answer.
In addition to detentions, the rescue assistance of the American Agency for International Development (USAID) has been interrupted due to the freezing of President Trump on the operations of the organization in the world, in the midst of allegations of allegations waste and abusive use of funds.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warns that the impact of President Trump’s policies and the arbitrary arrests of the Houthis is “nothing less than devastating”. He “will have a massive and spectacular impact on the provision of aid to Yemen”, explains Niku Jafarnia, researcher in Yemen and Bahrain to the organization.
Finding clean water is a huge challenge for those who live in camps for displaced people
According to HRW, the United States was funding about a third of humanitarian aid in Yemen, a large part of the USAID. Between 2015 and 2021, it provided more than $ 3.6 billion, making it the greatest donor of humanitarian aid in the country, according to the UN.
“Cup assistance would be a death sentence for us,” warns Amal, a nine -year -old. She lives in a camp for people displaced internally in northern Yemen, alongside thousands of other families.
Even on the phone, it is clear how much this woman has a heavy burden. His slow speech is full of emotion. She has lost her house for almost 10 years.
Amal alone supports her huge family. Her husband suffers from acute asthma, so he cannot work. The family had to flee their hometown further north after the start of the conflict.
Since then, life has been more and more mean to them. The camp, on sterile desert lands, barely resembles a house. Their only shelter is a worn plastic tent, without chairs or beds. It is difficult for his children to find joy in a place that is almost everything.
“If this supply line provided by NGOs is cut, my children could die. We have no job, no income, nothing,” adds Amal.
Clinics in Yemen do not have enough drugs for patients
About half of the population has a bad need for humanitarian assistance, including nearly 10 million children, according to the charitable organization of children in UNICEF. The United Nations human development index lists Yemen as one of the 10 least developed countries in the world.
Amal tells us that she receives a monthly food basket from the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), but it barely lasts two weeks. When they lack food, she says that her only option is to leave the camp and get out of the begging in the streets of the city. She goes from restaurants and shops, hoping for a few breads of bread or a packet of rice.
“I am covered with shame, but should I let my children starve? I’m totally helpless,” said Amal. Helplessness often weighs on it. “I cry a lot when I realize that I have no penny,” she said, her voice that is both anxious 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 where drugs should be empty. The staff told us that the medical stock they had was not compared to the needs of people.
The BBC contacted the UN to request comments on the current aid distribution process and recent arrests, but has received no response.
In addition to having trouble finding water, 64% of households interviewed in Yemen could not get enough food in December 2024, according to WFP
However, addressing the United Nations Security Council Hans Grundberg, the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, condemned the detention of its staff as “not only a violation of fundamental human rights, but also a direct threat For the UN’s ability to distribute aid to the most needy “. He also called for immediate release of all prisoners, whether from the UN or other local and international NGOs.
It is for families like Amal that Hanaa and her colleagues try to improve life.
She proudly remembers how they sent girls to school in one of the conservative areas in the North. When the parents complained that the neighbors could see their daughters during the break, “we had discussions between the residents, and we finally agreed to cover the playground, so that the girls can return to class,” said -Is she.
She fears that the absence of this support, due to fear and lack of funds, can increase illiteracy rates. “We are the only ones to have survived during the collapse of the state, in order to serve the people,” said Hanaa with a sigh.
The names of Hanaa, Abdulaziz and Amal have been modified for this article.
