Yemen is the Greatest Humanitarian Crisis in the World.

Yemen is the Greatest Humanitarian Crisis in the World.

The conflict in Yemen is the greatest humanitarian conflict in the world. For the next 5 days, we will be sharing information about this conflict, and attempting to explain how US imperialism has made it far worse. We hope you will join us on the Yemen Day of Action on Jan 25th for a global webinar, hosted by Code Pink, at 11AM. https://www.codepink.org/globalyemen

Yemen is the Greatest Humanitarian Crisis in the World.
  • 238,000 people are facing famine conditions in Yemen today due to an ongoing civil war, which has been made worse by the intervention of the US and Saudi Arabia.
  • 7.4 million people need treatment for malnutrition, two million of which are children under five years old
  • 17.8 million people do not have access to the necessary facilities
  • 19.7 million people lack access to adequate health care
  • A massive cholera epidemic has also affected the country, and large numbers of people have been internally displaced
  • The world powers involved in this conflict are engaging in collective punishment of entire villages.
  • Since Trump has declared the Houthis as terrorists, relief from other countries or organizations is at risk.

History of the Conflict in Yemen

  • Britain was interested in Yemen as a strategic military location since the mid 1800s.
  • Britain split the country with the Ottoman Empire in 1905
  • South Yemen became a socialist country in 1967
  • Capitalist unification of the country occurred in 1990
  • The government collapsed in 2015, leading to civil conflict. 
  • Western intervention has contributed greatly to the ongoing civil war.

Why is the US committed to this war?

  • The ruling class is not united on this, Congress passed a war powers resolution to withdraw the US, Trump vetoed
  • Nonetheless, weapons manufacturers, big businesses like AMC and Domino’s Pizza see Saudi Arabia as a profit center or market for exploitation
  • Saudi Arabia and its war coalition, including the US, is treating it as a proxy war with Iran
  • Yemen is a strategic location for the Saudis, and the US has sided with Saudi Arabia in many conflicts against Iran
  • Saudi Arabia has bankrolled many US think tanks after the 2008 housing crash, leading these think tanks to support Saudi wars and political standing in the region

Yemen is an Example of Imperialism

  • Capitalists benefit from war through weapons manufacture, and especially in nations that are rich in resources or could serve as economic thoroughfares and sites for oil pipelines
  • Saudi Arabia is a reactionary monarchy that the US collaborates with to serve mutual financial and war interests, not the interests of the people of either nation
  • At this stage of capitalist production, global capitalism requires total domination of potential markets. Imperialism is a manifestation of the insatiable hunger of capitalism.
  • The people of Yemen have a right to self determination, but their struggle has been wrapped up in the imperialist plan for global financial domination. Yemeni culture deserves to survive without this imperialist intervention.
  • The exploitation that you experience at your job is directly connected to the global war machine that is causing mass suffering in Yemen.

 What Is Imperialism?

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