Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
As Thanksgiving Arrives, US Abets the Starving of Yemeni Children: Editorial
By admin
Published 6 years ago on
November 16, 2018

Share

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Amal Hussein, the Yemeni girl in the photo accompanying this editorial, recently died of severe malnutrition.

Mariam Ali, Amal’s mother, told the Associated Press that she was walking in the rain for more than an hour to reach a health center when her daughter died in the road.

“Thirty thousand children in Yemen die every single year of malnutrition as one of the most important underlying causes. There is not one Amal — there are many thousands of Amals.” — Geert Cappelaere of the United Nations

The war in Yemen has brought the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and created a “living hell for children,” says Geert Cappelaere of the United Nations.

Eight Million People at Risk of Starvation

The UN Population Fund estimates that 10,000 people have been killed and more than 8 million are at risk of starvation from famine. Three-quarters of Yemen’s people need life-saving assistance.

Complicating the situation for people who desperately need help: The warring parties make it difficult to deliver humanitarian aid. If Saudi-led air strikes don’t stop, the UN warns, Yemen could suffer the worst famine in 100 years.

“Unfortunately, Amal is not the only Yemeni child suffering that fate,” Cappelaere said at a news conference Nov. 4 in Amman, Jordan. “Thirty thousand children in Yemen die every single year of malnutrition as one of the most important underlying causes. There is not one Amal — there are many thousands of Amals.”

In the face of this ongoing devastation, we call on California’s congressional delegation — led by Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris — to do everything possible to end U.S. involvement in the war and to speed the delivery of much-needed aid to the Yemeni people.

Photo of man paddling boat with Yemeni war wreckage in the background
In this Sept. 28, 2018 photo, a fisherman paddles his boat past destroyed buildings on the coast of the port city of Hodeida, Yemen. (AP File Photo/Hani Mohammed)

If you haven’t been following the war in Yemen, we hope that the picture of Amal — as well as those of other children that you can view in the New York Times Magazine at this link — will make you pay attention.

At War Since 2015

The war began in 2015, when Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen, which is its southern neighbor. The Saudis did so in support of the Yemeni government, which was at war with Houthi rebels backed by Iran.

That assumption was wrong, and the United States bears responsibility for helping trigger the resulting death and suffering in Yemen.

At that time, the Obama administration supported Saudi Arabia with intelligence and logistical help. The assumption by the White House, says New York Times reporter Robert F. Worth, was that the war would end quickly and with little bloodshed.

That assumption was wrong, and the United States bears responsibility for helping trigger the resulting death and suffering in Yemen.

“Every single country that has influence over the fighting parties in Yemen is responsible for the suffering of Yemeni children,” Cappelaere says. “It’s not just those who are actively fighting in Yemen.”

Listen to NPR Interview with Robert W. Worth

Pompeo, Mattis Call for Cease-Fire

Finally, it appears that the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is on the Trump administration’s radar.

“Yemen has more problems than any people deserve to carry.” — Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis

Late last month, both Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis called for a cease-fire and the start of negotiations to end the war. So, too, did officials from Great Britain.

“Yemen has more problems than any people deserve to carry,” Mattis said.

But there are signs that the Trump administration is less interested in peace in Yemen than in maintaining good relations with the Saudis — even with the political fallout that has come the president’s way because of the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The execution, U.S. officials say, involved 17 Saudi officials.

Nor does it appear that the Houthis want to end the war. At the peace talks in September, they failed to show up.

You Can Help End This War

More peace talks are scheduled for the end of December, and there are reports that the fighting recently has eased in some parts of the country.

But how many more children will starve to death before then? How many more Yemeni will be killed or crippled by off-target Saudi coalition airstrikes?

Contact the White House and make it clear that ending this brutal war should be a U.S. priority. Then send the same message to every congresswoman and congressman. Tell them that the United States is better than this.

— Written by Bill McEwen

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

DON'T MISS

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

DON'T MISS

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

DON'T MISS

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

DON'T MISS

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

DON'T MISS

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

UP NEXT

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

UP NEXT

State Center Trustees Vote for Special Interest Giveaway Over Students: Opinion

UP NEXT

I Will Force Votes on Blocking Arms Sales to Israel: Sen. Bernie Sanders

UP NEXT

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

UP NEXT

Why the Nation Would Be Wise to Support a Third Term Amendment for Donald Trump

UP NEXT

If California Bails Out LA’s $1 Billion Budget Deficit, Beware the Slippery Slope

UP NEXT

Trump Has Had Enough. He Is Not Alone.

UP NEXT

The Real Crisis in California Schools Is Low Achievement, Not Cultural Conflicts

UP NEXT

Trump and Musk Are Suffering From Soros Derangement Syndrome

UP NEXT

CA Politicians Have an Irritating Habit of Ignoring the Downsides

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

11 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

11 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

11 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

12 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

14 hours ago

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

14 hours ago

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

14 hours ago

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

14 hours ago

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

15 hours ago

Order That Kept Water in the Kern River Reversed by 5th District Court of Appeal

16 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

GV Wire’s Edward Smith talks with KMPH Fox 26 “Great Day” anchor Christina Rodriguez about the possibility of CEMEX digging a 600-foot hole ...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
10 hours ago

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

10 hours ago

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

11 hours ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

11 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

11 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, seated right, gives a thumbs-up alongside his wife Lisa Oz, seated left, with friends and family after he testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
12 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

14 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend