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World to see effects of silence on Yemen: Analyst

Sunday, 06 December 2015 2:52 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 06 December 2015 2:52 PM ]

Yemeni men gather around a crater caused by a Saudi airstrike in the capital, Sana’a, November 29, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

Press TV has interviewed Aly el-Kabbany, an author and journalist in London, to discuss the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: It seems the world sleeps as Yemen is becoming more and more dire when it comes to its humanitarian crisis, be it food or be it medicines. Otherwise, why is that?

Kabbany: I am surprised actually that the world is shocked with the famine in Yemen without being shocked at the causes of this famine and the causes of the destruction of Yemen.

The barbaric Saudi invasion destroyed Yemen, destroyed the infrastructure of this country and killed women, children and [the] elderly. So, this catastrophe has to stop. The silence of the international community has to end and to open their eyes to the drama and human disaster which is taking place in Yemen. It is not enough to take steps to feed the people of Yemen before the Saudi airstrikes kill them in their houses, in their mosques, in their hospitals. The country does not miss only and lack food. They lack healthcare, they lack infrastructure, they lack even education for their own children.

This barbaric invasion and barbaric airstrike of the Saudis have to end and this is a solution. It is not to send food aid and distribute it among the people who are dying from hunger because if they do not die from hunger, they will die from the airstrikes anyway.

Press TV: Before this entire situation began, Yemen was already the poorest country within the region at least. So I mean this is making a bad situation already worse. Again, I go back to my first question again. Why isn’t the world doing more?

Kabbany: It is the petrodollar talking. It is Saudi Arabia bribing the international community with arms deals, with oil deals. It is the petrodollar talking as I said, so people are keeping a blind eye to their atrocities and their barbaric invasion of Yemen; but the time will come when they see the consequences of their silence, as they saw the consequences of silence in Syria, in Libya.

People have to rebel; people have to explode; and this affects the interest of the Western countries so they will wake up when they are hurt and their interests are damaged strongly.

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