In Yemen, Poverty, Hunger as UN Pleads for Funds and War's End

 

Ahmed Farea sold everything he owned to feed and take care of his two young daughters. The Yemeni father and husband has been unable to find work in the capital, Sanaa.

Also in Sanaa, Mona Muhammad has a job but struggles to buy enough food for her four children. Muhammad, whose husband died, cannot buy anything other than rice because of high costs.

And in a nearby hospital, severely¹ malnourished children receive lifesaving drinks filled with nutrients².

Yemenis are living through the world's largest humanitarian³ crisis. Children across the country are starving from a famine most consider man-made.

On Monday, the United Nations held an online fundraiser conference with a target of raising $3.85 billion. However, financial promises from donor⁴ countries fell short by more than $2 billion. The effort raised a total of $1.7 billion.

After the conference ended, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the promised amounts as "disappointing." The International Rescue Committee called the amount "a failure of humanity."

Yemen was a poor country with a child hunger problem even before the six-year war. The economic cost of the war has been deadly. Imports were stopped or delayed, people lost their homes, government services collapsed⁵ and jobs were lost. Then COVID-19 hit. The pandemic has affected⁶ remittances⁸ from family members in other countries, which many Yemenis badly need.

"I want the war to stop so we can go back to how we were ... We could buy what we wanted and could feed our children," Mona Muhammad said.

Ahmed Farea's work in the building trade ended after political problems grew following Yemen's 2011 uprising, he said.

"Since the war and the blockade started, and work stopped, I can't buy anything anymore. Where am I supposed to get it from?" said Farea. He uses containers to collect clean water from a neighborhood source for poor people.

"I sleep all morning and then have lunch at noon from whatever God supplies and that covers the rest of the day," he said.

‘Unimaginably cruel'

As needs have risen in the past year, aid has decreased. The U.N. has been forced to close some assistance programs and decrease others.

Famine has never been made official in Yemen. But areas with famine have recently appeared for the first time in two years, the U.N said.

In 2018 and 2019, the U.N. was able to help Yemen avoid a famine because of a strongly supported aid appeal. But in 2020, the U.N. received only about 50 percent of the $3.4 billion it needed.

Jan Egeland is secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. On a recent visit to Yemen, he said, "What is happening to the people is unimaginably cruel...the parties to this senseless war specialize in producing suffering and the weapon of choice is hunger."

There has been a renewed push by the U.N. and the United States for a negotiated end to the war. Experts describe the war as a proxy⁹ -- or indirect -- conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

American President Joe Biden has declared an end to U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign and has said Yemen is a priority for his administration.

Words in This Story

remittance⁷ – n. an amount of money that is sent as a payment for something

widow – n. a married woman whose husband has died

blockade – n. an act of war in which one country uses ships to stop people or supplies from entering or leaving another country

cruel – adj. used to describe people who hurt others and do not feel sorry about it

famine – n. a situation in which many people do not have enough food to eat

malnourished – adj. not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food

priority – n. something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done or dealt with first

1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 remittance   

n.汇款，寄款，汇兑

参考例句：

• Your last month's salary will be paid by remittance.最后一个月的薪水将通过汇寄的方式付给你。
• A prompt remittance would be appreciated.速寄汇款不胜感激。

8 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

9 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。