A Snapshot of US/Saudi Inflicted Horrors on Yemen
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
Of all the dire humanitarian crises worldwide, conditions in Yemen are worst of all.
Its people are devastated by US/Saudi aggression ongoing since March 2015, a raging cholera epidemic, untreated diseases, along with blockade-created severe malnutrition and starvation, young children and infants affected most.
Concluding his five-day visit to the country, UN head of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief Mark Lowcock said:
He came to the country “to better understand the deteriorating humanitarian crisis, including the fastest-growing cholera epidemic the world has ever seen, the world’s largest food insecurity and conditions of widespread population displacement.”
“It’s been shocking to see the terrible impact of this man-made conflict.”
“The UN calls on all parties…to uphold the highest standards of international humanitarian law and respect human rights with respect to everyone, including detainees and journalists” – a futile request, ignored by Washington, Riyadh and their imperial allies, in Yemen and everywhere else.
Civilians suffer most in all wars. Saudi terror-bombing indiscriminately massacres Yemenis. The official death toll claim far understands the true numbers – tens of thousands devastated by two-and-a-half years of war without mercy, compounded by blockade.
A World Health Organization (WHO) snapshot of conditions at Yemen’s Al-Jumboori hospital showed how it struggles to perform vital medical treatment with ongoing war raging, saying:
“Many patients…struggle to access proper medical treatment. They flock to the overwhelmed and crumbling Al-Jumhoori hospital, the only public referral hospital in Sa’ada, 240km from Sana’a, in search of care.”
Key infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, residential neighborhoods, schools, marketplaces, hospitals and other medical facilities terror-bombed.
Remaining facilities face “serious shortages of medicines, medical supplies and specialized doctors,” Al-Jumhoori hospital director Dr. Mohammed Hajar explained, adding:
“Our operational funding has been cut off so we have reduced the health services to an absolute minimum. In addition to the shortage of basic specialties, the hospital lacks ophthalmologists, obstetricians, gynecologists and cardiologists.”
Still, medical staff treat endless numbers of sick and wounded patients, many with life-threatening conditions given the dire state of things.
Emergency room head Dr. Abdulla Al-Mawsemi said the facility “receives around 50 cases every day and sometimes the number rises to 70 – 80 cases, especially following sudden bombings.”
“The place is usually crowded here, while the equipment, doctors and medicines are not sufficient to deal with the patients who are too poor to pay for medicines and health services in private health facilities.”
“Due to the huge gap in the number of doctors and health workers, we have to work for such long hours that we are suffering from psychological pressure and muscle strain.”
Ambulance drivers risk their lives to help save people. Some are killed in the line of duty.
The WHO provides some aid to functioning Yemeni hospitals and clinics. It’s woefully inadequate given the scale of conflict devastating the country.
The entire population faces slow-motion genocide. US/Saudi ggression against the Yemeni people shows no signs of ending.
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