Fathia Salah took risks to go in search of firewood to keep her family warm. Over the course of two months, Fathia would provide bundles of firewood until the day Fathia was stopped in her steps. While Fathia was about to lift a bundle of firewood on her back, the ground shook under her feet.…
Stories of pain and tragedy are similar across Yemen. As soon as one wound heals, other wounds open up. Perhaps the deepest and most painful wounds are those afflicting children, which suffer as a result of Houthi remnants of war – including improvised explosive devices (IEDs), landmines and other unexploded ordnance – in various Yemeni…
Hussein Nasser al-Abab shared his story. His son, Badr al-Abab, is a survivor who was severely injured in the explosion of one of the millions of landmines planted in the plains, farms, mountains, deserts, homes, water supplies, pastures and schools. “My son and his friend were among the victims of landmines as his friend was…
Younes Esmail lives in southwestern Yemen. The teenager hasn’t let a terrible landmine accident get in the way of his education. “The explosion led to the amputation of my lower limbs, and my left hand; it completely damaged my left eye, and caused the death of my uncle, who was sitting next to me,” Younes…
Hundreds of schools in Yemen have been deliberately targeted by the Houthi militias, who planted thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). One of the students of the Al Shaab School, located in Jabal Habashi District, Taiz province, eight-year-old Hady Abdo Fadel, was injured after a explosive device detonated. “I was playing in my…
A man of few words, Tawfiq Mohammad Abdallah Jalajel asked Project Masam to share his story – one sadly lived by many Yemenis survivors of landmine explosions. “I entered my home and at the door, there was an explosion, and lost consciousness. They planted mines everywhere,” Tawfiq said, as he condemned the Houthi militias’ use…
Like many farmers living in the resource-rich eastern Shabwah governorate, Abdullah Abdul Qadir was left fearing a landmine might end his life and that of his livestock. In 2015, the region and its Bayhan Directorate became a battleground between the Houthis and Pro-Yemeni government forces. As they retreated, the Houthis left behind landmines, unexploded ordnance and…
In Yemen, where family farming makes up for the majority of food production, landmines and other explosive devices are hampering access to farms. Tayyar Sulayman Omar Abdallah was on his way to work when a landmine detonated. “I left my home to go to the farm. A mine exploded under my car. My left and…
ike millions of Yemenis, Marwan Youssef Taleb and his family fled fighting in their home village. “We were displaced. When we left our home, we were surprised by a Houthi mine. My family was killed. My sister and my friend Moukhtar Ghaleb were also killed.” Gravely injured, Marwan was hospitalised in Aden, where both his…
When we first met Saliha Abdah outside her simple house made of concrete blocks, she avoided our gaze. Her three young children huddled around her; she slowly started telling her story. “We were displaced when the war started; the Houthis entered our region and planted landmines. I went to the mountain to collect wood. Suddenly,…
