Floods, diseases and no services, how the power struggle in Aden affected people's lives ?!
Since the beginning of the conflict in Yemen, and the situation is getting worse every day, the United Nations announces the largest humanitarian crisis in the world and shocking reports of famine, disease, and infrastructure collapse.
Aden, a city in southern Yemen, was taken by the internationally recognized Hadi government (after they escaped from Sana'a, which was fell by the Iran_backed Houthis) as the country's temporary capital.
The political conflict between the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council STC (which is a southern component with directions for the disengagement between north and south and back to Yemen before 1990) greatly affected the lives of the citizens in Aden . The city, which used to be one of the most beautiful cities in Yemen, has been suffering from the absence of basic services, cuts in salaries, and the futility of militias looting land and shops.
The situation has worsened after heavy rains accompanied by strong winds that struck the country in late April, affecting 150,000 people, according to United Nations reports, causing severe damage to dozens of homes, blackouts, and the destruction of the infrastructure of Aden streets, which is basically mainly bad .
Aden is distressed area .
On April 21st, Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalek announced in his Twitter account Aden as distressed area .
After the floods that flooded the city, a number of citizens in Aden protested against the Yemeni government and the STC, because no one had moved to save Aden from the tragic situation in which they are in. Days later, some members of the Yemeni government led by Prime Minister moved from Riyadh to Aden to manage the situation, but the STC forces whom controlling Aden airport, refused to allow the government to enter the city because some of the STC leaders were prevented from returning to Aden earlier .
On April 26, the Southern Transitional Council issued a declaration of self-administration for the south, indicating at one point that the Yemeni government did not fulfill its responsibilities to provide electricity that cut off due to the torrents, and also to repair the streets that were flooded and compensate the citizens whose homes were damaged.
Malaria and epidemics sweep through Aden.
Aden continued to face a political struggle without a real move to save people, the water piled in the streets due to the rains contaminated and sewage exploded, MSF earlier warned the spread of malaria with the onset of the rainy season, and it really happened, diseases spread unprecedentedly In the city, according to the health office in Aden, more than seventy deaths occurred in various districts of Aden only last week.
The political conflict in Aden made it live in a very difficult situation economically, humanitarian and politically .It left the city facing its fate alone with the floods.
Local councils .. black holes!
Two days ago, the central bank spent for each local council in Aden an amount of fifty million Yemeni riyals, as urgent support to repair the damage caused by the floods in Aden, but still no real changes were touched on the ground.
Citizens accused that the local councils mangers in Aden are practicing big corruption, and they are one of the reasons for the unfortunate situation in Aden .Ayoub Amer, who is an independent social activist from Aden, said that the local councils mangers did not use the sums spent to extract rainwater and compensate the affected people in the as required and many of this money were looted .
Volunteer youth and social initiatives to confront the floods in Aden.
From the first day after the rains fell, there was a random movement of young people from the city trying to do something towards the city in the absence of official institutions, this initiatives received support from Yemeni merchants abroad such as the "Bani Yafia allies" and the " son of shoaeeb " in America, but later it became clear that some of these volunteers have no credibility at work , some of this money has been looted and has not been used properly.
Aden needs urgent rescue, especially with the government announcing the spread of the Coronavirus virus, and reported more than 20 confirm cases, in addition the deteriorating health structure.
The situation in Aden needs urgent intervention and work to produce quick solutions to the situation, as follows: -
First, a joint committee must be coordinated between the STC and the legitimate government to manage the disaster epidemic in Aden .
Second, the formation of oversight committees from civil society organizations at the level of each directorate to monitor the level of implementation and performance .
Thirdly, it is important for the World Health Organization to pay special attention to Aden and provide hospitals and health personnel with the tools, clothes and equipment they need.
Hussam Almolaiki .
