Monday, February 11, 2013

Yemen's Revolution, Two Years Later

Today, January Feb 11th, is the second anniversary of the start of Yemen's revolution. Despite the massive marches that shook Yemen's 21 governarates for 11 months, yet not many acknowledge that Yemen had a revolution. They conveniently undermine it by either calling it an uprising or a conflict. Many Yemenis feel that the revolution has been hijacked by Saudi Arabia backed by the US, by Ali Muhsin the former leader of the First Armored Division who defected and joined it, by the Joint Meeting Party who partnered with the ruling General People's Congress and by the Al-Ahmars and the influential tribal leaders who supported the revolution. Everyone had a piece of the cake, except the independent youth who started the revolution with big aspirations for change and dreams of building a new Yemen. They are the ones who sacrificed their lives and their blood, they were the ones who were injured, arrested and tortured. They are the ones who still bear the pain and the scares.  They are the 'forcibly disappeared'. They are the ones we remember to honor and thank today. May our injured protests get the treatment they deserve. May our martyrs rest in peace and may their footsteps be the inspiration for us to continue their path. We owe it to them to finish what they started.


Despite the many disappointments, grievances, international interference, setbacks and unaccomplished goals, two years after the revolution started, history has taught us that revolutions do not succeed overnight. A lot of commitment, effort, faith, hope, patience and above all time is needed for any concrete change to happen or for any desired results to occur. It is a long and arduous journey, yet Yemenis are known for their patience, steadfast and resilience. We will never give up hope in a new Yemen. If we do not succeed now, our children surely will. They will hopefully finish what we started.


N. B This post was mistakenly published on Jan 15.

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