The Amazing Life March

Yemen's revolutionaries are not deterred nor did they give up on their demands despite the signing of the strongly rejected Gulf Cooperation Council's initiative proposed in April and finally signed by Saleh on November 23rd, providing a so called mechanism for him to “relinquish” power. They went out on a 264km march on foot from the city of Taiz in the south to the capital Sanaa in the north to send a message to the world, the UN, US, the GCC and Saleh that they reject the newly formed unity government and are determined to demand that Saleh, who was granted immunity from prosecution for his involvement in an 11-month crackdown on protesters demanding democracy, gets punished for his crimes.

@marimehdi tweets how the martyrs are never forgotten:

#LifeMarch #Taiz2Sanaa ppl r marchin on a distance of 260km 4 tell da world they can't forget their martyrs as #GCCdeal & Saleh wants #Yemen

James Gurdan points in his blog The Trench the protesters' view:

“These GCC states are not at all competent to deal with popular requests for liberty and freedom, not to mention democratic government, because they themselves are mostly despotic regimes,” observed Yemen’s Coordinating Council of the Youth Revolution of Change (CCYRC). “They themselves would never welcome such requests from their own people, let alone be ready to accommodate such demands by people in neighboring states.”

The Life March continues to Sanaa. Photo credit: The Life March Blog

The march includes men, women and even a few handicapped, reportedly seems to have started with 700 men and 18 women. It left Taiz on foot on December 20th and passed by many villages and towns. Along the way, the marchers were greeted by fireworks and cheered by chants, welcomed and offered shelter and food and joined in each city by protesters on their way to Sanaa, swelling their numbers.

@Abe_Alansy proudly tweets:

Very proud of my people, Yemeni People are showing the world powerful examples of peaceful struggle. #Yemen #LifeMarch #SupportYemen

@wsaqaf adds:

Life March of 260km+ from #Taiz to #Sanaa a reminder of resilience & perseverance of #Yemen people. Proud of being a #Yemeni!

This video posted by Almobdieen shows the march as it left the city of Taiz on the 20th of December.

@crazyyafai tweets:

#Lifemarch left #Taiz knowing many dangerous routes & terrain land & undeveloped roads ahead of them but freedom couldn't stop them. #Yemen

This next video posted by Almobdieen shows the difficult terrain from Taiz to Ibb:

The procession also includes a kitchen and medical unit. However, generous banquets of breakfasts, lunches and dinners were offered in each city they stopped in, as shown in this video, also posted by Almobdieen:

The impressive march and powerful chants on the outskirts of the city of Dhamar, half way en route to Sanaa from Taiz, shows the resilience and power of the people. This feeling is captured in this video posted by moathdamar:

The people of Yemen proved to be people of resilience and steadfastness and keep impressing the world with their civil peaceful resistance in their struggle for freedom, democracy and building a new Yemen.

An impressed and hopeful @Dilmunite tweeted:

You people will have trouble believing it… but #Yemen might be one of the star surprises of this year, against all odds. #LifeMarch

As impressive as the march has been yet there has been a disappointing and evident lack of media coverage to the historic 264km Life March, which is the longest since Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March in 1930 which was 390km long.

@Yemen4Change wonders:

How come #LifeMarch is NOT being covered the way it should? #Yemen

..while @wsaqaf tweets in dismay:

Shameful Arab & Intl #media blackout of the ‘Life March' of #Yemen protestors crossing 260km+ walking from #Taiz to #Sanaa

Blake Hounshell @blakehounshell Managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine tweets:

Tens of thousands of Yemenis marched peacefully from Taiz to Sanaa — 260 kilometers — and got zero coverage. #LifeMarch

Yemeni are heroically writing their own history and are making sure that the world gets to see it while it is written despite the mainstream media blackout throughout the revolution, with the use of social media, such as blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Storify and, of course, Twitter.

@NasserMaweri tweets:

Let's all participate in the #LifeMarch by covering every event in it..No media coverage so let's keep #LifeMarch alive on #Twitter. #Yemen

@NajlaMo posted on her blog an update of the first three days of Life March here.

And @NotUntilHeFalls blogged also about the March of Life here.

@Abe_Alansy uses Storify to curate the story. The link is available here.

And finally, this is my Storify version of the march: The Amazing March of Life #Lifemarch.

Adel Mozip @shabadel set up an interactive map and website to follow the Life March:

A page documenting and following #LifeMarch in REAL-TIME & Interactive @Google Mapbit.ly/LifeMarch or lifemarch.supportyemen.org !!

After four days of walking a route full of steep mountain paths and difficult curves, a usually dangerous drive by car, the march of tens od thousands finally reached Sanaa today, December 24th. (video posted by: FreeDomTaiz)

The protesters were greeted with chants from the people of the capital and with security forces' heavy tear gas and live bullets who tried to disperse and stall their procession from reaching Change square. A number of deaths, the first victim a woman shot in the head, and some serious injuries were reported and the numbers keept increasing reaching 13 deaths by the end of the day.

@NajlaMo tweeted:

So far 2 killed and several wounded, some are trapped and some are kidnapped. #LifeMarch #Yemen

@wsaqaf wonders until when will the world turn a blind eye on Yemen:

At least 2 protesters in #Yemen's #LifeMarch killed today by Saleh forces & world remains silent

The march pumped life into Yemen's ongoing revolution and gave many Yemeni lots of hope and pride. It is a fine example of passive resistance and of Yemeni resilience and steadfastness.

* This post was first published in Global Voices on December 24th 

Taiz is Bleeding

The 'Taiz is bleeding' poster

Yemen's third largest city Taiz has been the throbbing heart of the Yemeni revolution and for the past few months has also become its bleeding heart, especially since President Ali Abdullah Saleh's forces intensified their violent attacks on the city since May 26, 2011. That day is known as the Taiz Massacre, when Freedom Square was attacked and protesters' tents in the sit-in area were set on fire resulting in numerous deaths and injuries. Taiz has since become known as the city of resilience.

NajlaMo acknowledges that in her tweet:

Thank you #Taiz for starting and (will finish) what we should have started many years ago, you are the brave city and so is ur ppl. #Yemen

The revolution in Yemen continues despite the inking of the unpopular Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal. Marches still continue as forceful as ever, rejecting the deal, demanding the fall of the regime and Saleh's prosecution.

Nothing changed for the city of Taiz after the signing of the GCC initiative, on November 23, as the attacks on the city intensified and the indiscriminate shelling on the residential areas by Saleh's forces has continued.

According to the deal, all military forces would be withdrawn from the streets of the cities and retire to their barracks once a military committee is formed within five days of signing the initiative. This has not been the case. On the contrary, more military reinforcement are reported to have reached the city, an explicit breech to the deal.

The deal also calls upon Saleh to step down and transfer power to Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

This video posted by FreeDomTaiz shows the intensity of the violent attacks that Taiz is enduring every night for the past months:

The resilient people of Taiz shelled overnight, go out the very next morning in marches to condemn the violence they face daily, which destroys their homes, kills their loved ones and terrorizes their children. They take to the streets to express their steadfastness and commitment to the revolution. They chant “Taiz is free and will not kneel, even if a thousand cannons were fired.” (video posted by taizcitynet)

The following two videos show the attacks on the city even in broad daylight (both posted bymediacentersanaa):

Meanwhile, Yemeni activist Atiaf Alwazir raises a valid point highlighting the continued violence despite the signing of the deal and asks what are the ramifications of such a breech:

@womanfromYemen:

due to violence in #Taiz, will the #UN seek sanctions against violators of #GCC mechanism or seek a ban on military supplies to #Yemen ?

The GCC deal is perceived by many as a “License to Kill” for Saleh and his forces.@SupportBahrainRights expressed this in his tweets:

@WomanfromYemen GCC deal has legitimized crimes against humanity in #Yemen. @noonarabia @summernasser @Afrahnasser #Taiz #UN #No2GCCdeal

and @FahdAqlan adds:

In #Taiz .. nobody has immunity to be killed .. except the killers !! #Yemen #No2GCCDeal

@alruwaishan also criticizes the GCC deal and the West's silence towards the violence in Taiz. He tweets:

The West doesn't want to help, the GCC and it's deal are worthless, and the media is oblivious. #Taiz is burning.

@Ulfat points out:

How are #GCC responding to failure of initiative? If they're not condemning violence in #Taiz, they never intended it to succeed. #Yemen

She raises a question to two official UN Twitter accounts:

@UN_Spokesperson @UN_HRC All twitter reports out of #Taiz today indicate the violence is ongoing. What's your position on this? #Yemen

@bajaberyemen tweets the latest figures as reported by Yemeni local paper Yemen Post on December 3rd:

Death Toll Rises to 28 in Three Days in #Taiz #Yemen yemenpost.net/Detail12345678…

AinYemenEng tweets the total deaths since the GCC deal was signed:

#Yemen Ain News: Since the signing in Riyadh: 33 martyrs and more than 152 wounded since the signing of the gulf… fb.me/U0Ap9ksS

Currently, the formation of the unity government is pending the formation of the military committee, yet Saleh once again objects to the members chosen by the JMP (Joint Meeting Parties) to be part of the military committee.

@alguneid a Yemeni veteran activist, based in Taiz tweets the reason for the delay:

#Yemen won't have a cabinet till Opposition & Saleh side agree on Military Committee. Saleh, objects to #JMPs nominees akhbaralyom.net/news_details.p…

He @alguneid adds:

Hadi: Won't form Military committee, till opposition forms cabinet. Opposition: Won't form cabinet till Hadi forms committee.You're in #Yemen

While the politicians disagree and the military continue their attack on the city, civil society attempts to play a vital role to save the civilians being targeted. Activists in Yemen are organizing a Support Taiz Caravan loaded with medical supplies, which will include MPs that represent the city, as well as youth and foreign journalists. Donations within Yemen and abroad are being collected to support the besieged city of Taiz.

@YemenPeaceNews explains:

Donations for #SupportTaizCaravan starting to roll in. You too can help us save lives!bit.ly/nTCPem #SupportYemen #Yemen #Taiz #yf

Journalist Jeb Boone sums up the GCC deal in his blog. He articulates his point by highlighting what needs to be done:

For true change to take place in Yemen, both the old guard of day to day politics and the military must be removed, especially members of Saleh’s family. His party, the General People’s Congress, still holds the majority of parliament and may continue to do so after elections with the presence of Saleh loyalist able to make small tweaks to election results. Yemen must start fresh. Like Egypt and the NDP, Yemen’s GPC should be dissolved to allow for a new parliamentarian structure to be built from the ground up. Most importantly, the sons of a deposed dictator must no longer hold sway over the nation’s military. Unless policymakers in the US, EU, GCC, and UN are willing to help Yemenis dislodge Saleh’s presence from the country entirely, his power will be only nominally diminished.

Saleh's family still control the military, which is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians. The GCC deal did not change anything on the ground. The revolution continues through the peaceful marches across Yemen and so does the violence on civilians by Saleh's forces in many Yemeni cities. Yet Taiz seems to be paying the heaviest price. Tweeps have used the hashtags #Savetaiz and#TaizIsBleeding to draw attention to the city's tribulation.

@A_Al3ansy: sends an appeal through a picture saying ‘Taiz is under fire, stop the violence on it.”

#SaveTaiz #Taiz #Yemen #SupportYemen pic.twitter.com/qbF5CHNV

Image by @A_Al3nsy

* This post was first published in Global Voices on Dec 4th, 2011

Taiz is Bleeding while the UN Envoy is in Sanaa

Yesterday's arrival of the UN envoy Bin Omar to Sanaa didn't seem to deter president Ali Abdullah Saleh or his forces from defiantly committing more violence and atrocities in Taiz. The continuous and random shelling by Saleh forces on Taiz's residential areas has caused many deaths and injuries to civilians and destruction of many homes.

An 11-year-old boy was killed in Taiz yesterday and 10 were injured. The city was under overnight shelling and another victim was brutally killed as a shell landed in the living area of his home at dawn.

This [WARNING] graphic video, uploaded by FreeDomTaiz on YouTube, shows his family's grief and bitterness towards President's Saleh continued crimes.

Ironically today's Friday in Yemen was called “Friday of no Amnesty to the Murderers.” Hundreds of thousands went to the streets across Yemen to reject the GCC initiative granting President Saleh any immunity. (Video posted by FreeDomTaiz)

A shell landed near a group of women during Friday prayers in Taiz's Freedom Square as this posted video shows (also by: FreeDomTaiz)

Three women were killed and five were injured as a result. A girl shown in this video [WARNING: GRAPHIC] expresses her mixed emotions, happiness for her mother's martyrdom and grief for her loss and prays to God to condemn President Saleh.

Even Al Rawdha Hospital where all the injured and dead bodies were taken to was shelled as these two video show. This video shows damage to the outside of the hospital (video posted by: FreeDomTaiz)

And this video documents damage inside it. (Video posted by: ebnalbalad522)

Saleh's forces shelling Taiz residential areas has killed men, women and children. [WARNING: Graphic video] This extremely graphic video shows a little girl crying: I don't want to die. (Video posted by:FreeDomTaiz)

Clearly nobody was spared from the ongoing violence on the city, not even the innocent children. This [WARNING: Graphic video] graphic video shows 8-year-old Amal Abdel Wahid, who was killed during the attacks on Taiz. (Video posted by: almobdieen)

In an earlier count, 13 people were reported killed, among them three children, three women and seven men. About 40 people were injured.

Yemeni journalist KhaledHammadi reports the updated figures:

Death toll in #Taiz #Yemen rises to 15 & dozens injured as #Saleh forces shelled many residential areas & protest square at Friday prayers

Meanwhile, Yemenis in Yemen and abroad continue to reject the GCC initiative and the immunity it grants President Saleh, whom many consider a cold-blooded murderer who should be referred to the International Court of Justice, where he should stand trial for the crimes he has committed towards his people.

@almuraisy tweets:

How dare any f* person or initiative talks about immunity to #Saleh after this GRAPHIC CRIME (vid +18) bit.ly/srXp3t ? #Yemen

@BaraaShiban adds:

If #Saleh is crazy for shelling people, the International Community are more crazy for willing to give him immunity #Yemen #SupportYemen

And @TawfiqYemen appeals to the international community to pay attention to the atrocities being committed in Yemen:

@hrw @amnesty Where R U? #Taiz ppl slaughtered everywhere, even in Friday prayer sq, and still @UN negotiates immunity to #Saleh! #Yemen

Today was a heart breaking and bloody day in Taiz but it was also a powerful and clear message to the world that Saleh is a criminal who should not be spared from trial because the Yemeni people will never allow that to happen.

This post was first published in Global Voices, on November 11, 2011

Azizah Abdo Othman, Yemen's First Female Martyr

Violence by the regime continued against peaceful protesters in Yemen. Saturday's pro-democracy march in Sanaa resulted in 12 killed and several injured. Yesterday (October 16) another march in Sanaa and one in Taiz were attacked resulting in 14 protesters killed. A breakdown of those killed was tweeted by Khaled Hammadi:

@KhaledHammadi: Death toll in #Yemen reaches to 14: six protesters in #Sanaa, 7 soldiers of army support revolution in Sanaa & 1 woman-protester in #Taiz

The news of a woman killed in Taiz was breaking news on Twitter, since she happened to be the first woman killed while marching peacefully for her country's freedom.

@alguneid: #Breaking #Breaking by phone #Taiz #Woman Martyr, now in Wadi Madam. Shot by 12.7 big gun, by Saleh Thugs, while in demo #Yemen #Breaking

@alguneid: #Taiz 1Martyr #Woman , 4Wounded, by Saleh henchmen. Wadi al-Madam, Old Town, #Yemen

@JamjoomCNN: Atiaf Alwazir says, “the fear now is that today’s..sniper attack against one woman who was killed in Taiz–it really is an escalation” #Yemen

@alguneid: Martyr #Woman of #Taiz Azizah Othman Al-Mohageri is the 1st martyr who is activist and shot dead by Saleh henchmen, while in a demo.

@YusraAlA: Graphic video of Azezah Abdo Othman, sniper shot in her head in #Taiz today http://youtu.be/E9vtnjSAJ3w #yemen #yf [WARNING: This graphic video was posted by FreeDomTaiz showing Taiz's first female martyr, Aziza killed by a sniper who shot her in the head]

Although many women have been injured and killed before in shelling and bombardments by Saleh forces on residential areas in Taiz, yet the whole of Yemen was moved and enraged by the news of a woman killed by a sniper while marching. Taiz went out in protest that same afternoon.

@YusraAlA: Escalation march in #Taiz today http://youtu.be/cDbMYqaIJE8 condemning #Saleh's crimes against protesters #yemen #yf

(Video posted by: ahmed201120121994)

@alguneid: Magnificent #Taiz #Women are Now big in Nos. Demo., in Wadi Al-Madam where Martyr Azizah was shot dead by Saleh thugs #Yemen

@alguneid: Sad,angry #Taiz #Women,who lost Martyr Azizah,just returned to freedom Sq., unusually late&under rain.They stood,where she was killed #Yemen

@alguneid:
#AI #HRW #UN #HCHR Do you want a better proof that Saleh henchmen shoot at peaceful protesters? #Taiz #Yemen Video http://bit.ly/nsElPF

This video was posted by BassemTaiz shows a sniper shooting directly at protesters at close range:

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said upon his return to Yemen from Saudi Arabia, where he was being treated for three months for wounds and burns he sustained in an attack on the presidential palace in June, that he was carrying a dove of peace and an olive branch. Yet since his arrival more than 100 people have been killed.

No body is safe in Yemen, even the women are not spared from Saleh's forces, snipers and thugs who kill peaceful protesters with cold blood. Azizah Othman might be the first woman killed in the revolution, but many fear she might not be the last.

* This post was first published in Global Voices on October 17th, 2011