Between Motherhood and Activism

Women activists in Sana’a (photo Benjamin Wiacek)

My priority in life has always been my family until the Arab spring crashed into our household. Both my husband and I were taken by the revolutions happening in our countries, Egypt and Yemen. Since we were away from both, we followed the events closely through our TV and computer screens. I felt it was my duty to contribute to Yemen’s revolution, by sharing with the world what was happening in Yemen, especially since there was a media blackout and clear marginalization of it’s revolution.

That is when I decided to assume another role, besides that of wife and full time mother. I became an online activist, I started tweeting news, translating articles and co-managing a Facebook news page in English. I spent long hours in the day and stayed up many nights glued to the laptop reporting on killings of protesters and sharing videos. At times it was challenging to be fully awake the next morning to drop my kids to school or cook a proper meal.

From the diaspora, I was overwhelmed with the sense of obligation to serve my country through the only means I could, which was writing. So, I started my own blog, I wrote posts and articles and got together with an amazing group of Yemenis and co-founded Support Yemen (a media initiative highlighting important issues in Yemen). I have to admit the revolution made me aware of many things. It introduced me to many inspirational Arab and Yemeni activists whom I would never have met otherwise and made me discover my passion for writing.

Being a mother and hoping to provide Yemen’s children with a better and brighter future also magnified my desire to advocate for change and hence I continued my work. I explained to my kids why what I was doing was important for me as a human, for my country and for the world. I often share my posts with my elder kids to make them aware of the injustices happening around the world and teach them why we should not be passive about them but advocate towards changing them. We should do what we can, when we can, by committing ourselves to various causes. Although my family appreciated and supported what I was doing, they paid the price of my first year of activism and they certainly were not pleased.

During the revolution, I struggled between covering Yemen’s news 24/7 and giving my kids my usual undivided attention. It took me a while to find the right balance between my roles as wife, mother and activist. Although I am still an avid tweeter, I established a routine and now manage my time better.

Besides enabling our children to read, write, do equations and know how, why and when the earth turns around, we need to teach them about life and the importance of social activism to make it a peaceful world for all of us. It is our roles as mothers to instill in our children the right values and raise them as global citizens by teaching them about world causes. I want my kids to grow up knowing that one’s family is important but that they also need to care about other families in our world. I want them to know and appreciate that being an activist mom is a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!

This article was first published in La Voix Du Yemen on June 16, 2013

Cet article est également disponible en Français
هذا المقال متوفر أيضا باللغة العربية

Yemen’s Turbulent Transitional Year

2011 was a year of revolution in Yemen, characterized by massive peaceful marches that were seldom met with security forces’ brutality, subsequently leading to the ouster of Ali Abdullah Saleh after a 33-year rule. In exchange for immunity Saleh, transferred power to his deputy of 18 years Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, through a Gulf brokered deal, backed by the U.S , the U.N and the international community. On February 27th Hadi was appointed as president after a one man election.

Many Yemenis were discontented with this settlement yet after a long year of  bloodshed, clashes and interrupted services they were eagerly longing for peace, security and stability and hoping for a smooth political transition. The year 2012, was far from that, it  was a year of turmoil in Yemen. This year Yemen witnessed an unprecedented numbers of assassinations, kidnappings, car explosions, suicide bombings, attacks on electricity cables and gas pipelines, a deterioration of both the economic and humanitarian conditions, besides an increase in US drone attacks.

Throughout the year more than 60 Yemeni intelligence officers and military commanders were killed across the country, mostly in Sana’a and Aden, either by a car explosion or by unknown gunmen on a motorcycle. Although most of the killings were attributed to al-Qaeda, yet futile government investigations did not result into any findings.

The fragile security and lawlessness in Yemen led to an increase in kidnappings. In March, a Saudi diplomat, Abdallah al-Khalidi was kidnapped. A Swiss woman teacher was also captured in March in the portal city of Hodeida, both are still missing until today. In April, a French Red Cross aid worker was abducted and later released unharmed. In an unprecedented deterioration in Decemeber, an Austrian man and a Finnish couple were also kidnapped in broad daylight in the city center of the capital Sanaa.

Several attacks on the cables in the main electric supply station in Mareb left Yemen in the dark for several hours, sometimes days until the cable was repeatedly repaired. Tribal militia-men were suspected to be behind these recurrent attacks yet the government was too weak and the military too divided to secure those lines. The last month of December also witnessed the eighth attack on the LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) pipelines since the first sabotage on the line in October 2011. Repeated attacks this year limited the production of the gas and crippling the economy further. According to the Petroleum and Minerals Minister Hisham Abdullah, Yemen lost more than $4 billion (3.1 billion euros) in revenues since February 2011 due to such attacks.

The prolonged political crisis, lack of services, economic instability, rise in prices and unemployment were all factors which led to deepening the food crisis further which had already existed prior to the events of 2011. According to a recent report by UNICEF Yemen, about 60 percent of Yemeni children were chronically malnourished and about 15 percent – 257 thousand children under the age of five – suffer from acute malnourishment.

A sharp increase in US drone attacks  was also noted this year, it rose  to 53 from 18 in 2011. Not surprisingly since Yemen’s President Hadi himself, during his last visit to the US, praised these strikes and claimed their effectiveness. Yet many Yemenis  condemn them and  consider them a violation to Yemen’s sovereignty. Contrary to what the US administration wishes to believe these attacks have created animosity towards the US. Many Yemenis and Yemen experts have written extensively how the increase in US strikes has had an adverse reaction and has helped al-Qaeda grow in size.  Gregory Johnsen, who wrote ‘The Last Refuge”, a book on Yemen and al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, in a recent interview  said “Essentially what the U.S. is doing is bombing suspected AQAP targets in Yemen in the hopes that AQAP doesn’t bomb the U.S.,”  he added “In my view, this is neither sustainable nor wise. We have seen AQAP grow incredibly fast in a remarkably short amount of time, expanding from 200-300 fighters in 2009, when the U.S. bombing campaign began, to more than 1,000 fighters today. That is more exacerbating and expanding the threat than it is disrupting, dismantling and defeating it.” Many Yemenis question why haven’t suspected targets been captured and prosecuted instead of being remotely eliminated, often killing civilians in the process. A further increase in drone strikes in 2013 is expected unless there is a miraculous change in the US counter-terrorism policy or Yemen's puppet government takes a firm stand and condemns these attacks. 

One of the main demands of the popular youth revolution was the dismissal of Saleh’s relatives and former henchmen from top military and security command positions and the restructuring of the military. Hence President Hadi’s decrees to dismiss Saleh’s nephew, Yehya Saleh, head of the counter-terror unit and central security forces and to disband the Republican Guards headed by Saleh’s eldest son Ahmed and the First Armored Division headed by Ali Muhsin and reshuffling them into the central command of the defense ministry and restructuring the army into four components: ground forces, navy, air forces and border guards were widely celebrated and supported. Yet that jubilation did not last long,  to the dismay of many, reports emerged that both Ahmed Saleh and Ali Muhsin would be offered senior positions in the new military restructure. “Fortunately, Brigadier General Ahmad Saleh seems to have agreed to be given the command of a military region in an institutional reshuffle,” said an editorial. The popular demand to purge the Salehs and Ali Muhsin from any military positions was apparently disregarded once more. This will certainly be a slap in the face to the revolution and will further anger the youth who marched again this year from Taiz to Sanaa (270km), commemorating the martyrs and reviving the demands of the first life march in 2011, which include removing these notorious leaders.

Yemen is currently preparing for a six-month National Dialogue Conference which had been faced with challenges and setbacks resulting in it's postponement several times. After a participating quota for the political parties and groups was finally reached, the conference is due to start sometime early next year, despite reports that some Southern secessionists are still boycotting the Dialogue. Although the UN envoy, Jamal Bin Omar before heading back to New York , reportedly, “urged all Yemeni parties to avoid any acts that may hinder the national dialogue and the progress of the political process in Yemen” yet the ousted president appears determined to participate in the upcoming National Dialogue. A press statement from the office of Ali Abdullah Saleh the head of the General People’s Congress, posted on the official website  of the GNC party announced “ the leader (Saleh), will head the body of representatives of the GPC to the national dialogue conference.” Only in Yemen would an ousted president be granted an immunity and be allowed to participate in a national dialogue that would shape the future of the country and outline it’s new constitution. Speculations as usual about Saleh's upcoming trip and the destination he is headed to (Oman, KSA, Italy?) are currently surfacing once more in Yemen.

The volatile security situation that has plagued Yemen over the past year was
mainly to the weak military structure,  and the divided and opposing military factions spearheaded by Ahmed Saleh and Ali Muhsin. Any military restructure that has these two leaders in it will recreate the same bloody scenario. Yemen’s security and stability requires their final removal from any military position and hence severing any loyalties to either side. The removal of Saleh from Yemen, and prohibiting him from playing any political role that can further destabilize the country is a crucial and crystal clear necessity now, which the GCC plan should have initially incorporated. The GCC, UN and the international community have an obligation now to rectify this grave miscalculation and hold Saleh and his loyalists accountable for Yemen’s instability in the past year and impose strict sanctions on them, not just empty threats. Yemen mostly needs the prompt delivery of the $6 billion that was pledged at the “Friends of Yemen” conference which is necessary to assist in it’s development through sustainable long term income generating projects and not in the form of short term aid.

The path is still long and arduous for Yemen, yet it’s youth are still peacefully calling for change and are determined to continue demanding what they originally set out to achieve - equal rights, liberty, freedom from oppression and a dignified life, which the team in SupportYemen had conveyed in this video at the beginning of the revolution:

The Failed US Policy in Yemen

The US-Yemen relationship has become a hot topic recently, especially after former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the man whom the US relied on and strongly supported in it's fight  against "Qaeda" recently stepped down. According to Ibrahim Sharqieh, a conflict resolution expert at the Brookings Doha Center who writes extensively about the conflict in Yemen, "in the past, over 90 percent of U.S. financial support went to support security and military institutions to fight al-Qaeda". The Saleh regime, opened Yemen's land, air and sea for US strikes against Al Qaeda by exploiting it's threat, taking advantage of US counterterrorism policy as a cash cow for its own survival and at times even fed the US misleading intelligence to combat its political opponents. Jeremy Scahill, an investigative journalist and national security correspondent for the Nation who writes often about Yemen, points out in his last piece in the Nation "for years, Saleh allowed the United States to regularly strike against AQAP in Yemen, and US Special Operations forces built up the specialized units, run by Saleh’s family members, that were widely seen as US surrogates'. He adds "rather than fighting AQAP, these US-backed units—created and funded with the explicit intent to be used only for counterterrorism operations—redeployed to Sanaa to protect the collapsing regime from its own people." 

Yemeni journalist Shayi was the first journalist to allege US involvement in authorizing dropping of cluster bombs on civilians in Yemen, he was detained and sentenced to 5 years as a result. Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Philip Luther pointed “there are strong indications that the charges against ‘Abdul Ilah Shayi’ are trumped up and that he has been jailed solely for daring to speak out about US collaboration in a cluster munitions attack which took place in Yemen", in December 2009. Days after  he was sentenced in January last year, former president Saleh granted the journalist a presidential pardon, but a phone call from President Obama has managed to keep him in jail until today.

Many analysts agree that the US policy in Yemen has predominantly been viewed from the terrorism prism, but one doesn't need to be an expert to notice that it has not been successful so far and has in fact backfired on the US. The use of drones on Yemeni soil to kill "suspected" al Qaeda leaders, the unjustified killing of a teenager and many other innocent civilians commonly referred to as "collateral damage" and the illegal detention of a journalist, has fostered more animosity towards the US.
Furthermore US's rethoric in supporting democracy in Yemen has been reflected differently in its actions towards the revolution, backing Saleh's corrupt regime and hosting him in the US under the pretext of "medical treatment" enraged many Yemenis. Mr. Gerald M. Feierstein's, US's Ambassador in Yemen, provocative statements against the youth and against the "Life March", calling for an end to the uprising in the military institution, and his last interview with journalist Tom Finn raised a lot of concerned question marks regarding the long awaited military reform and created more anti-American sentiments leading to a march demanding the ambassador to leave Yemen and the burning of the US flag.

The majority of Yemenis do not consider the US Ambassador an "honorary Yemeni citizen" but rather a detested "foreign diplomat" for many reasons besides those mentioned above. His personal relationship with the Salehs and the general feeling among Yemenis that he is the man currently running the show in Yemen, only adds complexity to the already complex US-Yemeni relationship.

US clearly needs to re-evaluate its counter-terrorism policy in Yemen by addressing the socio-economic underlying causes that produce terror. Rather than focusing it's aid solely in the fight against al "Qaeda" and continuing with the drone attacks which kills innocent people, alienates, angers and aggravates the general Yemeni public, giving extremists a motive to join militant groups, Sharqieh recommends that both the United States and Gulf states should change their trend in foreign aid in Yemen. They should "give aid that will provide genuine comprehensive development, helping job delivery, building transparent state institutions and work to fight corruption within them." He adds, "this would be the ultimate solution to dealing with terrorism and other security problems; dealing with the underlying causes that produce terror." 
Finally the message to US Deputy National Security Advisor, John Brennan, is loud and clear violence only breeds more violence, its about time to make a change in the US policy in Yemen, and elsewhere, by trying to make friends rather than creating more enemies. 

Related Links:

America's Dangerous Game (Video)
Washington's War in Yemen Backfires
An American Teen-Ager In Yemen
Yemeni journalist jailed after alleging US involvement in missile attack
Yemen: Shaye Commences hunger Strike
Detained Journalist On Hunger Strike To Press For Release
Butt Out: US Ambassador to Yemen Interferes With Protests
US has 'direct interest' in Shaye's case
Yemen: A story of lost foreign aid and future gains?
Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan press roundtable
Tom Finn Interview with US Ambassador to Yemen Gerald M. Feierstein
A New President and an "American Sheikh' Deal With Post-Saleh Yemen
Recipe for Failure: American Strategy toward Yemen and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
The civilian massacre the US neither confirms nor denies
Yemen - reported US covert actions since 2001
Yemen : Anger at Expansion of US Drone War
Why The U.S Is Aggressively Targeting Yemen

Why We Reject Yemen's Elections

We reject Yemen's election for many obvious reasons, and one of them is that it will not remove Saleh's family from power. Have a good look at this graph to know how dominating the Saleh's are in Yemen.

Yemenis have been peacefully protesting in millions for an entire year calling for change and demanding the fall of the regime. Yet Yemenis instead got an imposed transitional power deal, brokered by the GCC and backed by the US, UN and EU which did not address any of the revolution's demands. There is nothing in the GCC deal that explicitly outlines how the dominating Saleh family will be handing over their power, yet it only focuses on the president's role and gives him supreme powers instead. The GCC deal itself can not be challenged and supersedes Yemen's constitutions and laws.

Those who reject the elections don't feel that this farce of an election, albeit ending Saleh's 33 year rule as president, will bring about any major needed change in Yemen as long as him family and his regime are still in power. Along with his granted immunity, Saleh who is still head of the GPC ruling party can freely run again for any role, and his son too. Nor do they have faith in Hadi, the sole candidate, Saleh's loyal vice president for the last 18 years whom he selected as his successor, because he lacks the ability and perhaps the inclination to bring about that change. 

More and above, sadly, no real change can happen as long as Yemen is under the US and KSA's hegemony. Yemen will never own its' decision making nor will it be able to plan it's own future, but will be run according to other agendas. 

As Sultan Al Qassemi nicely put it in his tweet: 

Sultan Al Qassemi @SultanAlQassemi

• Close

Only an election orchestrated by the Arab Gulf States can get away with having one single candidate. #Yemen

Pity my nation indeed....

Yemen: An Unfinished Revolution

Yemen's revolution is undoubtedly the longest in the Arabspring, yet Yemeni disagree on which day it started. Some say it started on February 3rd, when a group of activists protested infront of Sanaa University, some say February 11th, when the first sit-in tents where erected in Taiz, and others say February 20th when the first martyrs were killed in Aden and Taiz. Yet, Yemen's revolution has been mostly associated with February 11th, the downfall of Egypt's Mubarak.

When the revolution started, many, including myself, were apprehensive, since Yemen is known to be the second most armed nation in the world and almost daily a civil war was predicted to break out, yet amazingly Yemen's revolution turned out to be the least violent in the Arabspring. Despite the regimes violence and killings, protesters refrained from using their weapons and faced bullets with bare chests. Power outage, food, water, cooking gas and fuel shortages were imposed on them for months by the regime, yet protesters resiliently remained steadfast in the sit-in tents in the squares and peacefully marched in millions in the streets, day after day, week after week demanding, freedom, democracy, justice and social equality. 

Hundreds were killed and thousands were injured, yet those responsible for their killings, outgoing president Ali Abdullah Saleh and his regime, were granted an immunity with the power transfer deal brokered by the GCC, fully supported by the US and UN and unanimously passed by the Yemeni parliament.
This is a preview of the documentary "Karama Has No Walls" which shows the massacre that took place in Sanaa on March 18th, known as Friday of Dignity, in which 52 unarmed protesters were brutally killed by security forces.

Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world and a year of revolt has had it's toll on it. The humanitarian and economic crisis exhausted Yemenis and the fear of war looming in the horizon forced some to accept the political solution offered by the GCC initiative and to embrace the unity government, which was based on a 50-50 power split between the GPC, the ruling party and the JMP, the "so called" opposition. Some are willing to vote for Adu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Saleh's Vice President for the past 18 years, recently rewarded for his services and promoted to brigadier and the sole presidential candidate in the February 21st s-election, and give him a 2 year chance. Yet, others doubt in Hadi and view him as a continuation of Saleh's rule. They are still committed to the demands of the revolution and are determined to bring about true change in Yemen through passive civil resistance. There are numerous ongoing strikes and uprisings against corruption in the military, governmental and public institutions and plans to boycott the upcoming “one candidate” presidential election. Sadly, Yemen has openly become an international protectorate, with regional and international players determining it's future rather than it's own people.

This video made by SupportYemen in early October highlights the demands of the revolution and the hopes of many.

A year later, Yemen is back to square one with a fragmented and weak opposition. Saleh who has been ruling Yemen for the past 34 years, might be finally stepping down as president on February 21st, yet his son, nephews and brothers still control the military apparatus, and his regime is very much intact. 
The revolution in Yemen remains unfinished ... May our martyrs rest in peace.

لو لم اكن مصريه لوددت ان اكون مصريه

لو لم اكن مصريه لوددت ان اكون مصريه , فحمداً لله شاءت الأقدار و "النصيب" أن اكون مصريه ... و أفتخر بذلك. شعور الانتماء هذا ليس مقصور علىِّ  فقط لأني حاصله على الجنسيه بل  هذا شعور كل عربي يحب و يعتز بمصر. 
يحز في نفسي اني لم اكن في مصر اثناء قيام الثوره وللأسف لست هناك كذلك اليوم ايضاً لأشارك في الذكرى الأولى للثوره و لكني هناك قلباً و وجداناً إن لم اكن متواجده قالباً. مصر عامره بشعبها الثائر الأبي الذي سيظل يكافح حتي يحقق الأهداف التي قامت من أجلها الثوره و إنتصار ثورة مصر هي نصر لكل العرب.

 اليوم ليس إحتفال بل يوم ذكرى و تكريم للشهداء والمفقودين الذين ضحوا بأرواحهم و يوم شكر للجرحى و المصابين الذين دفعوا بدمائهم، واعينهم و لكل الثوار الذين قدموا كل ما يملكون من اجل العيش والحريه والعداله الاجتماعيه و لا يزالون يقدمون الكثير.

 لقد كانت كلمة النائب أكرم الشاعر المؤثره في مجلس الشعب ابلغ رساله لما نطالب به في مثل هذا اليوم ... العداله و القصاص للشهداء الذين لن ننساهم 

الفاتحه على ارواح الشهداء و لا تزال الثوره مستمره ... حتى يسقط النظام ... و يسقط يسقط حكم العسكر. 

Yemen's Revolution in Three Messages

SupportYemen: Silence Kills
Yemen's Youth speak out to the international community, emphasizing their resistance to the attacks of government forces and their determination to continue demanding what they originally set out to achieve - equal rights, liberty, freedom from oppression and a dignified life.

SupportYemen: For Liberty
In silent remembrance of the hundreds of lives lost in the youth's peaceful uprising against Saleh's regime. Friends and loved ones left behind continue their fight for freedom, justice and equality.

SupportYemen: What Would You Do?
Some take basic human rights for granted, but for us, Yemenis, they are aspirations. We march for better education, better healthcare, freedom of speech, real democracy, for justice, and for dignity.

And the struggle continues in Yemen...

SupportYemen

Yemen's Ongoing and Parallel Revolution

The Revolution in Yemen did not stop with the inking of the GCC deal which was rejected by many Yemenis since the day it was initiated. As the word indicates, it was a deal, "an agreement entered into by two or more parties for their mutual benefit", in this case it was the the sharing of power between the ruling party GPC (General People's Congress) and the so called "opposition" JMP (Joint Meeting Parties) while the benefit of the Yemeni people was out of this equation. Gradually people realized that the deal was just a rebranding of the regime and a pretext for it to stay in power.

While the killings are still happening in Sanaa and some other cities, so are the relentless protests and marches.The people in Yemen, the second most armed country in the world are determined to make the change they demanded from the revolution through  passive resistance methods. Besides the daily and weekly marches in the cities, they went on a 264 km cross country Life March by foot from Taiz in the south to Sanaa in the north, passing by Ibb, Yarim and Dhamar. Similar marches are taking place in different parts of Yemen. The Dignity March from Aden to Abyan set to draw the world's attention to the plight of the more than 100,000 IDPs (Internally Displaced People) who fled their homes from Abyan and neighboring cities to Aden to escape the ongoing violence due to the war on the so called "militants" by the government forces. Another march is taking place from the coastal city of Hodeidah to Sanaa.

In the past weeks, the Yemeni revolution spread from the streets to the institutions. Demonstrations and strikes in the governmental and public, academic, commercial & medical sectors against corruption swept across cities of Yemen. The "parallel revolution" demanded the immediate dismissal of "the untouchables", the corrupt officials who  unlawfully exerted their authority, embezzled and terrorized their subordinates. Some of the institutions affected so far include, the National Airlines "Yemenia", the State TV in Sanaa and Aden, the Police Headquarters, the Military Economic Institution, the Armed Forces Moral Guidance Department, the Agriculture and Irrigation office, the Coast Guard, the Naval Academy, the Traffic Police, Sanaa University, the Yemen Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the Thawrah Hospital in Taiz, the Central Organization of Control and Audit in both Aden and Taiz, and the Finance Office in Taiz. 

The following videos show the wave against corruption in many sectors and in different cities:
Government sector: video (posted by Freeoman100001) on December 27, 2001 shows the employees of the Central organization of control and audit preventing their corrupt manager from entering the building.

Military sector: video (posted by taizpress on Dec, 31st, 2011) shows soldiers in Taiz demand sacking of military commanders who were behind the brutal killings of protesters and shelling of the city.

Academic sector:  video (posted by ppryemen on January 2nd) shows Sanaa University students protesting demanding the dismissal of the University's corrupt president. 

Banking sector: video (posted by ibrahim55403 on Jan2, 2012) shows the employees of the Yemen Bank of Reconstruction and Development protesting against the corruption in the bank

The "people want the fall of the regime" is no longer a mere slogan in Yemen, it is being translated into a real process starting with little steps. Saleh may still be in power but he seems to be gradually loosing his grip. His henchmen are falling one after the other in a wave against corruption in the military and governmental institutions as well as the public ones. Hopefully the pyramid of tyranny, corruption and injustice will eventually collapse as the administrative base falls apart and moves upwards towards the political one. The change hoped for in Yemen is gradually happening with the admirable perseverance and determination of the people in one of the poorest countries of the Arab world which has been plagued with corruption for decades.

A Year of Revolution and a Story of Struggle

Yemen's Revolution is the longest ongoing revolution of the Arab Spring. It started with a protest on February 3 and has been ongoing ever since. Here are the posts covering the main events that happened in Yemen throughout this year and the videos that tell the story of Yemen's struggle for freedom, democracy and justice.

February 2011

03 Feb - Yemen: Thousands Protest on Day of Rage

One of the first pictures to emerge online of protesters in Sanaa. Photo Credit: @al3ini on Twitter.

11 Feb - Yemen: Protests Continue Away from International Media Eyes
19 Feb - Yemen: Another Life Claimed on Eighth Day of Protests
22 Feb - Yemen: Bullets, Screams and Sirens (Video)

The video that follows, uploaded on YouTube by EBNShams, shows the mayhem and chaos as ‘thugs' attack the protesters at the Sanaa University square on the night of February 22. You can hear gunshots clearly in the background. The protesters are also heard chanting: “The People Want to Overthrow the Regime” - which has been the rallying call of protesters against despots reigning across the Arab world during this so-called Arab Spring.

22 Feb - Yemen: Walking the Walk, One More Protester Dies
24 Feb - Yemen: At the Boiling Point? (Video)
25 Feb - Yemen: “Our blood is not cheap” (Videos)

March 2011

01 Mar - Yemen: Thousands Protest on Day of Wrath
04 Mar - Yemen: More Protesters Killed as Political Plans Multiply (Videos)

The next video, uploaded by SuperSouthyemen, shows a protester tearing up a huge poster of Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, as protesters on the ground cheer him on:

07 Mar - Yemen: Protesters Vulnerable to Violent Attacks
09 Mar - Yemen: Did Government Use Nerve Gas on Protesters? (Videos)
19 Mar - Yemen: Friday Massacre in Sanaa
21 Mar - Yemen: Game Over for Ali Abdullah Saleh?
25 Mar - Yemen: Crowds Call for Saleh to Step Down in Sanaa

April 2011

05 Apr - Yemen: Crackdown on Protestors Continues
22 Apr - Yemen: Millions Protest on Last Chance Friday

This video, uploaded by alymene1, shows protesters during the Friday Prayers sermon in the capital Sanaa, on what was called Last Chance Friday.

Like their counterparts across the Arab world, Yemeni protesters had a different name for each Friday of protest in their country.

May 2011

29 May - Taiz Massacre.

On this day, security forces attacked protesters and burnt sit-in tents in Taiz's Freedom Square, killing 15 people, including four women and three children. Fifty others were injured in the attack.

June 2011

03 Jun - Yemen: Confusion in Sanaa Amid Conflicting News on Saleh

August 2011

09 Aug - Yemen: Pressing Humanitarian Needs and Deteriorating Economic Situation

September 2011

18 Sept - Yemen to the Rest of the World: Silence Kills!

A young female protester is seen in this video, uploaded on YouTube by FiredoglakeTV, appealing to the world community to stand by the side of the Yemeni people, who are determined to overthrow the regime:

18 Sept - Yemen: A Massacre Streamed Live Online
24 Sept - Yemen: Bloodbath in Sanaa as Saleh Returns

This video, uploaded on YouTube by 1119801, shows thousands of protesters waving their shoes as they protested Saleh's return. Their chant [ar] was:

هذه قدرك يا غالي*** اهلا وسهلا يا علي

This is what you are worth *** Welcome back Ali

October 2011

02 Oct - Yemen: Friday of Victory for Syria and Yemen
07 Oct - Yemen: Celebrating the Bravery of Revolutionary Women

The following video features the message of a female protester to the world, urging the world to stand besides Yemeni youth and people to build a democratic Yemen:

07 Oct - Yemen: Celebrating Tawakkol Karman

This video, posted by belaquood on March 5, shows Karman, rallying crowds at rallies in Sanaa.

11 Oct - Yemen: Saleh Stepping Down? Unlikely!
17 Oct - Yemen: Azizah Abdo, Yemen's First Female Martyr
26 Oct - Yemen: Yemeni Women Burn their Veils

This video, uploaded on YouTube by the YouthYemeni, shows women burning their veils on 60th Street, the epicentre of protests in Sanaa, in protest against the killing of women during the Yemeni revolution. The burning of the veils by the women in the tribal tradition is a plea for help. Yemen is a tribal society and the killing of women is a big shame in Yemen and in Islam in general, so this was a clear and loud message by the Yemeni women for their tribes and the world at large to intervene to stop the killing of protesters.

November 2011

11 Nov - Yemen: Taiz is Bleeding while the UN Envoy is in Sanaa
22 Nov - Yemen: Will Saleh Sign the GCC Deal that the Youth Oppose?
25 Nov - Yemen: Mixed Reactions as Saleh Finally Signs GCC Deal

December 2011

04 Dec - Yemen: Taiz is Bleeding
24 Dec - Yemen: The Amazing Life March Arrives in Sanaa

Yemeni protesters culminated the year with a grand march from Taiz to Sanaa, covering all the 264km separating the two cities by foot. This video, by moathdamar, shows the first leg of the march, which stopped at Damar on December 22:

31 Dec - Should the US Grant Saleh a Visa?

Yemen's massive peaceful marches have been a symbol of Yemeni steadfast and resilience. The life march from Taiz to Sanaa was the lifeline from the heart of Yemen's revolution, Taiz, swelling with the flow of revolutionary zeal on it's route to the heart of Change Square in Sanaa. Although it was met by violence by the security forces, resulting in 13 deaths, it nevertheless pumped life back into the revolution. While the politicians talked the talk, the Yemeni people walked the walk by striking, demonstrating and spreading the revolution from the squares to the government, military and public sectors, demanding the resignations and accountability of corrupt heads.

Yemen's revolution of change is a struggle that will only end when it reaches what it set for - freedom, democracy and justice. So brace yourself for more posts in 2012 to continue the story of Yemen's struggle.

* This post was first published by Global Voices, on January 3rd 2012.