When black life doesn’t matter: A quiet world on Houthi ‘Holocaust’ of African migrants
RIYADH: According to most accounts, the Houthi Yemen militia had just fired at nearly 500 African immigrants. But where is the uproar among those who are heavy on the claim of human rights or the liberal statement? This is not an astronomical question but one that is earnestly asked.
To be sure, selective global behavior is nothing new; it has been around since the birth of the international community and the early days of the human rights movement. But the deafening silence of those who claim the role of international moral arbitrators over the latest Houthi behavior is a scandal in itself.
Even with Houthi ‘s disrespectful standards for civilian safety, what happened on March 7 in a detention center in Sanaa was despicable. The militia used force to stop a strike by migrants protesting against harsh treatment, hate and ill-treatment within the facility, the Geneva-based U.S. Group for Rights and Freedom said on the basis of interviews with some survived.
His decision left no room for seafaring with the usual suspects: “The Houthis were directly and consistently responsible for the killings and injuries of about 450, mostly Ethiopians, in a detention center, on March 7, 2021, in a fire caused by bombs apparently detonated by Houthi forces. “
Rights groups say migrants are routinely abused and endangered by Houthi soldiers and will be put on a squalid stance. (AFP)
A number of local independent organizations have agreed with the decision. Mwatana, Yemeni’s main human rights group, blamed the Houthis for the fire and accused them of illegally arresting the relatives and relatives of the victims to stop them from being charged. talking about the event.
“The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group caused the deaths and injuries of scores of African migrants by starting a deadly fire in a dense arrest facility in Sanaa on March 7,” Mwatana said in a statement.
Separately, the Women’s Solidarity Network mocked the use of live ammunition and explosive devices to suppress migrant protests and called on the DA to protect survivors from such fear.
“We urge international organizations, including the United Nations, to protect migrants admitted to hospital,” he said.
“Our sources raised fears that the Houthis were promising hospital migrants that silence cards would be issued. According to information gathered from witnesses, Houthis collected illegal African immigrants, including children, from their homes to force them to recruit as fighters in order to send them to confrontation. “
Muammar Al-Eryani, an internationally known Yemeni government information minister, said the Houthis have been intimidating survivors and their families into influencing their media accounts. or any future international study.
Revealing that survivors and other witnesses would not give fair testimony if they remained within Houthi-controlled areas, he called on the DA migrant group, IOM, to relocate them away from Houthi pressure. .
Abdurrahman Barman, a Yemeni human rights advocate and director of the American Center for Justice, said his group had interviewed some survivors who blamed the Houthis for the tragedy, accusing them of pushing are the hundreds of Ethiopians into the detention center that led to overcrowding.
These African migrants in Yemen are lucky enough to be treated at a hospital in the southern city of Lahj. Many more live under “inhuman conditions”. (Photo IOM via AFP)
He said the Houthis had barred American Justice Center investigators from visiting survivors at Sanaa hospitals, saying the survivors’ accounts reported that the death toll was between 200 and 300 .
In a very ironic twist, the assassination of Sanaa occurred around the same time when the U.S. city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $ 27 million to settle a civil lawsuit over the death last year of one black man, George Floyd, in police custody.
Minneapolis City Council has named the highest settlement – the largest pretrial civil rights settlement ever, interpreted as a powerful message that black life is important and that police brutality against people of color must end.
“George Floyd’s death rejected a sparrow social movement,” wrote Derrick Johnson, president and President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in an oped in the Guardian last June. “In every state and throughout the world, people of all colors, genders, and ages come together to march in anger and hope, to abandon the past and the renew the future. “
Sadly, if history is any guide it is unlikely that people of all colors, genders and ages will “come together” to march in anger and hope “over the loss of hundreds of Ethiopian lives in Yemen Remember that the hashtag #HouthiHolocaust has been waiting on Twitter in Arabic, revealing the depth of public outrage across the Middle East.
the city of Aden in Yemen pleads for food and water. (Photo IOM via AFP)
Believing him, Michael Aron, the UK ambassador to Yemen, has strongly condemned the death and called for immediate and fair investigation and unhindered access for the injured migrants.
“Started with a fire at a Houthi-controlled immigration center in Sanaa,” he said on Twitter on Friday. “OHCHR & humanitarian organizations need immediate unhindered access to the site and those injured. A reliable, transparent, independent investigation is required, including a full account of those killed & injured. “
Aron did not question who or what was to blame for the fire and loss of life. “Houthis’ abusive treatment of migrants – including the creation of congested conditions at the center – has led to this terrible loss in people’s lives,” he said.
Speaking to Arab News, Badr Al-Qahtani, editor of Yemen newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, denounced the deception of international organizations in the context of Yemen’s political realities. Whether it is the death of migrants or the eviction of civilians, the problem for the DA and other organizations that do humanitarian work in large areas of the country is the same: Houthis ’ability to create problems.
“They are afraid of the Houthis because the militia can make life more difficult. The device works. They treat the militia with safety as their main concern, ”said Al-Qahtani, referring to humanitarian organizations.
“Because they interact with sovereign governments, such as Saudi Arabia or the UAE, or similar organizations, they have a different relationship unlike their approach to the Houthis because they do not have to deal with any threats of violence. “
Building on this point, Al-Qahtani said: “International organizations are always vigilant in dealing with any issues in areas controlled by Houthis in pursuit of their humanitarian objectives. to achieve. His comments about the fatal incident in Sanaa are proof of that.
Iranian-backed Houthi militia members have been running a berserk in Yeme. from the last few years. (AFP file image)
“Compare this event with other issues related to some of the same Yemeni organizations and government recognized by the UN. In Aden, for example, a question arose regarding migrants from Africa. The same groups and protesters took a strong stand against the government and made all sorts of demands.
“The government has treated these organizations because of their international profile and reputation, and they have met their demands. These organizations always work with the government and deal with it directly, without any problems or ideas. “
In contrast, the Houthis will not hesitate to use strong arm tactics. “They can delay your paperwork at the airport, or transport or work. Therefore, organizations prefer not to face them. They can release some information, but they cannot raise their voice, ”said Al-Qahtani.
“You have to understand that the Houthi group has recently been established and the mission is to control international organizations. Even foreign governments sometimes pay attention to this issue. When the British ambassador speaks openly on an issue, you can be sure of the scale of the challenge. “
Barman, of the American Center for Justice, went mad with his criticism of international organizations as well as the international community for turning a bad eye to Houthis actions.
“This is a horrific crime,” he told Arab News, referring to the deaths in Sanaa. “The world would have made a scene if the burned migrants were white. And if it weren’t for the makers of the Houthis, the Security Council would have called immediately. “