With the spread of political unrest throughout the Arab states, there has been a dearth of news about Yemen, a part of the world which if anything only conjures up embarrassing memories of Britain's empirical adventurism in the nineteen-fifties. We in Bristol are privileged in having a colleague, Dr Judith Brown, right there in the middle of it all. Here is her latest report:
I'm back in Sana'a which is much quieter than Aden protest-wise, although the areas around the new university and Tahreer Square are blocked to traffic. I am living way north of those areas so I don't see any action except when driving nearby.
The mood in Sana'a I think is apprehension. I think it might be difficult for us to understand their fear, but when the whole Middle East is set for a possible big change, everyone becomes aware of the financial, security, stability risks and they are scared at the prospect. They would like change but...
Just as I left Aden, I received an email from the British Ambassador suggesting that all British citizens leave Aden immediately. There are tanks on the streets apparently and it is considered that the risk of civil war has been raised. However, the demonstrations yesterday, whilst very large in Taiz and Aden, were I gather peaceful. Taiz is an interesting situation because it was in North Yemen - which is actually to the West of Yemen, but actually located in the South. So it gravitates towards the South, it is far nearer to Aden than it is to Sana'a. It also has a reputation for having respect for women's rights and is noted as a place where education is valued - even during the Imam era, it was the only town in North Yemen with educational facilities for women, and the schools were considered to be excellent. It is in Taiz where there are the biggest uprisings in the whole of Yemen. I think the people of Aden (not the youth who are protesting) see the issues of separation and change in government as too closely related, and fear the consequences. They know the president has close links with the American military because they are fighting Al Qaeda in Arabia, which is now based in Hadramaut, which is in the political South but is actually in the East. So you can perhaps see why Taiz, with no secessionist issues and no close links with Sana'a is the lead city in the protests.
But I can see that the fear and apprehension of change, once the initial excitement has passed, is a big block to movements for change. And this of course applies all over the Middle East - nothing is settled politically in Tunisia, Egypt or Libya yet and that adds to uncertainty elsewhere.
I'm back in Sana'a which is much quieter than Aden protest-wise, although the areas around the new university and Tahreer Square are blocked to traffic. I am living way north of those areas so I don't see any action except when driving nearby.
The mood in Sana'a I think is apprehension. I think it might be difficult for us to understand their fear, but when the whole Middle East is set for a possible big change, everyone becomes aware of the financial, security, stability risks and they are scared at the prospect. They would like change but...
Just as I left Aden, I received an email from the British Ambassador suggesting that all British citizens leave Aden immediately. There are tanks on the streets apparently and it is considered that the risk of civil war has been raised. However, the demonstrations yesterday, whilst very large in Taiz and Aden, were I gather peaceful. Taiz is an interesting situation because it was in North Yemen - which is actually to the West of Yemen, but actually located in the South. So it gravitates towards the South, it is far nearer to Aden than it is to Sana'a. It also has a reputation for having respect for women's rights and is noted as a place where education is valued - even during the Imam era, it was the only town in North Yemen with educational facilities for women, and the schools were considered to be excellent. It is in Taiz where there are the biggest uprisings in the whole of Yemen. I think the people of Aden (not the youth who are protesting) see the issues of separation and change in government as too closely related, and fear the consequences. They know the president has close links with the American military because they are fighting Al Qaeda in Arabia, which is now based in Hadramaut, which is in the political South but is actually in the East. So you can perhaps see why Taiz, with no secessionist issues and no close links with Sana'a is the lead city in the protests.
But I can see that the fear and apprehension of change, once the initial excitement has passed, is a big block to movements for change. And this of course applies all over the Middle East - nothing is settled politically in Tunisia, Egypt or Libya yet and that adds to uncertainty elsewhere.
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