HODEIDA March 19. 2024 (Saba) - After nearly three years of the retreat of the aggression militias, many residents of the city of Hodeidah and other districts still live under the threat of cluster bombs and explosive remnants left by Saudi-led aggression, which claim lives of civilians and deepen the tragedy of the victims.
The aggression raids stopped, and their tragedy remained in most of the southern and southwestern neighborhoods of Hodeidah city, and the districts of Al-Durayhimi, Al-Jarrahi and Al-Tuhaita, where dangerous and explosive remnants are spread, which from time to time cause civilian casualties between dead and wounded, most of them children and women.
With the escalation of the number of victims and the continuing challenges and obstacles related to the activities of securing the lives of citizens and providing safety and movement without fears in the targeted areas, many of the disabled as a result of these remnants are living a real tragedy at the economic, psychological and social levels.
"I became disabled forever and I live great suffering after I lost my leg and became unable to provide for the livelihood of my eight children, all of whom are children, and I am helpless, and every day we wait for someone to help us to satisfy hunger only," with these words Ayed Hassan Aznam described his situation as one of the victims of the enemy's remnants, and tears of sadness and pain summarize a story of suffering that is not told by words.
Ayed, 45, from Al-Durayhimi district, caused an explosion in the amputation of his left leg, while he was working collecting firewood, which helps him sell it and provide the necessary food for his family, but fate was bitter and more painful and prevented him from struggling in this profession from which he lives to fight hunger and not wait for the mercy and pity of others.
Hodeidah is one of the most suffering governorates, as local authorities are struggling to alleviate the difficult humanitarian conditions imposed by the aggression and its tools as a result of the escalation in the governorate in late 2018, and the continued inability to return many displaced people as a result of the bombing and destruction of their properties and homes.
While the dangers of the remnants of the aggression are still present and looming over the lives of all, the local authority and the concerned authorities in the governorate face many challenges, especially after the suspension of the United Nations World Food Program last December, food assistance that benefited about 185,000 displaced and poor families affected by the aggression.
Hundreds of victims of the remnants of the aggression benefit from this food aid, as "I face great difficulty in obtaining a living or a job commensurate with the nature of my disability, which forced me to walk on crutches, and I suffer from chronic diseases," said Ayed Aznam.
Another tragedy suffered by the 12-year-old child Abdulaziz Abdullah Aznam from the village of Al-Shajn in Al-Durayhimi district, where his morale is bad after an explosion of the remnants of the aggression caused the amputation of his hand, as his family, who suffers from a difficult living situation as one of the poorest families, says, "He needs psychological and social support after this incident, and refuses to play and integrate with children."
The devastating effects of cluster bombs, munitions and explosive objects in their places of residence, took thousands of victims without discrimination, and while many of them did not survive, others survived but with various physical disabilities, imposing a painful reality for disabled heads of households who lost limbs and were unable to work.
The same is true for a 35-year-old mass clash who lost a lower limb two years ago and is a father of three, describing the catastrophic situation by saying, "We are the most devastated by these explosive objects that deprived us of our limbs and turned us into inability to work, and we dream of the necessary sustenance."
Uncle Saleh Abdo, from Al Hali district, is 67 years old, the remnants of the aggression caused the martyrdom of his sons Muhammad (18 years old) and Nabil (16 years old), and the injury of Khaled (12 years old) with deformities in the body and loss of vision, a condition that shakes the conscience of humanity as he wanders in the sidewalks to sell water and napkins.
"My three children are all my wealth and capital, two of them died, the third is disabled, suffers from facial deformities and is blind after losing his sight completely as a result of shrapnel from a bomb that exploded while grazing sheep and collecting firewood in one of the farms next to our house," he says with sorrow and oppression.
"I walk around from early morning until 3 p.m. every day to provide for a living, as I come home exhausted with two cans of yogurt and three bags of bread loaf, and sometimes I return with bread only because there is no one to buy water and napkins," he said.
Casualty figures:
During the past year 2023, explosive objects in Hodeidah governorate caused the death of 52 people, including 19 children and five women, according to the report of the Yemen Executive Center for Mine Action.
The report indicates that 80 people were injured, including four women and 24 children, in separate incidents that were monitored in areas of Hodeidah city and districts contaminated with the remnants of the aggression, which could not be cleansed efforts, including Al-Durayhimi district, ten kilometers south of Hodeidah city.
In its report, the Executive Center documented the death of 300 civilians during the year 2023, including 108 deaths, most of them children and women in a number of governorates.
Since the beginning of 2024, 17 people have been killed and 35 others injured in a number of governorates, due to the explosion of cluster bombs and remnants of war, according to the report.
Challenges of clearing endemic areas:
Real death spreads the ground in several areas of Hodeidah, which requires intensive efforts to secure the lives of citizens by clearing fields contaminated with explosives, and removing all remnants of aggression, in a way that helps them move in a safe environment free from threats and risks.
While activities related to the removal of these objects have been suspended for several months, due to the delay of devices and equipment, a number of which were delivered last August by 300 mine detectors and scanners, the work of the Yemen Executive Mine Action Center has been frozen due to the suspension of support by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the suspension of field and administrative activities.
Despite the provision of these devices, the Yemen Executive Center for Mine Action in Hodeidah indicated in a report received by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) a copy of it, that the size and scope of the spread of contamination with remnants of war is very large and the strength of the center does not cover the areas and mined fields that have been surveyed in Al Hali and Al-Hawk districts only, compared to the small number of human cadres of the center.
On other obstacles and challenges, the report stressed that there are great difficulties in the terrain of the earth and objects spread in the fields such as sand codes and the large number of fragments and minerals, which reduces the efficiency of the work of detectors and delays progress in achievement, especially in Hodeidah governorate.
The report stated that the center last year cleared 694,576 square meters of contaminated areas during the year 2023, calling on UNDP to re-provide support, which has been completely suspended since last June and caused the suspension of training work and the deterioration of the center's readiness to carry out the work entrusted to it.
The new United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Julian Harness visited Hodeidah Governorate in early March and held a meeting with local authorities to discuss the challenges of the humanitarian situation, including the repercussions of stopping activities to clear areas contaminated with the remnants of aggression.
He pointed out that these remnants represent a real challenge for the residents of Hodeidah, stressing only the need to remove them and raise awareness of their dangers to create a safer environment for the civilian population.
E.M
resource : Saba
| more of (Local) |