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Yemen’s war: ‘No one knows when he is going to die’

As the devastated country grapples with a massive humanitarian crisis, many Yemenis are becoming increasingly desperate.

Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
Once a port city known for thriving international trade, Aden has today become a base for armed groups such as al-Qaeda. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
By Maria de la Guardia
Published On 3 Mar 20173 Mar 2017
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Not long after sunrise, mango juice cartons and small boxes of cookies are passed around to the children on the fishing boat, as tired eyes scan the mountainous coast of southern Yemen. The motor drowns out any talk, as dolphins – believed to be a good omen – appear alongside, as if they are showing the way.

After the 16-hour sea journey from Djibouti, the boat docks in the Port of Aden, where passengers are greeted by armed men and stale, humid air.

Yemen is a country at war, with numerous groups, including the Houthi rebels, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) wrestling for power. An Arab coalition backing Yemen’s government has been conducting air strikes in the country for nearly two years, aiming to regain control.

But as the devastated country grapples with a massive humanitarian crisis, many Yemenis have become suspicious of one another. The country’s economic, urban and societal fabrics have been ravaged.

“I am scared of what is going to happen [amid the] fuel crisis, food crisis, gas crisis, cash crisis … I never feel safe,” university student Nisma Mansoor, 22, told Al Jazeera.

Some displaced Yemeni families are slowly returning to the country, but their boats are dwarfed by those departing. Many other Yemenis are desperate to leave, but have nowhere to go.

“War was a lesson for us all that nothing remains the same,” resident Taha Raed told Al Jazeera, “and no one knows when he is going to die.”

Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
Today, Yemen is a country divided. The war has killed 10,000 people and wounded 40,000 more. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
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Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
A young man has a bullet removed from his foot in hospital. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
Various armed groups have been wrestling for control in Yemen. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
Armed fighters have bombed and set fire to the last two Christian churches in Aden, defacing walls with bullet holes and ISIL flags. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
In the Crater and Mualla areas of Aden, apartment buildings have been reduced to piles of rubble. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
Children still gather to play in front of their old homes, before retreating to different tented camps or makeshift shelters in abandoned schools. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
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Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
Houthi tanks slow traffic as they partially block the roads. A woman left desolate by the conflict uses the opportunity to beg from passing cars. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
The economy is struggling to revive itself, a difficult task without open trade routes or the means to produce goods - but the market for the chewable leaf khat is still thriving. Yemen grows and produces some of the highest-quality khat in the region. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
A family plays on one of the only remaining slides in the seaside strip of Khormaksar, Aden. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
Aden's youth have found different ways to grow out of their experience with war, including by practising parkour, or assault course training, on tanks and bombed-out buildings. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
A young boy is treated in hospital for wounds he suffered after being set on fire. The war has killed hundreds of children. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
Conflict, injury and death continue to overwhelm Yemen's under-equipped hospitals. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
The younger generation will have much to overcome as they work to rebuild their country after the war ends. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]
Yemen: Struggles of daily life/ Please Do Not Use
Even for those who can afford the boat crossing to Djibouti, countries - including the United States - are closing their doors for onward routes and opportunities. [Maria de la Guardia/Al Jazeera]


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