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The black sheep of the region

“SOS for Yemen is dichotomous in meaning; not only ‘Save Our Souls’ but also ‘Shame on Saudis,’” writes Ebrahim. Above, Saudi soldiers are seen firing artillery toward Yemen, in Najran, Saudi Arabia, April 21, 2015. (© AP)

‘Saudi adventurism’ had invariably been clandestine until Yemen was shelled and razed to the ground over the course of a fortnight. The Arab world had never witnessed such a ruinous calamity, and the so-called human rights organizations just like any other time in history shamefully turned a blind eye to it.

It stands out a mile that such blatant ferocity could have certainly been averted had Arab stooges done their American masters less bidding. With the benefit of hindsight and by looking back on history, what we may construe is that those nations that kindle the starting flames of war are well aware of its repercussions and yet unbeknownst to the fact that, as the saying goes, “what goes around comes around.” The disastrous consequences of such a political karma will definitely have its toll on this fledgling warmongering tyro in the Middle East.

Gone are the days one could be so innocent as to be bullied and bossed around by viciously squalid lackeys. This drastic miscalculation by Saudi Arabian army officials was just more than a simple act of intimidation and emerged as an all-out war. This premeditated saber-rattling manifested itself as a regionally havoc-wreaking and globally hair-raising incident, which led to an Arab-on-Arab fight in a losing battle.

The Saudis wrongfully subscribed to this belief that the aspiration for ‘The Arab Spring’ will be relinquished or re-vanquished rather than replenished; however, they had no single clue that this concerted anti-dictatorship effort had already matured from a smoldering flame into a devastating bonfire. One can shoot a person’s body but not a person’s belief. Once again, in the 3rd millennium, history mercilessly rides its chariot on the seared bodies of the innocent and the deafening silence of the peace-keeping officials sounds insufferably egregious.

Yemenis search for survivors under the rubble of houses destroyed in an overnight Saudi air strike on a residential area in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, May 1, 2015. (© AFP)

 

Upon further perusal over the past decade in particular, you will find that Saudi Arabia has proved to be verily subservient to its Western allies and submissive to their belligerent demands. Saudi Arabia’s political chameleonism is very much to be frowned upon while interacting with other neighboring countries in the region. Obsequious Saudis never seem to back down or own up to their surreptitiously devious track record. Saudi Arabia, with some 40-year hegemony and its onslaught against Yemen claiming approximately 3,000 civilian lives is nothing short of a blatant violation of all treaties. One should wonder how many more sinless people are to be slaughtered until human rights organizations realize the gravity of the situation.

Humanitarian crises at that high a level need to be addressed by legal as well as natural entities so as to raise universal awareness and evoke concerted efforts to change the status quo. By no means can a single voice make a change and the world is well aware that even gagging the media, banning and breaking up rallies will get powerful vested interests nowhere.

An assortment of fallacious protestations are being made so as to whitewash the ravenous desire of the Saudis for the aggression against Yemen, an anti-sectarian offence for one, but the question still remains: ‘Why on earth Yemen?!’ It is the poorest nation among the ones in the Middle East, and then again, with the least military efficacy; so, is Yemen to be a second Palestine or does it just seem to be another flagrant step toward the so-called New Middle East?

No such voice on ‘diplomatic reconciliation’ has ever been heard from the vast array of voices drowning one another. Ethically, war has never been a solution in the international and regional arena, nor the last resort; but what seems baffling is the silence of the Arab League. All being said, who are the undercover beneficiaries of such brutal Muslim-on-Muslim conflicts?

It is axiomatic that the Middle East has long been a strategic region from political and economic perspectives, and the world powers have unfailingly cast a covetous eye on its subterranean assets. On the flip side, playing the ‘Dissemination of Democracy’ card is of no avail and this hypocrisy has divulged some farcical claims as to the military presence of the West being the sole deus ex machina in our region.

It is high time all Muslims from across the globe marshaled forces in the name of justice, in the name of magnanimity and in the name of sovereignty as well as solidarity to defend all our Muslim fellows in Yemen who are the external representation of the voiceless. It is about time we were a good listener to a voice relentlessly reverberating deep inside each and every single one of us that SOS for Yemen is not just an urgent appeal for help.

SOS for Yemen is dichotomous in meaning; not only ‘Save Our Souls’ but also ‘Shame on Saudis.’

ME/HJL


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