Yemen, The Road to Total Disorder (1)

Yemen, The Road to Total Disorder (1)

 A couple of days ago, I was with a friend of mine, who happened to be American living in Yemen for a few years now.  Of course, the tragic crime in Al-Sabeen square was at the top of our talk.  We had a gathering in which we expected more than 20 people to show up, but only a few turned out.

In 2005, that is less than 7 years ago I had one of my longest trips in Yemen.  I was with my father, who was taking his first trip to Hadramout, and revisiting Aden after more than 50 years.

We left Sana’a on a Land Cruiser at about noon.  We took the road to Marib.  After a less than an hour, we stopped for lunch.  Then we continued to Marib, arriving before sunset at the famous Bilquis Hotel.  After a break, we went to watch the city at night.

The second day, we took a short trip to the Marib Dam, then hit the road to Sieyun.  In the road we were bothered by what we, then, saw as too many “security check-points”.  We spent a couple of days in Wadi Hadramout, visiting a number of tourist attractions.  Then again we hit the road to Mukalla.  A few days in Mukalla allowed us to see a few attractions and relax by the lovely beach.

In the road from Mukalla to Aden we passed a section of more than 50 KM that was in terrible condition and needed to be rehabilitated.  We saw some machinery but thought that the efforts were not enough to restore the roade.

We arrived in Aden in the afternoon and were ready to enjoy a lovely night.  My father, whose last visit was under the British rule more than 50 years ago put it this way “ Shame of them (former south Yemen regime), they just destroyed what was there.  They did not do nothing for over 30 years)….

During this long trip we had no worries about our security.  We travelled in our Land Cruiser fearing nothing, and carrying no weapon, whatsoever. 

My American friend experience is not different.  He went alone driving his car from Sana’a to Mahara, back to Sahbwah and Dhamar.  He hardly faced any trouble during this long trip….

Today, we are hardly able to move inside the Capital City, Sana’a.  As a Yemeni, of course I will avoid having a company of a foreigner.  Whenever possible I prefer to stay home.  I only move when it is necessary.

The story is just beginning.