Publications

Since 2017, many residents of Al-Mahra, Yemen’s easternmost governorate, have had a growing anxiety regarding their Saudi neighbors to the north. What began as a trickle of Saudi troops[1] into the area quickly transformed into what appeared to be a fully fledged campaign for control of the governorate, including its border with Oman to the …

Even before the current conflict, Yemen’s development needs were vast.[1]  The escalation of the war in 2015 worsened many of the country’s pre-existing systemic and infrastructural deficiencies. This makes Yemen a prime target for international development assistance, both now and especially in any post-conflict scenario. However, good intentions and money are insufficient to ensure that …

Civilians caught up in armed conflicts are often deprived of the most basic human rights, whether their homes are destroyed or looted, or they are personally attacked, exploited or killed. When forced to flee, they seek out safe havens in communities farther from frontlines or in makeshift camps — with or without access to food, …

Executive Summary The UN-led peace process to end the Yemen war has so far failed to meaningfully include women. Yet, women have made great contributions to peacebuilding during the war. New women’s networks and alliances have emerged; in some cases these have absorbed women seeking the protection of collective action, particularly in north Yemen where …

I have been drawing on Sana’a’s walls for years. In 2012, when I was a high school student, I launched my first art campaign: “Caricature of the street.” I used to save up my allowance to draw in the streets as a way of expressing my opinion and echoing what the youth of the Arab …

The Old City of Sana’a has been inhabited for over 2,500 years; it boasts unique architecture – those distinctive multistory towers with delicate white-trim designs – and UNESCO world heritage status.[1] Today, this built heritage, and the human history it evinces, face multiple threats. Heavy rains have recently caused damage to around 1,000 houses, starkly …

When Al-Qaeda entered the city of Mukalla in April 2015, the cultural and artistic movement froze. Artists were intimidated, writers were muzzled, and performances were banned. Cultural visionaries and artists were singled out and targeted by AQAP. Today, five years after Al-Qaeda was forced out of Mukalla, art is slowly making a comeback. “Most of …

When Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took control over Mukalla in 2015, a young man opened a shop to sell fast food in our neighborhood. The shop was popular; the food it served was the first of its kind in the city. The diverse menu, impressive packaging and employees’ professionalism reflected good management during a period when job opportunities were scarce, consumers were focused mostly on only buying essentials and many of the city’s established merchants were fleeing eastward toward the security of neighboring Oman.…

For much of the past three years, periodic protests have rocked Mukalla, a port city and the capital of Yemen’s Hadramawt government. The cause, typically, is Mukalla’s poor electrical grid and frequent outages, although at times politics and Yemen’s broader war have bled into the protests. In turn, the authorities have continued to intensify their response this year in attempting to quash the unrest.…

Aden has historically been a cultural and commercial crossroads, home to a famed port linking East and West. Its setting, on the Gulf of Aden, at the confluence of the Red and Arabian seas, long brought trade and people to the city, making it a cosmopolitan hub. Throughout much of the 20th century, the city …