Yemen: Beautiful Country in Crisis
Across the Middle East, 99 locations have earned recognition as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, in honor of natural or cultural distinction. These range from the pyramids of Egypt and the painted churches of Cyprus, to Israel’s Masada and Palestine’s Bethlehem.
Yemen boasts four such sites, including the 16tth century Old Walled City of Shibam — the oldest example of urban architecture, with its multi-storied mud-brick tower houses rising from a cliff edge, giving it the nickname “Manhattan of the Desert.”
This beauty and historicity remains a reality, even as Yemen stands at the crossroads of an incredible humanitarian disaster.
Background on Yemen
Yemen’s position on the southwestern edge of the Arabian peninsula gives it access to the mouth of the Red Sea — a historical crossroad for supplies. “Because of its fertility as well as its commercial prosperity,” notes Encyclopedia Brittanica, “Yemen was … known to the ancient Romans as Arabia Felix (Latin: ‘Fortunate Arabia’) to distinguish it from the vast forbidding reaches of Arabia Deserta (‘Desert Arabia’).”
Today, in this country that’s both physically beautiful and incredibly remote, many citizens rely on subsistence farming or fishing and live hours from a major city. Rainfall is unreliable and droughts are not uncommon. Over the years, rapid population growth has severely damaged both forestland and wildlife.
Religious affiliation is Yemen’s greatest dividing line: The Sunni branch of Islam dominates (55%), followed by those adhering to Zaydi (Shia) Islam (almost 45%). The government offers freedom of religion, but it’s illegal to proselytize Muslims.
The current country is young — formed in May 1990, when North Yemen and South Yemen (the latter formerly colonized by the British Empire) merged to form the Republic of Yemen. Most recently, the country has been torn apart by civil war, with the government in exile. A Shiite minority rebel group captured the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, in opposition to the north/south unification and the corruption of the then-president.
According to India Today, “Yemen became the shadow boxing ring for Sunni majority Saudi Arabia, which backs the official government, and Shia-dominated Iran, which supports the Houthi rebels.”
Terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have also stepped in to the resulting chaos.
According to humanitarian groups such as the International Rescue Committee, two-thirds of the population risks starvation (80 percent already live below the poverty line). OCHA (the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) identified Yemen as 2021’s largest humanitarian crisis. The perfect storm includes, among other things, a plunge in remittances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fuel shortages, a shattered health-care system, devastating flooding and locust infestations, and the government’s inability to pay salaries and pensions.
According to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, less than 1% of the population has received one COVID-19 vaccine due to access challenges. According to Human Rights Watch, the rebel group in control has “actively spread disinformation about the virus and vaccines.”
OCHA predicts that conditions are not expected to improve any time soon.
Where, with such a frightening outlook is the good news?
God has not abandoned Yemen. He is still at work. God’s people are conveying the hope of the gospel to this country that’s 91.1% Muslim.
Yemenis were listening-in when Brother Rachid hosted his three two New Beginning conferences in November 2020, May 2021, and early December 2021. At these live, two-day virtual events, Brother Rachid and other Christians answered questions and encouraged seekers to start a new life in Christ.
Khalid** from Yemen heard about New Beginning from Brother Rachid’s shows and decided to attend. Afterward, a team followed up with him and sent online resources, as well as a link to download the Bible. When Khalid wrote back, he said that he had been lost and in the darkness, but now he knows the truth and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has decided to follow Him until the day he dies and would like to be baptized. He is actively working on explaining his newfound faith to his wife too.
Our team put Khalid in touch with a pastor, who discipled him online and answered his questions. We just heard from the pastor that Khalid completed his discipleship course and was indeed baptized.
Despite the crisis raging all around him in Yemen, Khalid heard God speaking to him and responded.
Please pray for others who are seeking, and for the millions who so desperately need spiritual as well as physical rescue. To learn more about New Beginning, visit our website.
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Sources: encyclopediabrittanica.com/place/Yemen; “2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Yemen,” U.S. Department of State; “Yemen Civil War: Who is fighting whom and why” by Prabhash K Dutta, India Today, Sept. 3, 2021; “Yemen Humanitarian Needs Overview,” OCHA, Feb. 21, 2021; “Yemen Humanitarian Crisis,” Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Aug. 31, 2021; “Yemen: Houthis Risk Civilians’ Health in Covid-19,” Human Rights Watch, June 1, 2021; “Muslim Population by Country, 2021,” World Population Review.