Leaving Yemen A civil war began in Yemen in the spring of 2015 The war is between rebel fighters and the Yemeni government The rebel fighters belonged to a minority or small group They felt that the government did not treat them fairly The rebels took power from the government and took control of many parts of Yemen There is now fighting across the country Widespread fighting has left millions of Yemeni children without access to food shelter and health care UN Rights of the Child Every child has rights Rights are privileges and freedoms that are protected by law Refugees have the right to special protection and help The United Nations UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document that lists the rights that all children should have Think about these rights as you read this book Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict Millions have lost their homes Some of these people remain in Yemen They are internally displaced persons IDPs Food and water are hard to find There is no health care People are dying of starvation and disease Many buildings have been destroyed by bombs 4
Yemen’s flag Saudi Arabia Oman Eritrea Ethiopia Red Sea Sana’a Yemen Yemen’s closest neighbors are Saudi Arabia and Oman Djibouti Gulf of Aden Somalia Arabian Sea Nearly 300,000 people have left Yemen since the war began These people are refugees Refugees are people who left their homeland because their lives were in danger They are different from immigrants Immigrants chose to leave to look for opportunities in another country 5
My Homeland Yemen More than 1 7 million people live in the capital city of Sana’a Sana’a Yemen is a small country in the Middle East It is located between Saudi Arabia and Oman Much of Yemen is covered in desert The climate is very hot and dry About 75 percent of the people live in the countryside Many live in the Sarat Mountains in the east of the country The capital of Yemen and the city with the largest population is Sana’a Almost all Yemeni people are Muslims They follow a religion called Islam Arabic is their main language Yemen is also known for its beautiful buildings like these tall buildings in the capital city Sana’a 6
More than 92 percent of Yemenis are Arabs The rest of the population is made up of Afro-Arabs South Asians and Europeans In ancient times Yemen traded frankincense and myrrh and many spices Frankincense and myrrh are sweet smelling substances made from tree sap Yemen was the first place where coffee was grown for commercial use or to be bought and sold Today many parts of Yemen have been destroyed by bombs during the civil war This has hurt its industries making it one of the world’s poorest countries Al Mukalla a port city in southeastern Yemen is the heart of its fishing industry People have lived in Sana’a for more than Yemen’s Story in Numbers 2,500 years 7
