Transforming orphans into martyrs..Houthi militia multiplied their tragedies and robbed their rights

English - Monday 08 August 2022 الساعة 05:34 pm
Aden, NewsYemen, special:

Since the outbreak of the September 26 revolution, the category of orphans has enjoyed many privileges and attention, and regulations and facilities have been made that helped provide an environment for them until the terrorist Houthi militia came.

The orphanage school is one of the oldest modern schools and the nucleus of a distinguished education stage, which great writers and politicians passed through, and leaders and innovators graduated from it.

The interest in this category has declined, since the Houthis took control of the north and its existing institutions, for political and social motives, which the militia uses as a pretext for the continuation of its racist project.

Marginalization and looting of orphans

 Until 2018, the militia had sent 200 orphans from the orphanage, 90 of whom were killed or wounded, and a number of them were captured and are now being rehabilitated, according to reports.

A close source mentions that the militia starts visiting orphanages whenever it feels the need for fighters, and mobilizes them sectarianly and ideologically with lectures and intensive cultural courses.

The sources also indicate that Houthi supervisors during the past days confiscated the building of "Rawafd Al-Nahda" school in Sana'a, one of the schools affiliated with the Orphan Foundation.

Sources confirmed that the building will be invested by turning it into a "private university" in order to support the sons of martyrs, as orphans cannot be preferred over martyrs, according to the Houthi leaders' statement.

This is one of the methods of Iran's arm to control capabilities and turn them into private investments, the latest of which is the University of Science and Technology, whose outputs have been decided by the legitimate government not to accept, starting this year.

Violations

 According to the organizations’ reports, 28,000 minor children were recruited by the Houthi militias from 2014 to 2018, including dozens of orphans. The number doubled until 2022 to reach 36,000, according to activist Arwa Al-Khattabi and local reports.

There are continuous movements aimed at attracting new numbers of orphans, most of whom are children, to join the battle fronts.

Polarization includes making parties and spending large amounts of money on cultural events and courses, while other reports confirm that there is forced recruitment and compulsory summer centers.

According to local figures, the number of orphans in Yemen reaches one and a half million orphans, while the number of institutions that care for and sponsor them is 10 homes that take care of them fully or partially, and these bodies never cover this number.

Statistics also indicate that the percentage of orphans adopted by these institutions for housing, nutrition, education and health does not exceed 8% out of a million and a half.

The orphanage on Taiz Street in Sana’a is the most famous of them, and it has its own real estate investments that were seized by the militia, while the Al-Rahma House, supported by some businessmen, specifically Hayel Saeed Anam House, is one of the important institutions located in the city of Al-Asbahi, Beit Boss.

There are reports from Ibb Governorate and others indicating that the militia exploits this category throughout the year for its benefit, by providing aid, whether on holidays or other times;  As it pays attention to them, some say it is limited to a very limited group that gives them some clothes and food baskets.