SANAA: Umm Zakaria al-Sharaabi prepares for a daily task in the sparse kitchen of her home in the Yemeni capital Sanaa-putting together a dinner from almost nothing to serve the 18 members of her extended family.
She points to an empty burner and says, “Today we still haven’t made lunch.” The only available food remnants are a bag of bread and a couple spice jars in the corner. “It’s like this every day… In the kitchen, we have nothing at all.”
The economy has been ravaged by the eight-year conflict, which began when Houthi rebels took Sanaa and subsequently spread as a Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes against them.
A truce reached in April provided some solace, but according to the UN, the number of households lacking enough food has since increased. Without a further extension being agreed upon, the ceasefire ended on Monday.
Mother-in-law of Umm Zakaria Before the war, according to Umm Hani, who lives with them in their central Sanaa house, they had a modest but comfortable lifestyle supported by her husband’s income from the education ministry and the money she made as a maid.”We were in good shape. I used to regularly work for a family, together with my kid and his sibling.”
Umm Hani claims, “These days, I swear, we can’t afford flour.” “Look around you, especially in the kitchen. We don’t even have flour, just plain old flour. Moreover, we lack rice.”The problems of the Sharaabi family are felt throughout Yemen, in both the more populated areas like Sanaa that are under the authority of the Houthis, who are affiliated with Iran, and the remainder of the nation, which is held by forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition.
International pressure has been applied to both sides to establish a peace agreement.According to the UN, 19 million people, or 60% of the population, are suffering from what it refers to as acute food insecurity, where shortages immediately endanger people’s lives or means of subsistence.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), which is managing the greatest operation it has ever carried out anywhere and provides flour, beans, oil, sugar, and food vouchers, aid from donor governments only covers half of the needs of the country.
