Students from the University of Stirling have raised over £1300 for the humanitarian crisis raging in Yemen.
Humourously named ‘Yeet for Yemen’, the effort was hosted by students, Matthew Devlin, Ross MacDonald, Michael O’Neill and Yousuf Jafar last week, in aid of Action Against Hunger and their efforts in delivering aid to the famine-stricken country.
Hosted at Kilted Kangaroo in Stirling, the event was well attended by a number of students and has so far raised over £1300, with more donations still coming in.
Image credit – Yeet for Yemen
Speaking to Brig, organiser and paramedic student, Matthew Devlin, explained their reasons for running the event.
“We’re grateful to have this opportunity to help out. Yemen is in a state of emergency. People are dying of hunger and the healthcare system has collapsed. We need to do whatever we can to help. There’s so little coverage on the current struggle so we need to get the word out and provide support urgently. We can turn a blind eye to Yemen as it seems so far away, but they are people with fears and emotions just like you and me. We need to look out for them as family”
Matthew Devlin
Image credit – UN Refugee Agency
The conflict in Yemen has its roots in a conflict that has simmered between the Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi rebels for nearly two decades. In recent years the civil war has escalated with the situation in Yemen deteriorating into a state of crisis.
Fact File – Yemen
Yemen is a heavily mountainous country, located on the southern end of the Arabian peninsula with its coastline bordering the critically important Gulf of Aden. The country’s capital, Sana’a, located in the west of the country, has seen many years of violence through the civil war and attacks from Al Qaeda.
Image Credit – Addicted04, Wikimedia
The country’s modern divisions and civil war are at least in part down to the north/south split that occurred in 1969, two years after Britain pulled out of the country. The two Yemens sat on either side of the Cold War divide for decades with communist southern Yemen aligning with the Soviet bloc. The country finally reunited in 1990 with the collapse of the Soviet Union and its sphere of influence. Since then the country has clashed with Eritrea over the Hanish Islands, and seen attacks from various militant and terrorist factions. In 2015 the latest civil war began in earnest with a number of Gulf states including Saudi Arabian and the UAE, aiding in the fight against Houthi rebels.
Image credit – Amnesty International
According to the World Food Programme, there are now over 20 million people needing humanitarian assistance, making it one of the biggest humanitarian crises of the 21st century.
Image Credit – Annabel Symington/World Food Programme (WFP)
Featured image credit – Action Against Hunger
Journalism Studies undergraduate at the University of Stirling
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