Documenting Houthi crimes: Reading of the book ‘The Origins of Racial Starvation in Yemen’
In his book “The Compound Crime: The Origins of Racial
Starvation in Yemen”, Yemeni writer Hamdan al-Ali reviews the crimes and
methods of the Tehran-affiliated Houthi militia in starving the Yemeni people
and sucking their blood to implement their expansionist project.
The book consists of four chapters in which it reviews an
aspect of the violations of the militia affiliated with Iran by documenting
these practices and explaining their connection to the Houthi belief,
containing an explanation of the discrimination and criminality of the
apartheid militia.
Roots of fire
In the first chapter, entitled “The Roots of Fire”, the
writer attempts to trace the crimes of racist dynastic rule in starving and
impoverishing the Yemeni people since the rule of the Imamites and recording
the similarities between that era and the Houthi militia, including the
political, economic, military and cultural goals.
In the second chapter, entitled “Methods of Starvation”, the
writer discusses the methods used by the Houthi militia against the people
through a set of policies such as stealing salaries, collecting revenues, and
collecting royalties under the name of collecting zakat, khums, endowment
funds, taxes, customs, and subscription fees in government institutions, such
as communications and other services, as well as extorting expatriates, legitimizing
theft, plundering cash reserves, and causing currency deterioration.
The reader of the book finds a
number of targeted policies and crimes adopted by the Houthis in order to enrich the policy of deliberate
starvation.
The crime of displacement and the suffering of the
displaced
In the third chapter of the book, titled “The Crime of
Displacement and the Suffering of the Displaced”, the writer talks about the
crime of displacement and the suffering of the displaced, enumerating examples
of testimonies of journalists who have been kidnapped by the terrorist Houthi
militia to show the importance of the financial factor in guiding the behavior
of the militia and how it arrests residents to demand ransoms. African
immigrants were also exposed to these practices.
It also reviews the methods of besieging some areas such as
Taiz and Hodeidah and provides important testimonies in this regard, and it
deals with the phenomenon of displacement due to religious beliefs and what
happened as a result of the war and its destructive
effects, as well as the process of bombing the homes of opponents, which is one
of the most prominent crimes of displacement.
Disrupting development
In the fourth and final chapter of the book, entitled
“Disrupting Development”, the writer reviews important details about the Houthi
policies that deliberately disrupt development, which represents one of the
most important disasters that resulted from the Houthi militia's robbery of
state institutions.
According to a study conducted by the United Nations
Development Program, the Houthis caused a setback in human development for a
period of 21 years, and their policies targeted the Yemenis’ dependence on
relief rather than development, contributing to the regression of human
capital, according to the health, education and employment index.
The writer included many international and local testimonies
that talk about theft and starvation, and he also attached a special appendix
to the chapters of the book that includes pictures of many procedures, decisions,
laws and events that the country witnessed during the period of Houthi control
and war, providing a complete picture of the reality of the situation in Yemen
and the suffering left by the militia, which has contributed to the starvation
and impoverishment of Yemenis through a group of complex crimes presented and
documented in this book.
Militarization of Yemeni lives
The importance of the book “The Compound Crime: The Origins
of Racial Starvation in Yemen” comes in its detailed and accurate presentation
of the Houthis’ efforts to starve the people, militarize the lives of Yemenis,
and make joining their group an alternative condition for their natural
entitlements to conditionally obtain aid and salaries that help them and their
families to survive.
The book also reveals how the Houthi militia was able to
consolidate its control, thwart efforts to restore the state, and use the
banner of the humanitarian situation to stop the advance of government forces.
The writer believes that there are many political, military,
regional and international reasons that contributed to the Houthis imposing
opportunities to pounce on state institutions and military and security
capabilities, implementing a process of displacing active societal elements and
intellectuals who reject the militia, laying off tens of thousands of workers
in government institutions, and granting the elements close to them the right
to monopolize public employment in their favor.
The writer indicates that the deterioration of the economic
situation resulting from the control of the Houthis produced a class of war
merchants from the same dynasty that pursued a policy of plundering and
exploiting state resources for its benefit, which contributed to the expansion
of poverty, especially after employees were deprived of their wages.
