News From Yemen

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

On Protests in Yemen

The following is my non-expert opinion on current events in Sana’a, as many of you have asked about them: I left last weekend for a three day tour of southwest Yemen, including Ibb and Tai’z (two of the most important cities in Yemen, even though you’ve never heard of them). We got the news of Mubarak’s departure via cell phone on the road between Mokha (or Mocha, as in the coffee) and Khokha and watched the celebrations on a small TV in the lobby of our seaside hotel. The area is a flat coastal plain and sparsely populated compared to the other cities I’ve been in, so I was unaware of how the rest of Yemen was taking the news.

Finally arriving back in Sana’a on Saturday evening, I could tell things were different. In addition to the one guard who usually sits at our gate, there were now six police officers in purple uniforms. The pro-government tents were back up in Tahrir. I was told that the night before spontaneous parties had broken out in the street to celebrate Mubarak’s ouster, which later turned into anti-government protests.

Protests have continued daily, with anti-government protests usually occurring on the Sana’a University campus or in Sharia Hadda, while the pro-government people have set up camp in Tahrir Square. It’s rumored that a number of the pro-gov people are being paid, and perhaps even some of them are army in plain clothes.

Media outlets have recently reported “clashes” between police and protesters and pro-gov protesters brandishing knives. I can tell you that half the men in Sana’a wear the traditional Yemeni dagger, or jambiyah, on a daily basis. It’s part of the wardrobe, just like a watch would be for Western men from my father’s generation. That protesters were seen with knives is unremarkable, especially since the pro-gov people seem to be fond of dancing, and male Yemeni dance often incorporates the jambiyah.

Police clashes with protesters would be a more realistic cause for concern, but it seems that these are not all they have been cracked up to be either. The word “clashes” conjures images of Egypt, with lines of police in full riot gear advancing like a phalanx on protesters. Protesters here began marching to the president’s office after being pushed out of the university campus by pro-gov people. The police intervened and stopped them from reaching the building. People were hit with batons, but it wasn’t the street battle we now picture after witnessing events in Egypt or Tunis.

Also, remember that when newspapers say “thousands” take to the streets, they mean two to three thousand, not eight or nine. The pictures that accompany these articles are often taken from ground-level, which can make a small, contained crowd seem huge, implying that the lines of protesters continue far past the edges of the camera lens. Finally, the last I’ve heard is that the coalition of opposition parties is still participating in talks with the ruling party about reforms. Those taking to the streets are going out on their own.

People from Tai’z to Sana’a have told me that they expect little to be gained here from protesting. People want to change the system more than they want to change the president; hatred for Saleh is not broadly shared as was hated of Mubarak in Egypt. Yemenis have also told me that the habit of qat chewing also limits the potential of protests, as this afternoon activity prevents the sustaining of multi-day, or even full-day, demonstrations. I believe this is a simplification, but it is definitely a contributing factor.

Finally, I just don’t sense the groundswell of enthusiasm and dedication that pushed the Egyptian protests to critical mass, transforming them from demonstration to revolution. This could all prove to be just the beginning though, as every political analyst worth his degree said that Egypt was too divided and too apolitical to revolt as Tunis did. But for the time being, I’m not worried. I know people have asked about me and how I’m doing here, and the answer is great. I hear about the protests the same way everybody else does, via CNN or BBC or Aljazeera. I have yet to encounter an anti-government protest, which makes me skeptical of headline about protests “sweeping Sana’a” or “rocking Yemen.” The pro-gov people are hard to miss as Tahrir square is two hundred yards from my apartment and they like to drive around town blasting nationalist songs on speakers blown long ago. Added security in my area was visible the past few days, but all the extra guards spend the day napping and chewing since there haven’t been any mass protests to put down.

Bottom line: until the news starts giving you aerial shots of protesters to contextualize their huge numbers, or starts reporting deaths at the hand of riot police, I would not be worried. Life goes on in Sana’a as it always has since I got here in November.

2 comments:

  1. I had to come and see what was going on in your area. You certainly talk a calm game.

    Funny about the qat. Or not.

    Be careful. Jambiyah is not a watch. Did not fall for that one.

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  2. The protests are continuing. My read is that they are small and mostly non-violent as you said. Please continue to provide updates.

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