A country caught in a cross fire [Archives:2008/1122/Viewpoint]
Apparently it is Al-Qaeda in Yemen who was behind the murder of two Belgium tourists, and a Yemeni tourist guide, in a bus ambush last Friday.
At first, there were conflicting stories as to what really happened. Some reported that the tourists were caught in a gunfire exchange between tribes in the area. This explanation was probable considering the tribal structure in Hadramout, and the carrying of arms tradition in Yemen. Then speculations said that it was a reaction to the state's clamp down on the demonstrations in the south last Sunday, whereby two Yemeni protestors were killed.
However, the fact that a tourist bus was targeted clearly indicates that it was a terrorist attack, be it Al-Qaeda or not.
This is the first time a tourist group has been targeted since July last year, when eight people including six Spaniards were killed in a suicide car bombing in Mareb.
Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for both the attacks although no one really knows what Al-Qaeda is. It could be any body and no body. It could be angry or ambitious locals who are armed and want to break the chain of authority in the area by making a public statement; by cowardly attacking vulnerable tourists who took from their time and money to spend in Yemen. They could be former Jihadis who since their return from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, or Iraq, or God knows where else, have been searching for a reason to exist since the only thing they know how to do is Jihad.
It could be all of that together, or none of it. However, the issue here is that what are we going to do about it? The Yemeni government has surely proved once again that it cannot control the country after it has spread itself too thin fighting across so many frontiers. There is the rebellion in Sa'ada in the North, the greedy tribes men in Mareb in the mid East, The angry protestors in the South, and now the terrorists in the East.
The old ways, using the carrot or the stick, which the system used to deal with rebellion, is not working any more. Yemenis around the country want to be heard, understood, and appreciated.
The system is getting the return for its dealing with the public. Today, most Yemenis do not feel appreciated, and hence are not patriotic.
“Why should I be loyal to a country that has given me nothing? I am not proud to be a Yemeni, I would rather be anything else,” is a statement I hear on and on especially from frustrated ambitious youth who are not allowed to be. They feel trapped between life's demands and available opportunities.
The solution to Yemen's problems whether AL-Qaeda or anything else is through gaining popular support. This way, people will be the first to fight any terrorist acts, and make those with bad intentions feel not welcomed. But now, most Yemenis are indifferent because they are tired of chasing their own dreams and not feeling fulfilled.
The answer to all these issues is good governance. It means providing good health services, quality education, water and sanitation, paved roads, good communication networks, satisfying jobs, equal opportunities, a neutral judicial system tc.
Good governance means that the rulers do the job they were elected to do.
The other important factor that our government chooses to ignore is the role of media and access to information. The ruling system thinks that by sharing information it would lose control, as if it has any left.
Yemen's leaders don't understand that through nurturing free independent press they could rally the support of media to help make Yemen a safer and better place for both its people and its visitors. It's as simple as that, but how much longer must Yemen and Yemenis have to wait until the ruling system gets this?
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