Know thy rights [Archives:2006/959/Viewpoint]

Editor
Last Saturday, Sana'a witnessed yet another gathering of thousands of Yemenis, some coming all the way from Hadramawt and other outlying governorates. The assembly, organized by the ruling GPC party, called on the president to go back on his promise and stand for president in the September elections. I believe that many of the participants did not willingly go to demonstrate and did not want Ali Abdullah Saleh to be president again. My understanding is that they demonstrated because they cannot imagine Yemen without Ali. Sometimes it is even hard for me to think of the future of this country in the hands of another person, yet this hesitation does not stop me from wanting to experience what Yemen would be like with a better system and a different regime.

Probably, my choice results from the fact that I can clearly see the many rights that I am deprived of as a Yemeni. I know that studying in the dark is not normal, even though blackouts frequently occur in the capital city. I know that one would be completely justified to expect water every time the tap was opened. I know that I would feel more secure if when I or a family member fell ill there was good medical care covered by the government. Most of all, I am desperately eager to live in a country where each person is equal before the law, and in a country where my rights are protected by and within the legal system.

Knowing all this, and knowing that not many Yemenis understand their rights like me, it becomes clear why thousands of Yemenis cannot see their country in any different light. Some are even quite content, even happy, with the trivial level of development our country enjoys compared to the developed world. I remember talking about this to an illiterate Yemeni woman who strongly defended the current system saying, “Look at the development all around us, there are cars, roads and don't forget the mobile phones!” This kind of comment is understandable but not acceptable.

I believe that the work of educating the people and making them aware of their rights, in the absence of a neutral system, is the responsibility of the opposition and independent parties, activists, and of course the media. The tragedy is that many of the so-called opposition don't have a clear strategy or worse, don't even know what they want. This destroys their credibility and makes them look feeble. Much of the media, especially those organizations which could reach the majority of Yemeni citizens in the fields of radio and television, is government controlled.

So what does this leave us with? Is this country waiting for a miracle from heaven, or for evolution to take place? Despite the efforts of a few nongovernmental organizations, which are mostly donor lead, there is so much more to be done and a long way to go. It doesn't really matter who runs this country as long as they do it right doing justice to their shouldered-responsibility.
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