Tribalism in Yemen, its relation with the State and the political parties [Archives:2005/846/Culture]

Hassan Al-Zaidi
Tribalism in Yemen is a historic and social phenomenon. The Yemeni tribes emerged within the political existence in the reign of the Queen of Sheba. These tribes, including Hemiar, Madhaj and Hamdan, which are also considered as the most famous and contemporary tribes in Yemen, played an important political role in the south parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

From these tribes, descended other smaller tribes such as Hashid and Bakeel that are stretched over different parts of the country and still maintain their traditions and social decorum. When one reads the reality of the tribe as a social phenomenon, he/she is bound to perceive a great change in the social values and concepts toward the contemporary life. The tribal groups proved themselves capable of strong interaction, prompt response to the new political and economic impacts.

Reality of the tribal community today:

The political conflicts and clashes experienced in North Yemen after the September 26 Revolution and events of central areas in the eighties made popular militias out of the tribes that have their impacts on the economic and social situations of the country.

Over the past three decades, the observer could realize that Yemeni tribes got involved in civil wars and revenges, and this in turn led to exacerbating the tribal violence which is still pursued up until now. Series of wars and revenge incidents are on the rise without any immediate action taken by the State or the political parties, and negligence of the State compelled tribes to live in isolation for a long time.

Relation between the tribe, State, and the political forces:

Some cultured people hold the view that it is necessary for the State to get rid of the tribal system, particularly as the tribal beings constitute an insurmountable political barrier, which hinders the development of modern Yemen. The fact can be found in the development of history of the area where the state appeared to be a strong political and administrative regime. The tribal communities succeeded in integrating themselves in the frame of the state and its cultural and ideological system, this means that the tribe is not higher than the state as expected by others, rather it is a social institution that is usually affected by the social, economic and political developments of the whole country.

Crisis of relation between the tribe and the state on one hand and political forces on the other:

The ongoing Sa'ada events and their consequences confirm frailty of relation between government dignitaries and locals in the area and the capability of political forces and religious figures in coping with the tribal community. Political forces and religious figures manifest their power in transforming tribal groups to military wings to be exploited when needed.

Frailty of the state's relation with the tribal community is manifested in its being limited to some certain personalities who exploit the individual to serve their personal interests, particularly in days of election.

Political parties and religious forces secured fertile places in tribal communities in order for them to develop their views, and support their prominent figures through using tribes as military wings.

Political parties and religious groups exploit tribesmen by inciting wars and conflicts between members of the same tribe with the intention to support their candidates of parliamentary elections.

The obstacles facing the tribal community these days are the result of wrong policies adopted toward the tribe and the kind of treatment with their individuals. Parties and authorities never contribute to developing the tribal community; rather they appear to consider any tribe as a traditional institution to be exploited when needed.

The State and the political parties never help the tribal communities in facing the economic challenges. Education, for instance, experiences ongoing deterioration in almost all the school grades, and such is reflected in the educational outputs. Moving toward the religious education run by religious groups in the primitive areas and the frailty of public education in such areas help the tribe restore the traditional concepts.

The government's dominance over most of the tribal areas can not be achieved by gathering and intensifying military troops. This can rather be achieved when tribesmen feel that the existence of the government provides them with safety and protects them from revenge incidents as well as giving them jobs in public institutions and providing them with public services.

The government should not resort to threats and arrests in case a tribesman carries some violent acts as is realized in many areas. A better alternative for the State is to improve and consolidate its relation with tribes to avoid losses of bodies and properties.

Tribe and weapons:

The authorities accused late the military wing in al-Haq and Popular Forces Unionist parties, both adhere to the Zaidi movement, of standing behind Sa'ada events, and by tomorrow, one can expect the authorities to accuse the military wing in parties of so and so of standing behind events in Marib or al-Jawf.

A multidimensional question appealing to the mind is: “How were such military wings formed, how did they get weapons and how were they trained?”

The tribal community is considered a military wing armed with its weapons it buys from the markets of weapons left after conflicts between republican and monarch supporters. The tribal communities are found to keep their weapons to protect themselves from wars, revenges and racial conflicts prevailing the tribal environment.

If the government eradicated violence and ethnical conflicts between tribesmen, it would be able to disarm tribesmen easily, particularly as they are still not proficient to mishandle different types of weapons.

The killing of 525 and wounding of 2708 military troops and volunteers in Sa'ada events does not reflect firmness and strength of al-Houthi followers, or the view they are well trained to mishandle weapons proficiently.

So the phenomenon of carrying weapons cannot be eradicated unless revenge issues and conflicts between tribesmen are exterminated.
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