Weekly Action - 1 January 2024 - Houthi Rebels Piracy

Houthi rebels piracy attacks

Over recent weeks there have been multiple piracy attacks by Iranian backed Yemeni Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea. The attacks (at least in theory) are targeted against boats heading to Israel, or linked to Israel in some way, in retaliation for Israel’s airstrikes and military incursion into Gaza. Houthi rebels began a civil war against the authorities in Yemen in 2004. They represent the Zaidi Shia Muslim population in the mainly west and north of the country, that make up some 53% of the population. Sine 2015 Saudi Arabia has intervened militarily on the side of the Yemeni government, and a third faction backed by the United Arab Emirates is in control in the south of the country. The civil war has been vicious in Yemen. Over 330,000 people have been killed, 24.1 million people are in need of humanitarian aid and 4.5 million have been completely displaced.^[1]

Writing in the Guardian, the Yemeni journalist Bushra al-Maqtari paints a brutal picture of this tragic war, “We have returned to precivilisation. All cities are without electricity: we live by candlelight and the gas lanterns our ancestors used. When the gas runs out at home, families resort to cutting down trees to burn in wood stoves. There’s no clean water to drink. Every day, children and elderly people line up with pots at tankers donated by some doer of good. You see poverty wherever you turn: citizens have lost their jobs and livelihoods, impoverished to the point where they don’t even question the meaning of war. Women and children fight over scraps from rubbish piles. Families sleep outside. People are relocated to miserable camps on the outskirts of cities and left there, abandoned by the world, forgotten.” ^[2]

To end the Houthi piracy attacks in the Red Sea, the root causes must be addressed. That means ending the tragic conflict in Gaza (as previous Arise weekly actions have called for), but also ending the civil war in Yemen too, and ensuring economic development and democracy for the country. As Christians, we know that it is God’s will for every conflict to end, as the Bible says, “He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.” (Psalm 46: 9). The Arise Manifesto, Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world, contains multiple lessons from the Bible and from history, on what works best to end conflict (Arise Manifesto, pg 89 – 90, 129 – 136), ensure economic development (Arise Manifesto, pg 142 – 204) and help grow democracy (Arise Manifesto, pg 79 – 88, 102 – 124).

This week will you take action as part of Arise’s Reform Movements and 4 Shifts campaigns, to call for peace, development and democracy in Yemen?

Take Action

Speak out in advocacy

Contact David Cameron, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, via social media. Ask him to immediately scale up UK efforts for peace, development and democracy in Yemen. In particular ask him too …

Redouble the UK’s efforts to impose diplomatic pressure for peace on all sides in the Yemen civil war.
Scale up UK aid to Yemen with a focus on urgent humanitarian support, but also support to help Yemen rebuild a strong and fair domestic economy, and provide good taxation and social spending to meet the basic needs of all.
Support domestic activists in Yemen who are calling for greater democracy and human rights. But only in ways those activists want, that helps and doesn’t undermine their cause.

Contact him on Twitter at: @David_Cameron, on Facebook at: David Cameron, or search for him on your favourite social media platform.

Pray

Pray for the people of Yemen. Pray for a ceasefire on all sides, the protection of all civilians on all sides, for all those who are injured and have lost loved ones, for humanitarian access, and for a meaningful peace process to re-start. Pray too for economic development and democratic and human rights reform in Yemen.

Give

Give to Christian organisations like Cafod, Christian Aid, Tearfund or World Vision who work in countries like Yemen to support those who suffer in brutal civil wars.

Practical Action

Reach out to friends and neighbours in your community with roots and family in Yemen. How have they and their families been affected? How can you and your church support them?

Encourage us and others by letting us know what actions you have taken – message us at info@ariseuk.org, or via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Find out more

It’s great to take this action as individual Christians, but even better to come together with others to pray, discuss, worship, learn, have fun and take action together. Contact Arise if you are interested in joining or starting a local Arise group in your church or area.

Find out more in the Arise Manifesto, Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world. It looks at what the Bible says, and what we can learn from the best data and the world’s leading experts on the five major areas of evangelism, discipleship, social justice, development and the environment. It then draws these lessons together into a practical road map for the changes we need to see in our world, which the Arise movement campaigns to achieve.

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[1] Yemen: Why is the war there getting more violent?, BBC, (14 Apr 2023), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-29319423

[2] ‘They robbed me of my children’: Yemen’s war victims tell their stories, Guardian, (25 Aug 2022), https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/aug/25/yemen-war-victims-stories-they-robbed-me-of-my-children