Consciences on holiday!
July 30, 2020
With the beginning of Eid Al Adha, the parties to the conflict in Yemen are depriving hundreds of families of joy, turning these families’ Eid into a nightmare filled with tears, by deliberately detaining, disappearing and torturing their loved ones.
Mwatana for Human Rights reminds of the torment innocent women and children endure as this Eid approaches, with the feeling of missing their loved ones reignited, while the jailers go on enjoying their lives… dressing up in their new clothes, wearing their perfumes and going to pray with other worshippers, as if they had committed no crimes, or as if their consciences were on holiday.
Mwatana appeals to the remnants of humanity and conscience within officials of the warring parties; They can still embody the values of mercy, renounce the spirit of hatred and vengeance the war brought with it, and do something good for Yemen and its people, by setting free those they imprison.
With the spread of COVID-19, Mwatana reiterates the huge responsibility on the warring parties to dissipate the fears of society and restore peace and security. The systematic apathy that causes the unnecessary death and endangerment of people will remain a stigma and legal curse haunting the perpetrators whenever they believe they can run away from it or avoid the consequences of their actions.
As no war can be won by holding an innocent person, Mwatana has sufficient basis to say there is no cost to restoring smiles to the faces of grieving children and women, who fear the unknown future ahead of them.
