Walking Streets of Yemen (harsh reality)
So we've come to a khat market and... It's very addictive. It's a plant that you chew. I like dancing because I feel free and I enjoy my time. It's an absolutely spectacular location. The one who's in charge for Yemen is British. People are ——.
Do you think that Britain should take more action in Yemen? Yes. Security file of all Yemen is in the hands of England. For six years, Yemen has been stuck in a —— ——. Between the SA-supported government forces and the Irn-backed ——.
- How old are you? - Thirteen years old. You're 13 years old, and you want to fight? Yemen is in the midst of the world's worst —— ——. The lack of fuel entering Yemen impacts everything.
Clean water and electricity are hard to come by. Health facilities run on limited power. If the politicians reach an agreement, the —— will be over.
The Arab world's poorest country. — and economic ——. Why do you like dancing so much? I like dancing because I feel free. Understandable that people are scared to come here, I was, let's hope that changes in the future. Welcome back to Yemen here in Al Mukalla.
This is the hotel we've been staying up in one of these rooms. Just had a coffee in the beautiful dining room there. I know it's surreal, it is for me at least, to be in Yemen, the country facing the world's worst —— ——, a country that's been at —— for quite some time, and we're in this beautiful place. Of course, we gotta check our privilege and know that this is a true honor to see this country and still have access to facilities like this.
Very strong security in this hotel, they check the car for —— and things when you come in, and then you have to go through an x-ray machine and get scanned and everything. Anyway, today we're going to be heading into the town here, into the city center, it's quite a reasonably sized city here. Going to go to a market, try and meet some local people, you know, see how life is here from their mouths, and then we're gonna be meeting up with a hip-hop group or something, and then we're gonna be driving off into a different part of the country, so it should be a really action-packed day. Here's the gulf here, and yeah, let's see what Yemen brings today.
So far it's been absolutely fascinating, blowing my mind. Shukran. Shukran. Okay, so we've come into the old town here, and we've a nice gentleman in here.
We are in the market of Mukalla meeting a nice gentleman who is refreshing the old trade that made Yemen famous, the trade of the frankincense, and the trade of henna, the trade of spices, all is natural, source and material. So you've been working here since you're a child? Yes. And what changes have you seen in the time from when you started working here till now? The trade is still the same. The trade is the same but what about the town and this area? All buildings are still the same, but only the other places which get developed and modern.
Here the people are helping each other, and it's peaceful. - So you feel safe? - Yes. Shukran. Perfume is quite big here, right? Yeah, it's a big issue here, and people they love perfumes. Local perfumes it's really good, and I'm gonna buy this. It's a good smell, oh my god.
- What's the price for one bottle? - A dollar and a half. During the past two years, you won't find at this price, but people, they don't buy, and now they are selling to survive. How has it been growing up here? Thank god is okay.
With this business, are you able to support your family? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. And what happens when no? Sometimes the saving he used for the bad days. Okay, shukran. It's better than I thought, but we've only been here a short time, but from what we see on the news, it's better, but I know other parts of the country are worse. Is peaceful.
Problem in electricity. The exchange rate raised the prices of food and medicines, and everything else. But peace is main, it's the first. It's the basement of the house. If the basement is weak, then the house will fall down.
So, do you feel generally safe living here? Peaceful life yes, it exists, but they want to secure the food. Some of them, their salaries is like thirty dollars, thirty thousand riyals. What does it mean safety without safety of food? And the one who's in charge of Yemen is British. People are ——. Do you think that Britain should take more action in Yemen? Yes, England.
Security file of Yemen is in the hands of England. And so, if you can have a message to Britain right now, what would be? England is a great country. The decision will be hear and listen in the world. They disgraced Yemen, and they didn't really do what they had to do. England was here in the south of Yemen, and Yemen at that time was like a flower.
They let down, the British let down Yemen. Before, it was high, and now it's less because they just let down the country. And what would you like to see them do to change that? They have to end this —— and this crisis, they can get a positive involvement. They want a food crisis, and people start to fold down or people kill each other in the street.
What really the British want they should move. The legal government here didn't do anything. Those are the negatives, and if there's one thing that you're most proud to be a Yemeni person, what would that be? - Safety. - Safety? - So you feel like you're looked after? - Yes. Okay, shukran.
Try to put the message as soon as you can. Okay, so we've come back to the hotel. Really interesting walking the streets down there of the town center. - Salaam alaikum. - Salaam.
- How are you? - Good, how are you? I'm good. And now we're back to the hotel because we've come to meet a young guy who does hip-hop dancing, so thought it'd be cool to see that because it's definitely not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Yemen. Going to meet up with him, but I mean again, the security and the —— presence, obviously I couldn't really... Salaam alaikum. Good.
Obviously, you can't... I couldn't film any of it, but just be reassured that it's a very heavy presence here, it's quite intense at times, you know, and there's checkpoints, and there's lots of people on lookouts looking over the town, but obviously, facing the camera in any kind of that direction is a bit of a death wish. Obviously, I can't show that to you, but I hope that you keep that in mind when you're watching the videos here in Yemen that there is a very, very strong —— presence. I'm not really at the liberty to film.
I don't want to put any of the guides or a fixer in trouble by showing that because that could come back badly on him and maybe even more immediately on me, so here we are down at the private beach again of the hotel. See, it's like barbed wire fence perimeter and a wall but the town center there was very beautiful and lovely people and, you know, everybody wanted to have a talk and mostly share the situation that they're facing. Okay, so now we're here with Salman and Muhammad, and you guys have a special talent, right? - You're hip-hop dancers. - Yes.
And how did you get into that? Because, you know, many people outside of Yemen wouldn't expect like hip-hop dance scene to be in Yemen because we think of —— when we think of Yemen right, so... Yes, it is before many years we start this dancing like me I was from five years I was dancing. There is a dancer before us. There was only one dancer until now. And so you follow American culture for that, or where do you get your inspiration? From the American culture, from the dancers around the world, that Michael Jackson.
- Michael Jackson, you like Michael Jackson? - Yes, he was the first inspiration for us. Why do you like dancing so much? I like dancing because I feel free and I enjoy my time, and I don't do any kind of sport, so this is my sport, this is my hope, this is my everything to enjoy my free time. Living in Yemen, I'm sure, sometimes is quite stressful, right? Because of the economy and things, so do you think that dancing lets you kind of escape? Yes, dance helped me a lot in this situation. What do you like most about living in Yemen? Because we've heard that the economy is bad and there's been fighting, the securitie is now, but the economy is the problem from what I've heard, is that right? In some places.
Some places, but what do you like about Yemen? We like the people are very nice, some people are not, but there is a people very nice not like the world are expecting, it is different if you come here, you see how the people are cool and good. If you were to ask, let's say an American that has not been to Yemen, what they think of Yemen, what do you think their answer would be? Their answer would be that Yemen is very —— and have a lot of not secure, and Yemen is not like that. Yemen is safe and not like they see it on TV. That some of the information is not good, but Yemen it's very simple, and it is safe as you guys are here with us. Right. Is that the whole country or some parts of the country still a bit ——? Some parts of the country, some parts of the country is not safe, and some part of the country is good.
And it used to be —— here, right? - Before. - Before - Yeah, in 2015. - Yes, yes. Shukran for your time.
And you guys want to do a bit of dancing for us so we can share, because you guys have a YouTube channel, right? Yes, we have a YouTube channel. Okay, cool, I'll let the guys know that are watching this to check out your channel. - Yeah, we will show you. - Yeah, let's see some moves then.
Wow! Wow, and you do that without music. - It's amazing. - Yes. - You just... The rhythm is in you. - I feel the music. - Right, beautiful. - It's okay or do you want more? Let's get maybe some more, but let me change my lens. So, we've come to a khat market.
Hello. It's an absolutely insane atmosphere here, like people are scrambling to get khat, which khat as like a drug here. It's common around this area in Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, and over here in Yemen as well. Okay, do you like it? Okay, shukran. But yeah, everybody's very happy and wanting to talk to the camera and things, but yeah, it's very addictive, it's a plant that you chew, I'll show you some shots, and yeah it's very common in this area, and lots of people like to sit around and chew it. It's supposed to give you kind of like a...
It's a bit of a stimulant effect and relaxes you simultaneously, apparently, but yeah, just check out these scenes, it's absolutely incredible. Salaam alaikum. Those are the people, absolutely amazing. Shukran. Salaam alaikum. Salaam alaikum.
Salaam. Shukran. Okay, so we've driven through the desert for four hours maybe, three, four hours, and we've arrived at this absolutely spectacular location. There's mud houses built on the cliff down there, I'll show you some shots in a second, but we're staying in this accommodation here, and it's mud huts just sitting on this huge cliff face here it's absolutely magnificent, it's absolutely world-class. And that's where the river will run down, it's dried out at the moment, but in the wet season, it'll be a stream obviously, and then the sunset. It's fair to say, at this point, I mean, we haven't been here too long, but Yemen is absolutely filled with surprises, and it's a very beautiful country.
The people, the landscape, and the history, obviously facing some hard times, but there is so much more to this country than definitely, at least, what I thought after the research I did of the country, but it's something to behold really. Everything seems to have a spicier kick to it. So, just finished up with some dinner there, you could see with my friend Jordan from America who's traveling with me on this trip. We're both sharing the opinion that this place is absolutely fascinating. I mean, we knew it would be coming in, but today was very, very special.
I mean, starting the day meeting people in the market area, and then, you know, the buildings are really, really like unique, and then, you know, the rest of the day we drove through the desert. There's lots more —— checks, you know, again emphasize the —— situation it's heavy, but yeah, this place is really peaceful and quiet. We are like one of the only guests here. There was some other, there was another, a couple people actually from Slovakia, but yeah, otherwise this big beautiful grand resort is empty, it's a shame but, you know, understandable that people are scared to come here, I was, let's hope that changes in the future, and hopefully the economy builds up, and the —— comes to an end, the country is still at ——.
Anyway, we'll see you in the next video. We've got some really cool things planned, so I hope that you'll join me. So, thank you so much for watching, and in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night from Yemen. I just want to take a quick second and say a huge thank you to Curiosity Stream for sponsoring this video. Curiosity Stream is basically like the documentary version of Netflix.
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2021-10-28 22:39
