Visit to Revolution ‘Birthplace’ Shows Yemen Still on Edge
Eighteen months after Yemen's revolution, some worry the country is slipping backward. Nafeesa Syeed talks to activists, politicians and everyday people in Taiz, the intellectual heart of the revolution, about their fear that Saleh's remnants have too much control, Iran and the US are fighting on their soil and women's rights are being ignored.
TAIZ, Yemen — Inside a tent at Freedom Square, a sketch shows a young man, his mouth agape as blood streams from his forehead. He clutches the ends of his blue shirt, and across his chest, three Arabic letters in red, white and black — the colors of the Yemeni flag — spell out this southern city's name, Taiz.
Such graphic images comprise makeshift memorials in this square, the site of clashes during last year's uprisings that led to the ouster of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the country for 33 years. But the displays are not merely a remembrance of the past, as some in this city say the revolution has not run its full course. Eighteen months on, activists and political figures question the progress since Saleh's fall and suggest that foreign influences are looking to stir up divisions in the country.
"We are still in our revolution," said Horya Wabell, a face-veiled teacher and activist. "We're still in the squares because the big goals have not been achieved."
Whether Taiz, often called Yemen's cultural and intellectual heart, will lead the way in the country's transition depends on maintaining security, which government leaders here say is key to rebuilding the country, where poverty and high unemployment are widespread. Amid the prospects for change, however, some women say if they don't act now, they could lose out on gains they achieved in the revolution.
