Sunday, July 31, 2011

Ramadan Karim Syria

The world was awakened today by the heart breaking news of the Hama massacre when tanks moved into the city at dawn to crush ongoing protests. Bashar decided to start the Holy month of Ramdan soaking his hands into more blood by following his father's footsteps who 29 years ago killed around 30,000 people in the same city as he also sent in his troops to crush an uprising. And by doing so he sady turned the eve of Ramadan in Syria from a "Ramadan Karim" (A term Muslims use to greet each other with in the Holy month) to a Ramadan Massacre.
The National Organization for Human Rights said in total 136 people had been killed in Hama and three other towns today. According to Human Rights groups, more than 1600 people have been killed in Syria since mid March.

This is a footage from a hospital in Hama today, filled with killed and injured.
Throughout the past months, the horrific gruesome videos flooding youtube exposed the atrocity of the Syrian regime. It is by far the most brutal in the Arab Spring. Neighborhoods were shelled, homes raided, people abducted, tortured and killed, even children were not spared. 


"This is what it looks like when Syrian forces raid your home", described UN Dispatch's Mark Leon Golderg.

This Syrian revolutionary Dabke song cost the singer Ibrahim Kashoush his life. He was abducted and his throat brutally slit by Bashar's mercenaries, commonly known as "shabeeha" as shown in the graphic video below this. They didn't imagine his song would live on and have even more exposure with his tragic death.


More than 12600 Syrians have been arrested and 3000 others are missing since March. To allow for an International delegation to investigate their disappearance please sign this petition by clicking on the link. 
For months, we have been  we have been hearing and reading of innocent people loosing their lives in Aleppo, Daraa, Deir-ez-Zour, Hama, Homs...etc..
How can any human be still supporting Bashar Al Assad's regime, especially after today's massacre?!! Until when will the world, especially the Arab and Muslim world, remain silent towards these crimes? . And by silent I don't mean just to condemn!!! And I don't mean military action either!!!  The silence is painfully defeaning.
Ramadan Karim Syria. We will fight for you and make sure your cries for Freedom are heard all over. Please pray for Syria.

More links:


Saturday, July 30, 2011

Yemen Calls For Help

Do you know that in 55% of the most vulnerable families in Yemen at least one family member goes to bed hungry at night? *

Yemen as most know is a poor country, the poorest in the Arab world where 40% of the population live below the poverty line. This has been the case before the Arab spring started, however six months of revolution led to a shortage in fuel, food, water and electricity and aggravated the living conditions in Yemen further.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands injured by security forces. Prices of necessary commodities have increased due to shortage in supply. Many families have lost their sole bread winner and now have no source of income, while those injured need costly medical treatments. The economic crisis led to the shut down of  private and public factories forced to halt their production and layoff  250,000 workers. The fuel crisis in Yemen had a detrimental affect on all civilian aspects of life besides the shortage of petrol for transportation. Diesel is also needed for power generators for electricity and to pump water from wells.

The Yemen Peace Project has been raising funds for medical and humanitarian relief efforts in Yemen since March. They have launched a new campaign called Fast for Yemen asking US residents to skip a coffee, or a meal in order to donate it's cost to efforts in Yemen, for instance:
      $5 = Skip your morning latte of Frapuccino, provide a day's meal for a family in Yemen
     $10 = Skip lunch with co-workers, provide a week's drinking water fro a family in Yemen
     $15 = Skip a restaurant entre, provide 5 gallons of deisel fuel for hospital electrical generators
     $20 = Cook at home instead of going out, provide crucial medical supplies for protesters and civilians
Click on their link to see how you can donate.
There are now more than 90,000 displaced refugees in the governarates of Abyan, Aden and Lahj due to the constant bombardment and shelling of civilian homes in the fight between government forces and militants. Some of these refugees have been sheltered in 56 schools spread all over Aden and are in need of humanitarian assistance which the government obviously hasn't been providing so far.
We are all Abyan is a Yemeni non profit organization which launched a campaign across Yemen to donations for the Abyan refugees and has representatives in Yemen and other countries. Click on the link to visit their Facebook page to get more details.
The World Food Program (WFP) has been recently trying to increase their efforts in Yemen to cover this need. The hunger relief plan for 14 governerates in Yemen is only operating in four due to lack of funds. The WFP says it's "still in need of 67.4 million to sustain its operations until the end of 2011.  Here is how you can help Support WFP operations in Yemen by clicking on the link.
The clashes between government forces and tribal family of al-Ahmar in Hasaba for weeks, forced many families to flee the capital Sanaa. Many of these families are poor, have no means to support themselves, in addition to facing hardships of being displaced. Yemen Humanitarian Fund Relief is an organization that aims to relief their suffereing. Click on the link to help.
The Islamic Relief USA has been in Yemen providing vital services to relieve poverty and suffering among the 24 million residents. It is currently collecting donations for food, hygiene kits, tents, clothing and blankets. You can participate, advocate or donate, click on the link to see how.

There are other ways you can help besides making a donation, you can spread the word about these organisations, or you can start a fund raising campaign in the country you live in and among your community. Yemeni living in the UK organized a great campaign called UK Yemen Aid. If you live in the UK, kindly contact the group and see how you can help.

Ramadan is starting in the Muslim world on August 1st. It is not just a month of fasting, praying and contemplation, it is a month of giving, similar to the Christmas season. So join in the generosity of this holy month and lend a helping hand to Yemen. There are many ways you can help Yemen so please do. Last but not least on behalf of Yemen and all Yemenis I thank you in advance for you support. Peace.
Yemen Undergoing Its Worst Humanitarian Crisis Ever



Sunday, July 24, 2011

Terrorism Is Not A Religion...It Is Not Islam


My heart goes out to all the families of the 77 innocent victims (reportedly killed so far). I watched in pain and dismay the news about the Oslo blast and the Utoya Island shooting as many around the world did. Yet as the news was being reported, fingers were already pointing at Muslims, Islamist militants, al Qaeda...etc. As much as the loss of lives trouble me, so did accusing Muslims.

David Crawford ran an article on the Wall Street Journal where he argues that it was most likely Islamist extremists. Another article ran on the Guardian by the title "Oslo bomb: suspicion falls on Islamist, where Peter Beaumont blatantly accuses al Qaeda and mentions Yemen (my country)! The article was removed the next day, thus the broken link and replaced by this one "Norway attacks suggest political motive".  Jennifer Rubin's article on the Washington Post asserted that Muslims were responsible for the Norway bombing. Yet that article was neither removed, corrected nor updated as James Fallow noted. And this just to cite a few.
As more investigations were made, news unfolded that the suspect was a tall blond male who had Nordic features. Eventually we knew more, that his name is Anders, aged 31, had a  Facebook page with postings, uploaded a disturbing youtube video, has a Twitter account with one tweet (yet keeps piling followers!), that he is Norwegian, a right wing extremist, a conservative Christian and an anti-Islamist.
These were my tweets in the past two days:
 "Terrorism has no religion, race, or country. Terrorism is everyones enemy" and
 "Extremism, Racism & Terrorism is Condemned and Rejected no matter what Race, Religion, Region, Organization or individual is behind it".
I also added: "Norway Oslo blast and Utoya shooting wasn't described as a terrorist act in most media? It seems this label is exclusively given to Muslims."

Some tweeted back that the definition of terrorism is not aplicable in this case because the act was carried out by one individual. Well if killing 77 is not an act of terrorism than what is? And had that one individual been a muslim, wouldn't the term "terrorist" have been flashing all over him? In fact not all terrorists are Muslims.
Why has terrorism become linked to Muslims only? Why are Muslims the first to blame for any terrorist act? Glenn Greenwald  highlighted this point in his article called "The omnipotence of Al-Qaeda and the meaninglessnes of "Terrorism". There is also a hashtag trending on twitter called 

The Norway massacre highlighted the Islamophobia that most people have but don't like to admit. Others like the Norway bomber don't deny it, he actually admits his extreme hatred towards muslims. Islam is not al Qaeda! The vast majority of muslims condemn it and hate it for giving Islam this association, especially after 9/11.
There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, a fifth of the (7 billion) Earth population. The majority of Muslims can not be labelled according to violent actions of a few extremist.
Islam in Arabic means submission to God's will, and derives from a word meaning Peace, "Salam". Islam is a religion of Tolerance, Equality and Compassion. There are a lot of misconceptions about Islam that might lead people to fear it. And hence one should make a little effort to know and learn more about Islam before passing judgment.


There is nothing in the Holy Quran that says one should kill. On the contrary there is a verse in the Quran that explicitly says: "the one who kills a soul not in retaliation for murder or (and) spread of mischief in the land it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one it is as if he had saved mankind entirely" Chapter 5, Verse 12.  Also the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said "The biggest of Al-Kaba'ir (the great sins) are 9, (1) to join others as partners in worship with Allah, (2) to murder a human being, (3) to be undutiful to ones parents,...etc
Islam acknowledges all prophets including Moses and Jesus. Therefore Islam actually encompasses all previous religions (Judaism and Christianity) and does not oppose them. A muslim is not a true believer unless he believes in all of God's Messengers and the sacred scriptures. Virgin Mary is mostly esteemed in Islam and has a status unequal to any woman. An entire chapter (19) in the Quran is named after her "Maryam" and recounts her story.
If only we just make a little effort to accept, understand and respect each other, the world would be a much better place. Peace to all.




For further readings:
The Holy Quran (In many languages)
What is Islam
Understanding Islam 
Understanding Islam and Muslims
Meaning of the word Islam
Meaning of Islam
Islam in Brief (in many languages)
Bridges Foundation: Peace Making Through Education
1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets (Islamic)


N.B: This post was retweeted and shared by Rachel Maddow on her Facebook page




Understanding Islam and Muslims


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

سيادة الرئيس ...إرحل

فوجئ الجميع صباح البارحه بمقال يتصدر صحيفة الثوره الرسميه بقلم فخامة السيد الرئيس علي عبدالله صالح، حاكم اليمن منذ ٣٣ عاماً، يتحدث فيه عن الديمقراطيه بعنوان : الحوار هو المخرج الوحيد
ومما اذهل  الجميع بغظ النظر عن مقدرة الرئيس اساساً في الكتابه هو مضمون المقال نفسه. فيزعم الرئيس في أول جمله ان الإستمرار في السلطه ليس غايه في حد ذاتها و لا توجد أية مطامع فيها. حاشا لله... اذاً فما هو سبب هذا الاستمرار في إراقة الدماء، و جر اليمن الى التهلكه إن لم يكن ذلك بعينه؟ فعلاً صدق القائل اول القصيده كفر و العياذ بالله.
و مما شد انتباه بل سخط الجميع أكثر هي هذه العباره: « لم تحملنا إلى كرسي المسئووليه الدبابات و فوهات المدافع، بل ارادة الشعب التي كانت دائماً حاضره في كل توجهاتنا». يا سيادة الرئيس كفا كذباً بالله عليك، فقد خرج الشعب عن بكرة ابيه و منذ ٦ اشهر يطالبك بالرحيل مراراً و تكرارً. تارة بالهتافات و الاغاني و تارة بالمسيرات و تارة بالاضرابات و الاعتصامات و عبر شاشات التلفاز حتى بالكتابات عبر الصحف و المدونات وصفحات الفيس بوك وتغريدات التويتر، ام انك لا ترى و لا تسمع و لا تفهم. لقد استشهد المئات و ضحوا بدمائهم الطاهره من أجل ان يبلغوك تلك الرساله المتلخصه في كلمه لا يصعب فهمها...ارحل
لقدد رددت هذه العباره في مقالك " المؤامرات و الانقلابات" حيث انكرت ان يكون وصولك و توليك للسلطه من خلالها بل و زعمت ان الانقلابيون هم من يقومون بذلك. انها كلمات حاضره في ذهنك لذلك كررتها لانك ادري بها أكثر من غيرك و لن يكفي مقال واحد ان يطمس التاريخ الشاهد بذلك.
ان "قطع الطرقات و الكهرباء و منع امدادات الغاز و كل المشتقات النفطيه و التلاعب بحاجات المواطنين الخدميه الحيويه" هي فعلاً "اعمال اجراميه و إرهابيه مشينه" كما تفضلت و ذكرت و لكن من يقوم بها هم ابناء اسرتك و رجال نظامك و جنودك كما يعلم الجميع. و أنت من خيّر الشعب بل هددته بين قبول بقائك أو الفوضى،  فصدق وعيدك عندما لم يقبل الشعب بل صمم على الرحيل.
لم يكن هناك اي داعي ان تذكر انجازاتك خلال ال٣٣ عاماً، بل عار عليك ان تتطرق لهذا الموضوع برمته، عن اي انجازات تتحدث؟ فاليمن افقر بلد في الوطن العربي ان لم يكن في العالم كله، نحو ٤٠٪ من اليمنين يعيشون تحت خط الفقر، و احصائيات اليمن متدنيه في جميع مجالات التعليم و الاقتصاد والصحه و التنميه و العداله الاجتماعيه و يمكن ان تطلع عليها في تقارير الامم المتحده، بما انك في حالة لا وعي او نكران للحقائق المؤلمه التي يعيشها اليمن.
اما موضوع الوحده  فهذا موضوع يطال الحديث عنه. نعم لقد تمت الوحده في عهدك و لكن لقد سعى اليها الكثير من الوطنيين المؤمنيين بالوحده في شطري اليمن  منذ عهد القائد فعلاً الرئيس ابراهيم الحمدي رحمه الله و عملوا جاهداً من اجل صيغة ميثاق عادل لهذه الوحده يرضي جميع الاطراف (و انا أعلم هذا جيداً و اشهد عليه دون الدخول في تفاصيل) و لكن ما حدث هو ان هذه الوحده لم تحترم و قمت تدريجياً بتقليص دور الاخوه في الجنوب و تهميشهم بل  و قمعهم حى باتوا ينادوا بالانفصال و الفدراليه في ظل الأذى والجرم و الظلم الذي تعرضوا له و الذي لا يرضى احد غيرك.
أي ديمقراطيه هذه التي تتحدث عنها و التي تزعم بأن " شعبنا من حكم نفسه بنفسه ليصبح هو وحده مصدر السلطه يمنحها لمن يثق  به بدءاً برئيس الجمهوريه...الخ" ؟ اضحكتني و ابكتني هذه الجمله في آن واحد. . أفعلاً تتوقع ان هناك من  سيصدق هذا الهراء! آية ديمقراطيه هذه التي حولت حكم  اليمن من حكم شعب الى حكم اسرة ، اسرة صالح و عبر ٣٣ سنه. لقد غيرت القوانيين و زورت الانتخابات و طوقت نفسك انت و اسرتك برجال اشتريت  و لائهم ، لشخصك لا للوطن، و تغاظيهم عن الكثير من تجاوزاتك، و استبحت اموال الشعب و المعونات الخارجيه لحساباتك الشخصيه. فبينما انت و اسرتك و حاشيتك تنعمون يعاني الشعب اليمني من الفقر و المرض و الجهل. 
لا مجال للحوار يا سيادة الرئيس ، و بما انك تحب ان تفخم نفسك و تستخدم صيغة الجمع كما يبدو فاقول لك : من انتم ... من انتم؟  بل لقد فاتكم انتم القطار و لم تعد الاحزاب تمثل غير الاشخاص الذين وافقوا ان يتحاوروا معك و يقبلوا بالمعاهده الخليجيه التي رفضتها الجماهير، فالشعب من شماله الى جنوبه اجمع و نطق بأنه يريد إسقاط النظام و ان يبني يمن جديد. فاض به الكيل و هرم و لن يقبل بالحوار و يقولها لك بالثلاثه...ارحل، ارحل، ارحل.





Saturday, July 16, 2011

Yemen Transitional Council...Finally!





After six long months of stagnation and suffering, Yemen's Revolution finally made a long awaited move and sparked a lot of hope to Yemenis. Tawakol Karman, Yemen's leading female activist headed a youth coalition which formed a transitional council consisting of 17 members of former government officials and society leaders to run the country. The shadow government aimed to create a unified protest reflecting a varied political spectrum of leaders in Yemen and in exile. Tawakol Karman in a press conference in Change Square in Sanaa called the International community to respect the decisions of the youth revolution and to recognize the institutions of the revolution and to end all forms of cooperation with the remnants of Saleh's regime because they do not represent the country. Karman also added that the council will appoint a technocratic government and 501 member shadow parliament to draft a new constitution.
The names of the Transitional Council members are as follows:

Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, 
Huriyya Mashhur 
Jamal Muhammad al-Mutarrab 
Sa’ad al-Din bin Talib
Sadiq Ali Sarhan
Sakhr Ahmad al-Wajiha
Abdullah Hasan al-Nakhibi
Abdullah Salam al-Hakimi
Ali Nasser Muhammad
Ali Hussain ‘Ashal
Aydarus al-Naqib
Mohsen Muhammad bin Farid
Muhammad Salim Ba Sindwah 
Muhammad Said al-Sa’adi
Muhammad Abdul Malik al-Mutawakil
Muhammad Ali Abu Luhoum
Yahya Mansur Abu Asba’i

حيدر أبو بكر العطاس
حورية مشهور
جمال محمد المترب
سعد الدين بن طالب
…صادق علي سرحان
صخر أحمد الوجيه
عبد الله حسن الناخبي
عبد الله سلام الحكيمي
علي ناصر محمد
علي حسين عشال
عيدروس النقيب
محسن محمد بن فريد
محمد سالم باسندوة
محمد سعيد السعدي
محمد عبد الملك المتوكل
محمد علي أبو لحوم
يحيى منصور أبو اصبع

Whether the council will be approved by all factions, have legitimacy across Yemen and be recognized among the international community remains to be seen. Many will deabate about it, nevertheless it is certainly a move in the right direction and a promising one indeed, especially since it is headed by a woman which is synonym with the change needed in Yemen. 
The news of the transitional Council are amidst news of Saleh's return to Yemen. Saleh was appointed as president in July 17, 1978 and planned to return to Yemen on his 33rd anniversary. News of his return are as usual always conflicting and nothing is confirmed until it is reported by Saudi Alarabiya News Channel.
It has been half a year since Yemen's revolution started, calling for an end to Saleh's 33 year rule. Could the transitional council formation be the turning point? Or will it be just a list of names on paper? The coming days will be decisive in Yemen's revolution and history.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Yemen...Pity My Nation

Yemen's revolution continues to be the longest of the Arab Spring Revolutions. It started on the eve of Mubarak's stepping down on February 11th and so far is into it's sixth month and counting. In order to understand what made Yemen's revolution drag this long, one has to examine the players. Besides the regime headed by the President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his relatives, comprising of his son Ahmed: Head of the elite Republican Guards, and nephews Amar: Deputy Director for National Security, Yahya: Head of Central Security Forces and elite Counterterrorism Unit, and Tarik: Head of the Presidential Guards. There are also the local players, the opposition which are made of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) a coalition of Islamist, Socialist and tribal elements. Then there is the Ahmar family consisting of 10 brothers, who's father Abdullah Hussein Alahmar was one of the founders of the Islah Party, an Islamist party of the JMP. Sadeq is the elder son who succeeded his father as leader of the Hashid tribe confideration, Hamid a powerful businessman, controls Saba Phone one of the two main mobile networks in Yemen and was considered a possible successor to Saleh; Himyar, who was deputy speaker of parliament, and Hussein who is the leader of Hashid tribe. Whoever has been following Yemen's revolution is familiar with the wars that have raged between Saleh and Alahmars in Hasaba in the capital Sanaa, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries from both sides.
There is also General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar, head of Yemen's 1st Armored Division and the commander of the Northwest Military District whom defected following the March 18th Massacre in Sanaa. He is not related to the al-Ahmars.
Last but not least are the backbone of the revolution, the Youth, who are a civil movement comprising of diverse age, economic, social, and educational backgrounds as well as geographical, tribal, religious and political affiliations. They are the people in the  sit-ins, filling squares across Yemen, marching the streets daily and in millions on Fridays "chanting for freedom, justice, order and a civil government, with a clear message aimed at peace, stability and basic human rights."
There are also two prime players who are "outsiders". Saudi Arabia and the United States of America, our next door neighbor, and the world greatest power and advocate of human rights. This of course adds to the complexity of an already complicated familial, tribal and political complicated scene. So unlike other revolutions, not only is Yemen's revolution fighting against the local "hijackers" but also against these two unwanted yet dominant foreign players. Both the US and Saudi Arabia have different interests in Yemen which they both want to safeguard by jointly keeping the status quo, even if that means the demise of the revolution and the Yemeni people in the process.
Saudia Arabia is clearly against democracy in Yemen or any other Arab country for that matter. It has long considered Yemen as it's backyard and doesn't want the revolution nor "God forbid" democracy crashing into it's front door. "Keep Yemen weak" is what King Faisal is quoted to have said to his sons on his death bed. And they have done a good job at that, keeping many Yemeni government officials, tribal leaders on their payroll and funding internal conflicts.
Then comes the US's role in Yemen, which has primarily been to fight terrorism and al- Qaeda and defend the US from any possible threats, with a policy of "the end justifies the means". Al Qaeda and security isn't seemingly all the US is after in Yemen, it has a bigger and more ambitious aim. Certainly Yemen is poor and doesn't have much oil yet it has a very strategic location rendering it important to the US. It has Bab el Mandab where 3.3 million barrels of oil a day flow through this narrow strait to Europe, the US and Asia. It is worth highlighting that controlling this waterway, which is one of the most important seven water chockpoints, is vital in the US trade war with China.

As the prolonged Revolution in Yemen turned into a political crisis and resulted into power outage, water, fuel, economic and humanitarian crises, the Yemeni youth and people at large are the ones paying the most with their lives, blood and their suffering from the impotence of the JMP, Alahmars and Ali Muhsin who joined the revolution without bringing about the needed change; Saudia Arabia's attempt to subvert Yemen's revolution through the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) initiative and the US orchestrating behind the scenes, not finding a suitable successor for Saleh, forcing the deal down Yemen's throats and launching "robotic assassins" a.k.a drones on Yemen's territory.

Some describe Saleh's assassination attempt and treatment in KSA as a trip from hell and back. Well the GCC deal seems to have survived as well. Saleh appeared at ease and fully recovered yesterday receiving John Bernann US Counter Terrorism Chief, who urged him to accept the power deal. And as the White House statement points, the economic assistance to Yemen is contingent upon the GCC proposal being signed and implemented. It is the Yemeni people who are living in hellish conditions and who will continue to die and suffer should Saleh remain a day further in power.

I wish too see my country democratic, developed, united and above all independent. Yemen has paid a hefty price through it's peaceful protests calling for change and aspiring for democracy, yet the future remains uncertain. Beside the photo above, these two photos represent my conflicting feelings about Yemen's future. The first is of a little girl with the words "erhal" i.e leave on her forehead and a pondering look if Saleh ever will, and the second is of another girl with Yemen's flag on her cheek and the word "alnasr" i.e "victory" on her forehead and a hopeful look in her eyes of a promising future ahead...









For further readings:
Yemen's Uncertain Political Future
Yemen continues to inspire against great odds
Yemen's protests hijacked
Humanitarian crisis in Yemen
Yemen's Economy Teeters on Collapse




Sunday, July 3, 2011

Yemen's Six Months Revolution


Six months of Yemenis' lives have passed by, and although Yemen's president has been gone to Saudi for treatment for a whole month now, yet the regime remains unchanged. Yes there have been some gains as Hamza Shargabi, an activist in Sanaa's Change Square and member of the Coordinating Council for the Youth Revolution of Change (CCYRC) had pointed out to my frustrated tweet "what are the political gains so far?" by  replying "we destroyed the regime, we recreated national identity, gave hope to the nation..but we haven't been able to place a new regime". Yes I do agree that the protest sit-ins in the squares of Yemen has forged a sense of unity and feelings of solidarity which brought Yemenis together as never before, dismantling clan, tribal, regional and even to some extent gender barriers and it sure did rise hopes. But I am not so sure about "destroying the regime". Although nobody is sure if "President" Saleh is dead or alive especially since he hasn't made a public appearance for over a month, reinforcing rumours of his death, yet the regime is very much alive and kicking or rather "killing".  Besides Saleh's son taking over the presidential palace, there are daily reports of the Republican Guards (a special force headed by Saleh's son, Ahmed) shelling and bombarding the beautiful city of Taiz, missile attacking Abyan fighting so called al "Qaeda" militants and the continuos shelling of the villages of Arhab with scores of deaths, injuries and refugees as a result. 
Although not much fighting is happening in Sanaa lately beside the fights for fuel Sanaa has had it's share of fighting for weeks, during the Hasba war between Saleh and Sheikh al Ahmar. 
Saleh's nephew, Yehya, head of the Central Security Forces dismisses the revolution all together in a New York Times interview, he says "the problem is that the rest of the world believes this is a youth revolution. How many are there in the squares? Do they represent the majority? In a democracy, does a minority rule the majority?" He adds "They should have some self respect and go home. It's been five months now and it's boring." To him I say "obviously you have been oblivious to the streets boiling with hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding the remains of your regime, your relatives and your ouster and the formation of a transitional council. You are either ignorant to count them or blind to see them, or both. I hope these two videos of refugees will entertain you!"

The prolonged political crisis in Yemen caused a humanitarian and ecomomic crisis, costing Yemen billions of dollars monthly, resulting in thousands of displaced refugees, and enduring domestic gas, fuel, water crisises, power outages and food shortages. The regime doesn't want to discuss a transitional council until the "President" is back, hoping that they would in the meantime subdue the revolution. Yet nobody knows if and when Saleh will be back amidst the conflicting reports. However somehow an "unidentified Yemeni official" and a "Western diplomat" which Reuters keeps quoting seem to be abreast with his health and what he wants for Yemen.
Yemen's protests are hijacked as Jeb Boone (a freelance reporter who has been in Yemen too long!) pointed in his latest Global Post article. The opposition seems to be divided between the independent youth who want a total change of government, trial for Saleh and his relatives, and others (mainly Joint Meeting Parties, led by Islah) who would settle for the change dictated by the GCC initiative which is endorsed by primarily Saudia Arabia, the rest of the Gulf States and the US. The independent youth are finding their own way now fighting back any internal and external interference, making their movement stronger and bigger, hoping to overturn the JMP dominance, and are adamant about leading the revolution to victory.
Although Yemen is a poor nation where most Yemenis live under 2 US$ a day and around 42% of the population live under the poverty line with an illiteracy rate of more than 40% and have been enduring immense hardship lately yet they are rich with resilience, perseverance and I have to add a lot of patience. This what has made Yemen's revolution survive six long months. I am confident and hopeful that it will reach it's aim and realize the dream of a new Yemen as long as it has these determined and hopeful youth. But until that day I will keep praying and hoping it comes soon.
One of my favorite Yemeni revolutionary songs