Yemen is the 50th largest country on Earth with 99% of its population being Muslim. It is one of the best Middle East countries for conserving Arabic culture and traditions. With its proximity to many continents and long history, Yemen had been mentioned in various classics, including the Bible and the Quran. It is the background of One Thousand and One Nights as well as the country ruled by the Queen of Sheba who came from the south to test King Solomon. There also exists a theory that frankincense and myrrh, two of three gifts from the Magi at the birth of baby Jesus, actually originated from Yemen.

 As you can see in the map, Yemen bridges the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea and was a critical point of trade that had been historically desired by the Ottoman Empire and the East India Company of Britain; it remains a military hub and geographical center to this day. Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which lies between Yemen and the African nation of Djibouti, is the main gateway where 4.7 million barrels of crude oil pass through every day to be shipped to Europe.

 The narrowest point is the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which stretches only 30 kilometers in distance and it's where only two vessels can pass at one time. When this passage is blocked by Somali pirates or serious situations in neighboring countries, the whole market feels the impact. Therefore, economic and political destruction in Yemen is a scenario that the world powers are trying to prevent.

 There is an on-going exchange of fire over sovereignty in Yemen, between government forces led by the Sunnist President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and Shiite insurgency group called the Houthis. After the Houthis had forced the president to resign having occupied the presidential palace in January 2015, they organized a new cabinet in the current capital Sana'a and have retained control ever since. President Hadi fled to the southern city of Aden and claimed that his forced resignation wasn't just, while gathering strength to retake power with the support of Saudi Arabia. At the same time, terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS are taking advantage of the political chaos in Yemen to set their base in the country and consolidate their power.

 The civil war in Yemen sprouted from an intricate jumble of geographical, political, economic and religious causes and cannot be abbreviated to a conflict between government and anti-government forces. Yemen was a divided nation with the North and South. South Yemen used to be a British colony and chose the communist system after its independence in 1967 due to the Soviet Union's influence, while North Yemen broke away from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and established the Yemen Arab Republic. The two countries managed to be united in 1990. However, when their first president Ali Abdullah Saleh from North Yemen adopted a discrimination policy against the South in 1994, the Vice President Ali Salim al-Beidh and his supporters from the South revolted and civil war was a result. In the meantime, the Houthis in the North declared war against the Yemeni government in 2004 after their leader Hussein al-Houthi was killed by government army. Nevertheless, President Saleh maintained his mighty regime for 33 years, including 12 years in North Yemen before unification, until 2012 through two reelections.

 Saleh resigned in the heat of nation-wide protest demanding the change of government when Arab Spring swept across the Middle East in 2011. Vice President and the only presidential candidate Hadi was elected as the President of Yemen in 2012. President Hadi must have been choked by the tremendous tasks he had to respond to as the President and leader of Yemen. His responsibilities included suppressing the Houthis, checking on Al Qaeda and ISIS with their occasional bombing and watching separatists in the South. As the Houthis took over power in 2015, the nation's political instability crested.

 The political map above shows the pro-Hadi alliance consisting of the Saudi-led military coalition and southern separatists, while the Houthis have joined up with Saleh loyalists.

 President Hadi is a Sunni born in the southern port city of Aden, while the former President Saleh is a Shiite from the North. So, the pro-Hadi alliance is being supported by Sunni countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, while the Houthis get military support from the Shiite nation of Iran.

 Besides religious causes, for oil-producer Saudi Arabia, Yemen is a critical route for shipping crude oil that must be secured, and to Iran, the only Shiite country around the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen is an opportunity to expand its power. The US is in hostile relations with Al Qaeda and ISIS and is endorsing President Hadi in the hope that Yemen will recover political stability soon. Along with groups within Yemen, major countries around the world are participating in the civil war, either directly or indirectly.

 Above all things, it is the 27 million people of Yemen who feel the direct impact of the war.

According to UN statistics :
- Over the past three years, more than 8,000 people have died and 42,000 have been injured;
- 3 million people have lost their home and been displaced. Many of them are living in school facilities or temporary residences;
- 7 million people are struggling with food shortage. Yemen is one of only four countries facing starvation as listed by the UN;
- 10 million people are not able to use water due to the destroyed water system;
- More than 14.8 million people are isolated from proper medical treatment due to a lack of medical facilities. 25% of Yemeni medical facilities are closed down because of power outage, lack of supply and destroyed buildings; and
- More than 18 million civilians are exposed to the daily threat of death. This is nearly 70% of the total population.

 To make things worse, cholera has broken out. Cholera can be easily cured with IV and antibiotics, but the country only has limited resources so their people, particularly children, are being killed without ever having the chance to be treated. Can you believe a child under age five dies every ten minutes? Yemen is now in greater need of humanitarian help than any other country in the world.

 Humanitarianism : An idea or a manner that imposes the highest value in dignity of the man and pursues an ideal state of securing stability and welfare of the mankind, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality or religion.

 This is the definition of humanitarianism found in the online dictionary provided by Naver. People in Yemen are far from their homes, lacking food and clothing as well as medical treatment, the basics of stability and welfare. Just as we easily forget about numerous deaths in the newspapers but feel the pain to the bones when someone close dies, you may feel some level of frustration, guilt, sadness and rage while reading this story then go back to your busy life. Humanitarianism is in fact an ideal conception that a man in better circumstances secures and seeks out the happiness of others in need solely because they share humanity.

 It may be a bitter reality but if this story has sparked a sense of sympathy towards Yemen in you, why don't you consider donating to UNHCR at the cost of few cups of coffee a month? Donating KRW 10,000 to 50,000 per month for a year can help Yemen with supplying medicine for malaria and survival kits, as well as installing waterworks. I intend to take part from next month.

 Bab-el-Mandeb, the strait surrounding Yemen, means 'the gate of sorrow' in Arabic. I sincerely hope that Yemen will be able to close that gate someday and march forward. The last story on Yemen will be on an issue less heartbreaking and more enjoyable than this one. Thank you.