Remember the Children Who Die

What’s left in life for children of famine?
In war-torn Yemen children who die;
Now scratching existence from soil so barren -
So why does the world ignore their cry?

The children of Yemen are no more,
Shameful and guilty the bearers of terror;
The young are guiltless victims of war,
Through raids demonic that bring such horror.

Houthi strike and Saudi raid,
Are backed by powers that guilty be;
So families and children - with lives, they paid,
In graves they lie, no longer free.

What chance for talks in Stockholm now?
Will love humane and mercy show?

8 December 2018

Fighting between the Houthi Shia Muslim rebels and the Sunni-led government of Mansour Hadi began in June 2014.  In march 2015 fighting was accelerated by Sunni arab states, notably Saudi Arabia, backed by the US, UK and France, who began air strikes against the Houthis (backed by Iran).

In December 2018 the UN negotiated peace talks to take place in Stockholm between the Saudi-backed government of Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels.  These are very finely balanced….

In 2018 the UN estimated that the war had killed about 10,000 people and that a further 50,000 have died because of famine.  About 13 million Yemeni civilians face famine in what could be the world’s worst famine in 100 years.