Ghetto imagesWhen Hanaa arrived at work a few months ago, she found “drawers and doors were broken and the boss surrounded by security staff.”
All computers, phones, cameras and documents were confiscated, her boss was arrested and the organization's bank account was eventually frozen.
HANAA works for a US -funded non -governmental organization (NGO) in Yemen, which supports women's empowerment and trains people to solve problems through negotiations.
But the country's civil war, which has lasted more than a decade and has created one of the oldest humanitarian crises in the world, has made the life of workers in NGO more dangerous.
Twenty -four UN officials, along with workers from other local and international NGOs, have been detained by Huti rebels in the last few months.
A wave of arrests in January increased the climate of fear – a person from the World Food Program, which was detained, died in custody.
The situation has left humanitarian workers who feel that their freedom of movement is significantly limited. As a result, many organizations, including the UN, have scaled back operations, threatening to do life for people who are already devastated by the war even more.
Ten years ago, Iranian Huti fighters conquered the control of much of the western part of Yemen, including the capital Sana, by the internationally recognized government. Saudi Arabia, since then, has made intensive aerial raids of its neighbor – with logistical and intelligence support from the United States and the United Kingdom – to try to prevent Huti's rebels from taking control of the whole country.
It was Huti employees who attacked Hanaa's office and detained their boss and she was afraid of retribution if she spoke. So, for their safety, we have changed the names of Hanaa and others in Yemen, which we interviewed for this article.
Through the destruction of humanitarian workers, Hanaa believes that the Hutt is intended to spread fear among the public. But what hurts her deeply is how the public reacts.
“When I checked social media, it was terrible to understand that people see us as spies,” she says.
The day after her boss was detained, Hanaa was glued to his TV, watching a pro-Hutt channel broadcasting what he describes as a confession of espionage, made by nine locals who once worked at the long-closed embassy in the United States in Sana. They were arrested in 2021
This was the moment when she was afraid that things would get worse for her as she worked for US NGO funded. She decided to leave her home in northern Yemen.
By the time she reached the south, she felt injured. “I couldn't eat for three days, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop crying,” she says.
She is now worried that US President Donald Trump's decision to rewrite Huti as a terrorist organization can make them focus on anyone working in US -funded projects.
After someone is arrested, it may be difficult for them to receive some support, according to Yemen's lawyer Abdulaziz, who represents 14 detainees. They have been behind bars for several months – three are UN officials, while the rest are hired by local NGOs. “During the first three months of detention, my clients do not communicate with anyone,” he says.
Abdulaziz is increasingly worried that their location is still unknown. Most recently, he says his customers have been able to make several short phone calls to their families. “Every call was between five to 10 minutes,” he explains.
The BBC turned to Huti to ask about their treatment of assistants, but did not receive an answer.
In addition to the detention, the life -saving assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been paused as a result of President Trump's freezing for organization's operations around the world, against the backdrop of waste and abuse.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warns that the impact of President Trump's policies and Hutis' arrest arrests is “nothing but devastating.” He “will have a massive and dramatic impact on providing help in Yemen,” says Niku Jafarnia, a researcher of Yemen and Bahrain in the organization.
According to HRW, the United States funded about one -third of the humanitarian aid in Yemen, much of it via USAID. Between 2015 and 2021, it provided over $ 3.6 billion, making it the largest single donor of humanitarian aid in the country, according to the UN.
“Cutting assistance would be a death sentence for us,” warns Amal, a mother of nine. She lives in a camp for internally displaced people in northern Yemen, along with thousands of other families.
Even on the phone, it is clear what a heavy weight this woman wears. Her slow speech is loaded with emotion. It has been nearly 10 years since losing your home.
Amal is single supporting his huge family. Her husband has acute asthma, so she can't work. The family had to escape from their hometown north after the conflict began.
Since then, their lives have been increasingly notable. The camp, on a barren desert land, is hardly like a home. Their only shelter is a worn plastic tent, without chairs or beds. It is difficult for her children to find joy in a place that is missing almost everything.
“If this delivery line provided by NGO is reduced, my children can die. We have no job, no income, nothing,” adds Amal.
About half of the population has a bad need for humanitarian assistance, including nearly 10 million children, according to the UN UN charity organization. The UN Human Development Index lists Yemen as one of the 10 most developed countries in the world.
Amal tells us that he receives a monthly grocery basket from the UN World Food Program (WFP), but barely lasts two weeks. When they run out of food, she says that her only option is to leave the camp and go out, begging the streets of the city. She goes to restaurants and shops, hoping for a few breads of bread or a pack of rice.
“I'm covered with shame, but should I let my children starve? I'm completely helpless,” Amal explains. The helplessness is often reflected on her. “I cry a lot when I realize I don't have a penny,” she says, her voice is wise and bitter.
A large number of children suffer from diarrhea and pneumonia due to poor hygiene, malnutrition and unhappy living conditions, but adequate drugs are rarely offered.
At a clinic in northern Yemen shelves, where medicines should be lying empty. Employees told us that the medical supply they have is nothing compared to the needs of people.
The BBC contacted the UN, looking for a comment on the current process of distribution of help and recent arrests, but did not receive an answer.
However, by addressing the UN Hans Grundberg Security Council, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, condemned the detention of his staff as “not only a violation of fundamental human rights, but also a direct threat to the UN's ability to disseminate help to the most the great need. He also called for the immediate release of all detainees, whether from the UN or from other local and international NGOs.
It is for families like Amal Hanaa and her colleagues to try to make life better.
She proudly remembers how they sent girls to school to one of the conservative northern regions. When the parents complained from the neighbors who could see their daughters during a vacation, “we held discussions between residents and eventually agreed to cover the playground so that the girls could return to class,” she explains.
She fears that the absence of this support, for fear and lack of funds, can increase the percentage of illiteracy. “We are the only ones who survived the state's collapse to serve people,” Hanaa says with a sigh.
The names of Hanaa, Abdulaziz and Amal were changed for this article.