Yemeni youth: what is the solution for them

Many young men in Yemen describe qat as the sole means they have to escape their unbearable life situations. Many young people in Yemen face unemployment. With nothing else to do, they fill qat sessions, chewing to pass the time. Young Yemenis use qat because it provides happiness and comfort. A qat session distances them from life problems, they said.

For many of the youth they have only event known conflict of some form. Conflict in Yemen is fuelled by chronic and increasing poverty, limited and uneven access to services and increasing radicalisation and unemployment, especially among young people. Conflicts between Yemen’s powerful tribal elites, between the long-divided north and south, and over religious divisions, have turned violent in a context where the population is frustrated by corruption and excluded from decision-making.

The widespread circulation of weapons, coupled with weak government control over large parts of the country, heightens the risk of violent conflict. Conflicts over increasingly scarce resources affect all levels of Yemeni society, from localised conflicts over land and water to national level political struggles. Water resources are diminishing rapidly and a water crisis is imminent. The country is heavily dependent on food imports, making it especially vulnerable to global price shocks.

There has been no resolution after the revolution, but youth are seeking to play a role in the future. For many though, the situation is hopeless.

Intervene in prayer on behalf of young people in Yemen.