February 11th.. The dream that never went out

On February 11, 2011, Yemenis took to the streets in a wave of anger, an extension of the Arab Spring that swept the region, raising slogans of freedom, dignity and social justice, after decades of tyranny, corruption and marginalization imposed by the Saleh regime.

In the squares of change and freedom, the Yemenis’ longing for a different future was embodied, and for a modern civil state that would break with the legacy of individual rule and establish a new phase based on democracy and equal citizenship. However, the regime at the time confronted this revolution with bloody repression that did not stop the momentum of the street, but rather increased its intensity in the face of the steadfastness of the revolutionaries and the spread of the protests to various governorates.

In the face of popular pressure, the regime found no way out other than accepting the Gulf initiative that led to Ali Saleh’s resignation in November 2011. However, this initiative did not represent the end of his era, but rather reproduced his influence through other means, as the state’s joints remained under the control of his narrow circle, which made the political transition process faltering and fragile.

The fall of the regime’s head was not enough to achieve the goals of the revolution, as the state continued to suffer from a heavy legacy of corruption and divisions. The crisis reached its peak when Saleh began planning to return to the scene through a secret alliance with the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, even though they had been his opponents in six bloody wars. However, the common interest in overthrowing their new opponents pushed them to form a secret alliance, which opened the doors of Sanaa to the Houthis in 2014, completing their coup against the state and transforming Yemen from a dream of revolution to a nightmare of war.

The country entered a complex conflict that was no longer just a confrontation between the government and the coup plotters, but rather an arena where regional and international interests intersect, as the Saudi-Emirati-led coalition intervened under the slogan of restoring legitimacy. However, the military intervention turned into a new factor in complicating the crisis, as new forces emerged on the ground, and war became a means of redistributing influence. The result was nothing but more chaos and collapse in the country burdened by successive crises.

As the war has continued for more than nine years, Yemen has turned into an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy; the infrastructure has collapsed, millions have been displaced, and more than 80% of the population is in need of aid, according to UN reports. In contrast, the Houthi group has transformed from an armed militia into a repressive authority that practices the most heinous forms of tyranny in the areas under its control, while the authority of the legitimate government has faded amid internal divisions and external control over its decisions.

The Houthis have consolidated their power, transforming the areas they control into a repressive theocracy that tightens its grip on society, suppresses freedoms, and integrates the state into its abhorrent ideological system.

Despite all these challenges that have befallen us as a people and as government institutions, the spirit of resistance carried by the Yemenis remains the greatest guarantee for restoring the state and returning Sana’a to its natural embrace, away from the grip of sectarian militias, as the February 11 revolution was the beginning of the journey. It is true that the road is still long, but the torch that was lit that day will remain burning until the dream for which the Yemenis came out is realized: a free, just, and prosperous Yemen.