Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Green Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Afghan Journal
Africa Journal
India Insight
Global News Journal
Pakistan: Now or Never?
World Video
Politics
Politics Home
Front Row Washington
Politics Video
Technology
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
Felix Salmon
Breakingviews
George Chen
Bernd Debusmann
Gregg Easterbrook
James Pethokoukis
James Saft
John Wasik
Christopher Whalen
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
The Great Debate
Unstructured Finance
Newsmaker
MuniLand
Money
Money Home
Analyst Research
Global Investing
MuniLand
Reuters Money
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Life & Culture
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Left Field
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our top photos from the past 24 hours. Full Article
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
US STOCKS-Massive rout spells trouble for Wall Street
02 Aug 2011
Australian woman free after hours-long bomb scare
|
11:19am EDT
20-million year-old ape skull found in Uganda
02 Aug 2011
HIV epidemics emerging in Middle East, North Africa: study
02 Aug 2011
State actor seen behind "enormous" wave of cyber attacks
|
10:46am EDT
Discussed
246
Putin says U.S. is a ”parasite” on global economy
216
Vote delayed on debt bill as default date looms
167
Debt compromise eyed under deadline squeeze
Watched
Israel unveils missile video
Mon, Aug 1 2011
Scientists warn of "Planet of the Apes" scenario
Sat, Jul 30 2011
5 things you don't know about the debt deal
8:42am EDT
As bleak Ramadan begins, Yemeni protesters cling to hope
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
South Yemen tribes to rejoin army offensive against militants
10:04am EDT
Analysis & Opinion
Retracing my steps in Pakistan
Hope for ending hunger in our lifetimes
Related Topics
World »
Yemen »
An anti-government protester who was injured from clashes in the southern Yemeni city of Taiz, sits at a group Iftar on the first day of Ramadan, in Taghyeer Square in Sanaa, August 1, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Jumana El Heloueh
By Mohammed Ghobari
SANAA |
Wed Aug 3, 2011 10:04am EDT
SANAA (Reuters) - As the rain pours down on their battered tents, tens of thousands of Yemenis gather for a feast to celebrate Ramadan, defying increasingly miserable conditions as they pray that the holy Muslim month will revive a flagging protest movement.
They have staged a sit-in for six months in "Change Square," near the University of Sanaa where protests to end the 33-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh began.
But the veteran leader is still in power, albeit in Saudi Arabia, where he was removed for treatment after being badly hurt in a June bomb attack in the Yemeni capital.
Protesters are clinging to hope that they can revive low spirits in their camps with communal meals to break their daily Ramadan fast, as well as more rallies and marches during a period when large crowds head to the mosque to pray, offering natural gathering opportunities.
They have their work cut out.
Outside the festive atmosphere of the square residents trudging through flooded streets wonder if the struggle against Saleh's rule has been worth the price in a country where more than 40 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
Food costs in the Arab world's poorest country are skyrocketing, fuel is scarce, and electricity lights the capital Sanaa for barely an hour a day as Yemen's already weak economy and infrastructure crumble.
"Our situation before was fine. They wanted a revolution, and now petrol is 175 rials (72 cents) a liter when before it was 70. Our electricity used to go out only one or two hours a day, now we barely have electricity for an hour and a half," grumbled Sanaa taxi driver Mohammed.
"You can't help but wonder if things weren't better before."
But to protesters, the very fact that they have remained in the streets despite bloody attacks on their demonstrations and fierce clashes between the government and armed opposition groups is reason enough to celebrate.
They vow to increase the intensity of their protests, mirroring similar plans by protesters in Syria.
"Ramadan will only make us stronger," said protester Ali al-Khoulani, as he huddled inside his tent, waiting to break the daily fast. "We have all become one family and I expect the triumph of our revolution this month because this is the month of victory for Muslims."
Foreign powers fear protests will push fractious Yemen, also plagued by regional insurgencies and an active local al Qaeda wing, into a failed state on the doorstep of Saudi Arabia, home to the world's biggest oil reserves.
Washington and Riyadh continue to back a Gulf-brokered power transition, which Saleh has backed out of three times and has instead vowed to return to Yemen and lead a dialogue.
In a Ramadan greeting to his countrymen, he reiterated the call to dialogue -- the opposition has ignored his offer, sticking to the streets.
SCRAPING BY
Before praying and breaking the fast, protester Zakaria Abdulfattah and his friends volunteer to stack cement blocks to raise the tents above rising waters.
"The rains won't be able to bother us, just like the regime has not been able to force us out of this square," he said, as thousands lined up to pray, kneeling and rising in unison.
Protesters say they've prepared for Ramadan meals by gathering donations from businessmen and charities, as well as scraping together their own savings.
At local restaurants, volunteers stir massive metal pots of vegetable soup and prepare large platters of rice, lamb and chicken while protesters break their fast with dates.
The cost of those dates has shot up some 50 percent this Ramadan, as has sugar to make traditional sweets. Even simple necessities such as bread have risen 30 percent.
Some residents in Sanaa say despite their frustration, they blame the government for economic conditions, which had been deteriorating even before protests. They accuse officials of raising prices to increase resentment of the protesters.
"They're trying to turn the people's anger over living conditions against those calling for the regime to leave, instead of allowing resentment to build because the government couldn't meet our needs," said Waddah Shaibany, a businessman in Sanaa.
For many protesters, it was exasperation with the faltering economy that drove them to the streets -- a third of Yemen's 23 million people were already suffering chronic hunger. Yemenis faced soaring unemployment of around 40 percent due to rampant corruption.
But Sanaa resident Mohammed al-Awadi said this Ramadan will be incomparably bleaker than past years.
During Ramadan, families normally gather daily to break their fast over large meals in front of televisions playing new soap operas made especially for the occasion. Instead, Awadi and his family will share a sparse meal in the dark.
"I have eight people to feed and it is so expensive we've been forced to give up a lot of things for Ramadan like sweets or meat," he said. "We'll barely manage to buy the basic necessities."
(Writing by Erika Solomon, Editing by Sitaraman Shankar)
World
Yemen
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Mobile
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electric trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.