Rebel occupation of a number of schools in the northern Yemeni governorate of Saada is preventing thousands of children from attending classes and is threatening to undermine a recently signed ceasefire between the government and Houthi-led rebels.
“Rebels have occupied dozens of schools in (Saada’s) al-Safraa, Majaz, Kitaf, Baqim, Razih and Sihar districts, where teachers have not been able to resume classes, although it has been two months since the 2009-10 school year began in Saada. At least 30,000 children are unable to go to their primary and secondary schools,” says Mohammed al-Shamiri, head of the governorate’s education office.
Ali Abu Holaiqa, head of a peace committee in charge of implementing the six ceasefire conditions in Saada governorate, says the committee has suspended its work as “Houthis are refusing to stop occupying schools.”
Responding, Mohammed Abdussalam, a spokesman for the Houthis, says many of their followers have occupied the schools after the government refused to release their relatives from jail. “More than 1,000 Houthi men are still in jail although the government promised to release them. Their release is one of the conditions of the ceasefire,” he says.
According to the Razih district local council, in April, Houthi followers broke into schools and replaced national flags with slogans. “They plan to attract youngsters to their side and engage them in any potential fight with government troops,” says a council statement. “They (Houthis) use machine guns and armoured vehicles, which they looted during the clashes, to intimidate young people refusing to accept their views,” Abdullah Dhahman, a local councillor from the governorate’s Matra District, told IRIN News.
“Houthis are targeting teenagers in grades VIII-XII because they think this age group is easier to influence... and they believe teenagers could be worthier fighters in the long term than older men,” says Mohammed Ezan, an analyst from Saada.
Education has been disrupted in the governorate for some time. Hundreds of schools were able to reopen on February 27, 2010 — five months later than normal — due to clashes between the army and Houthi fighters from August 2009 to February 2010. The first semester runs from February 27 to May 18, and the second semester from May 23 to August 15, though normally the school year begins in October and ends in June.
“Some 80,000-85,000 of the 121,000 children once enroled in the governorate’s 725 schools are now attending classes. The rest couldn’t go to their schools, which are either controlled by Houthi fighters or severely damaged as a result of the clashes,” laments Saada governorate’s education head al-Shamiri.
(Excerpted and adapted from www.irinnews.org)