Yemen: The many faces of hunger — Fares
A worried father opens up about his struggle to save his sweet daughter from malnutrition and disease
“She survived cholera a few months ago. We lost her brother during the cholera outbreak last summer. By the time we got him to the hospital, it was too late to save his life. Angham and her younger brother are all we’ve got now. She is the apple of my eye and it breaks my heart to stand helpless seeing her suffering from one disease after the other.”
“The doctors tell me that she is malnourished. She is 19 months old and weighs only 6.6 kilograms. We brought her to Hajjah hospital this morning as she has been vomiting and had diarrhea for the last two days. I have not been paid for the last three years so I have tried casual work. Some days, I can bring home some money and other days, I return empty-handed. I am grateful to God for everything, but on a good day we would have wheat and rice for the children. Most days this is not possible.”
“The prices are so expensive and a bag of wheat has tripled in cost in the last two months, from 5,000 to 15,000 Yemeni Riyals. I am not sure things will return to normal anytime soon. You know well, once the prices go up, it is hard or nearly impossible for them to come down again. It is not just me but everyone of my neighbors, friends and family. Everyone is fighting their own battle in Yemen — ours is simple: staying alive”
