Wednesday 18 July 2018
US activists denounced the on-going Saudi-led coalition war on Yemen, which is supported by their country’s administration, where they described it as “a war of genocide”.
The rally was sponsored by several organizations including One Hamtramck, the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice (MECAWI), Women in Black, Peace Action of Michigan, among others.
Hamtramck, a municipal enclave of Detroit on the east side, has the largest concentration of Yemenis in the U.S. Hamtramck is a majority Muslim area and has a very diverse population from many regions of the world.
The participants expressed their anger over the war on Yemen and the US participation alongside the Saudi-led coalition, which would make the “American people disgusted if they knew the truth about what the US is doing to Yemen in their name (..) Not only does the US sell weapons, but they enforce the blockade with naval ships throughout the Red Sea,” as activist Randi Nord said in her speech during the rally.
She added that today marks the 1200 day of Saudi-led coalition war on Yemen, where 37000 were killed and thousands of houses, schools, farms, institutes, and markets are destroyed, while tens of thousands died of hunger, malnutrition, and lack of medication.”
Nord stressed that “we do have troops there (Yemen), and our taxpayers are funding this war, and not only that, but the United States provides logistical support to select airstrike targets.”
Another activist said that “we should say no to the war on Yemen,” while her male colleague stressed on the notion that “standing in solidarity with Yemen is a moral issue.”
Abayomi Azikiwe, protester who filmed the rally, said on a facebook post that the Yemenis are suffering from a blockade and a genocidal war coordinated by Washington and implemented by Saudi Arabia and UAE, under the rubric of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) utilizing United States manufactured warplanes, bombs, intelligence coordinates and diplomatic cover.
He added “At least 30,000 people have died since the beginning of the relentless bombings and ground offensive in March 2015. The country, the poorest in the Middle East, has been struck by the worst cholera epidemic in the world infecting hundreds of thousands of children and adults.”
Photo taken July 12, 2018 by Abayomi Azikiwe in Hamtramck, MI
Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 