Yemen Observer: http://www.yobserver.com
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Written By: Observer Staff
Article Date: Jul 15, 2008 - 2:32:36 AM
Carrying arms in Yemen is a part of the culture that still prevails throughout the country. It constitutes part of the local dress, especially in rural areas where arms are part and parcel of tradition. In many parts of Yemen, young children begin carrying arms and are often encouraged to do so by their parents. However, this culture has resulted in many tragic injuries and deaths from this irresponsible behavior.
According to the Ministry of Interior, most of these accidents and crimes occur accidentally. However it has led the ministry to ban the carrying of guns in the capitals of all governorates.
The ban has been generally successful, as the number of arms-related crimes has decreased considerably in Yemen, according to a report conducted by the ministry. There are many other organizations that have taken a role on this issue in Yemen. Due to the number of injuries and death related to children, the Shawthab Foundation for Children (SFC) recently made a short film about carrying firearms among children.
SFC encouraged children to protest in front of the parliament-building, calling the President Ali Abdullah Saleh to provide children with a safe living environment.
“Carrying firearms is a clear sign of aggression. It does not let people feel safe in their own houses; people do not respect human rights by carrying such thing,” said some of the children during the protest. “We need the government and society to draw attention to us and protect us from the dangers of firearms. We want them to know our rights and not ignore them,” the children affirmed.
“We hear of accidents among children due to carrying weapons and how it affects them. Carrying weapons is a long-standing tradition among Yemenis and many still cling to it,” says Marym Ibrahim, the General Secretary of SFC. She says that the culture of weapons among children is largely due to their own fathers encouraging them to do so.
“There are fathers who encourage their children to be educated and have familiarity with firearms to protect themselves. However, there are also fathers who encourage their children to carry firearms and walk in the streets in order to show others that they are “men,” but they do not realize that they are actually hurting their own children,” says Ibrahim. Ibrahim said that this film aims to educate people about the dangers of children carrying weapons. “This film comes with the national campaign against carrying weapons. But besides weapons carrying, we also deal in the film with fireworks, which also cause harm to young children.” The film, titled “Ahmed and the death play,” lasts for 20 minutes and was produced in Egypt. According to SFC, the film will be shown in Yemen by the end of May.