Why?

I am a physician, to me, killing another human being is the ultimate in savagery. The ending of innocent lives, such as what happened on September 16, 2008, at the American Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen, during the Holy month of Ramadan, gives savagery a new definition. It defies reason, religion and morality. It tears the hearts of the families of innocent victims, and shatters the core of human values. Seventeen innocent lives, all Yemenis, were extinguished in their prime. Why? An 18 year old American Yemeni girl, a high school student in New York, and her husband of three weeks, were among the victims. They were at the embassy getting visa for the groom to come the United States. 

The perpetrators did not know with certainty the damage they were going to cause, but they knew their certain death. Why?

A similar attack on this embassy took place on March 18, 2008. The rockets missed their target, but hit a girls’ school nearby, killing one Yemeni guard and severely injuring and maiming 12 young Yemeni girls. I was there. The people were shocked and left wondering, Why? 

Five months ago, I was in Yemen and visited the American Embassy and had a glimpse of its contribution to the Yemeni people. Among the embassy employees are hundreds of Yemenis, who otherwise will be without jobs in a country ravaged by poverty. The embassy facilitates the immigration of hundreds, and over the years, thousands of Yemenis, who come to the United States for education, for work and for opportunities not found in their own country. Their poor families in Yemen benefit from their work and/or their education. Yet, there are those who want to destroy it. Why?

The American Embassy sponsors English schools for young Yemenis, who upon graduation have the opportunity to secure better jobs, so they can support and educate their families. Every official I talked with during my visit, from the Ambassador down, respect and admires the Yemeni people. They feel their pain, understand their poverty, and appreciate their needs. Last August, the American Embassy in Yemen, sent many students to the United States to spend their senior year in an American high school and to live with American families, all expenses paid. Upon graduation, they are required to go back to Yemen. Such an institution does not deserve to be bombed or live in fear. This is contrary to Yemen hospitality, generosity and good will. In reality, the Embassy and its American officials are guests of the Republic of Yemen. Honor and tradition dictate that they be respected and protected. Yet, there are those who want to erase this institution and all the good it does for the Yemenis. Why?

My great grandfather was killed by a member of another tribe. Several years later while traveling, the son of the killer wandered and when night fell, sought shelter in our house, knowing not that his father had killed the father of the host, (my grandfather). He was treated like an honor guest. The following morning my father asked my father to accompany the man for a long distance and to make sure no harm befell him from a member of our tribe. Yes, his father murdered my great grandfather, but at that moment he was a guest. 

Only the uncivilized and the cowards harm their guests. That is the Yemeni tradition of honor, hospitality and generosity, that we all can be proud of. Yet, there are those who want to eradicate this noble tradition practiced by noble people. Why?

Because of all the good things this embassy does, you would think that it will be surrounded with reason, good will and appreciation. You will think that it will be open and welcoming to the people of Yemen and to Americans visiting Yemen. But because of fear of attacks, it has become a small fortress. The embassy does not formulate foreign policy. All its inhabitants are employees of the United State government. They are no different from those living and working at the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, D.C. except that the Yemeni Embassy in Washington is not built like a fortress. An embassy is essentially a link between two governments. It is a messenger. So, why kill the messenger? Why bomb the embassy? Why?

The Yemen government and the Yemeni people will have to make a choice, either to treat their guests with respect, honor and dignity and to guarantee their safety, or, like my grandfather did, guarantee their safety back home to the United States. The status quo, is untenable. It is inconsistent and incompatible with the religion, tradition, and culture of a great and noble nation such as Yemen. It tarnishes the reputation of Yemen in the eyes of the world. But as a government and as a nation, Yemenis seem paralyzed, and continue to allow this evil growing in their midst. Why? 

I am sure the perpetrators have their own reason, or reasons so compelling to them, that in the process they take their own lives. Yes, they too, leave widows, orphans and friends who cry for them There are no winners in this game. My heart-felt sympathies go to the families of the innocent victims, including the families of the perpetrators who are also victims of their own ideologies. If only these perpetrators can learn from the past and the present, that violence begets violence. If they can only learn from Mahatma Gandhi or Dr. Martin Luther King, who changed the world not by violence, but by peaceful means. 

The world does not support or respect hatred, oppression and violence. The world does not support, or appreciate the killing of innocent people, especially women and children. But the world will recognize, honor, appreciate and come to the aid of those who solve their disputes by peaceful means. Gandhi liberated India, and now with its one billion people, is moving rapidly to becoming an industrial nation to be reckoned with. Martin Luther king liberated his people, that today, a black man stands a good chance of becoming the next president of the United States of America. 

The Yemen government and all Yemenis will have to make choices: either protect and honor their guest embassies, or send them back home to their respective countries, and suffer the consequences.  I hope and pray that they will make the right choice.

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