From Britain to Yemen a life experience

I write to you all as my friends and take this opportunity of sharing with you my experience of living and working in Yemen, this most beautiful and most challenging country. My four years in Yemen has taught me many things on many counts. Yemen is an extraordinary place, the natural settings and the extravagant elegance of its beautiful architecture, its people, history, rich culture and its strategic economic location.
 
I lived most of my life in Britain, and so much appreciate the opportunities offered to me including a good education, employment opportunities and learning from some extraordinary people. I feel so privileged to be a British Yemeni and thankful to both countries for the opportunities offered to me. The greatest achievement in my life has undoubtedly been the opportunity to serve the public and for my part I did what I can and as little as it may be to serve both beautiful countries by building decent and inclusive societies and by supporting people to be positive in their thinking and to take a positive approach to their lives and improve their life chances.
 
Yes I understand life can be difficult whether you live in Britain or in Yemen and it can sometimes be cruel and unfair, but complaining and moaning does not get you any results. It is the human strength and human values that change societies for the better. I have seen and experienced the depth of the social and economic problems faced by so many people here and with a sense of pride, I see a nation held together by a strong revolutionary spirit and a strong desire to survive and change. I remember Tolstoy once wrote: “I had old shoes and complained until I met a man without any feet”.
 
My message to many of my Yemeni and non-Yemeni friends in Britain is consider how fortunate you are in comparison to those who live here in circumstances far more difficult than yours. Then think of how you can contribute to make a difference to the lives of those living in Yemen, who are less fortunate than you are. I understand some of us will differ on the politics of our country and how it is managed but these are differences that have existed throughout history and within all political regimes but I also understand that what bind decent people together is our humanity and our passion to take people out of poverty and improve their chance to enjoy similar opportunities.
 
I have no issue with actively engaging in debate about the politics of Yemen and debating politics is good and healthy but fundamentally those fellow Yemenis who live in Britain must allow those millions of extraordinary Yemenis living in Yemen drive the politics here in the interest of the whole country and its people. I am confident that the people I work with and meet on a daily basis will inshallah make this country a decent country we can all be proud of.
 
I personally am a strong believer in Yemen’s unity and the unity of all communities across all nations and  a passionate believer in the greatness of our people, the country and its people have a thousand charms to show and in no other country but Yemen you will find such compassionate, generous and proud people.
 
I work in  Aden Free Zone with a work force of about 6000 individuals, men and women of all ages and many of them are extremely talented and have so much to offer. I am amazed by how proud and dignified my fellow Yemenis are despite the pain of poverty. They still find time to share and care and demonstrate compassion beyond belief. It is these characteristics which strengthen my belief that this country has the potential to be a leading state in the gulf and its people can re-write history and contribute significantly to the world.
 
It is truly amazing that in the midst of a global economic crisis compounded by so many local political and social pressures our people actually have these wonderful human attributes in them which allow them to respond positively even when they find themselves in extraordinary difficult circumstances. I know Yemen has its fair share of political and economic problems and I know that we live and work currently in a political culture where groups and individuals are seeking political advantage over each other and where the victims are the majority of the population. However, this is politics at its worst and the search for real politics that serves the nations requires much greater effort and a sense of responsibility amongst all politicians and all sectors of our society.
 
Those in politics including myself must realize that politics is about improving our people’s economic circumstances and creating a peaceful and prosperous country; it is not about playing politics with their lives and pushing them into despair and into a sense of vulnerability and helplessness. Again as a British Yemeni, I have full admiration on the way my fellow British citizens were able to rise from a  world war which destroyed much of the country but the strength , aspirations and energy of the British public revitalised the economy and developed a world class infrastructure. I came to appreciate this point much more during my experience here in Yemen.
 
We Yemenis can learn from the British experience and for all the other reasons mentioned I have come to appreciate in particular the profound human nature of our people and the many opportunities at our disposal; we can build a strong and unified Yemen that can become the envy of the world.

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