6 September, Friday, 2024
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HomeSourcesbbc.comYemen: The children of a forgotten war

Yemen: The children of a forgotten war

If suffering had an address, it might be al-Rasheed Street, in Taiz, a Yemeni city ringed by mountains and rebel Houthi fighters. On this narrow street of rough-hewn homes, the young can’t escape a grinding conflict the world tends to forget.

A slight boy with a mop of dark hair leads us down the street, nimbly side-stepping potholes – with his crutches. Bader al-Harbi is seven years old, just a little younger than Yemen’s war. His right leg has been amputated above the knee. The slogan on his T-shirt reads “Sport”.

In the back yard of his family home, Bader sits on some breeze blocks, his stump exposed. His remaining foot has no shoe. His big brother Hashim is by his side, sharing his trauma and his silence.

Hashim’s right foot has been mangled and he is missing a thumb. He fidgets endlessly with his hands as if trying to rub out the scars.

The boys were hit by Houthi shelling on an October morning last year as they came home from school on a break, according to their father, al-Harbi Nasser al-Majnahi. They have not been back to their classes since.

Sourcebbc.com
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