THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- December 5, 2017- Topic 2

Forgotten war — on Saudi-Yemen crisis

For the past 33 months, Saudi Arabia has been bombing Yemen with help from its Western allies, turning the country into a humanitarian tragedy. Yemen is now on the brink of “the world’s largest famine”, according to the United Nations. Already, 17 million people are dependent on external aid for food and medicine, while the country is fighting a massive cholera outbreak. 

The breakdown of government services, lack of drinking water and a crumbling health sector, besides the miseries of civil war and aerial bombardment, are fast turning Yemen into a failed state, and a breeding ground for extremist groups such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The Saudis say they are fighting Houthi rebels on behalf of the “legitimate” government of Yemen led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. But the facts are more complicated. When Yemen plunged into chaos after the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012, Houthi rebels mobilised forces and captured the capital city Sana’a and western parts of the country. Saudi Arabia, which shares a long border with Yemen, was wary of the rising influence of the Shia Houthis, who it sees as Iran-sponsored militia. The Saudis formed a coalition of anti-Houthi Sunni groups in Yemen and provided them with money and weapons, while its warplanes started attacking Houthi positions in March 2015. The war has dragged on since, with Sana’a still under Houthi control.

Saudi Arabia appears desperate to change the outcome of the war. This explains its decision last month to impose a blockade on the country in the midst of a severe food crisis. Though it eased the blockade later due to international pressure, the war still rages. It is high time the Saudis and the Houthis came to terms with reality. Houthis have ground-level support among Shias and perhaps assistance from Iran, but it is unclear whether they are capable of controlling the whole of Yemen and uniting its diverse populace. On the other side, Saudi Arabia has allies on the ground and superior air power, but it has still failed to defeat the Houthis. In recent weeks, the Saudis had reached out to Saleh, whose loyalists were fighting alongside the Houthis, in an apparent bid to break the rebel coalition. But a day after Saleh expressed readiness for talks with Riyadh, Houthis claimed to have killed him on Monday, escalating the civil war. To break this cycle, all warring parties, including the Houthis, the Saleh faction, fighters loyal to President Hadi and Saudi Arabia should move towards talks. Till now, the international community has largely looked away. It cannot continue to do so. Allies should put pressure on Riyadh to cease the bombing, and set the stage for talks between the factions.

Vocabulary

Tragedy: a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.

Example: The Play of King Lear is a great tragic play that many tragedies try to compare to.

Synonyms: disaster, calamity, catastrophe, cataclysm, misfortune, mishap,  blow

Brink: an extreme edge of land before a steep or vertical slope.

Example: The brink of the cliffs

Synonyms: edge, verge, margin, rim, lip, border, boundary, perimeter

Outbreak: the sudden or violent start of something unwelcome, such as war, disease, etc..

Example: The outbreak of World War II

Synonyms: eruption, flare-up, upsurge, groundswell, outburst

Crumble: break or fall apart into small fragments, especially over a period of time as part of a process of deterioration.

Example: The plaster started to crumble

Synonyms: disintegrate, fall apart, fall to pieces, fall down, break up, collapse

Misery: a state or feeling of great distress or discomfort of mind or body.

Example: She went upstairs and cried in misery

Synonyms: unhappiness, distress, wretchedness, suffering, anguish

Bombardment: a continuous attack with bombs, shells, or other missiles.

Example: An aerial bombardment will precede the attack

Breed: the mating and production of offspring by animals.

Example: Palolo worms use the moon to time their breeding

Synonyms: reproduction, procreation, mating; rearing, raising, nurturing

Complicate: make something more difficult or confusing by causing it to be more complex.

Example: Middlemen can complicate the process

Synonyms: make more difficult, make complicated, mix up, confuse

Coalition: an alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states.

Example: A coalition of conservatives and disaffected Democrats

Synonyms: alliance, union, partnership, bloc, caucus, federation, league

Desperate: feeling, showing, or involving a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with.

Example: A desperate sadness enveloped Ruth

Synonyms: despairing, hopeless, anguished, distressed, wretched, desolate

Blockade: an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.

Example: There was a blockade of humanitarian aid

Synonyms: siege, besiegement; barricade, barrier, roadblock, obstacle, obstruction

Assistance: the provision of money, resources, or information to help someone.

Example: Plans offering financial assistance to employers

Synonyms: help, aid, support, backing, reinforcement, succor, relief

Populace: the people living in a particular country or area.

Example: The party misjudged the mood of the populace

Synonyms: population, inhabitants, residents, natives, community, country

Readiness: willingness to do something.

Example: Spain had indicated a readiness to accept his terms

Synonyms: willingness, enthusiasm, eagerness, keenness, promptness

Loyal: giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.

Example: He remained loyal to the government

Synonyms: faithful, true, devoted, constant, steadfast, staunch