The sword it is which wins battles but it is wisdom and justice which win the peace. The way the Saudi-led Arab forces confronted the Houthi rebels in Yemen has transformed the conflict. The awesome power the Kingdom demonstrated with Operation Decisive Storm has caused many of the insurgents to consider the choices they have made in a new light.
It is not simply that the alliance’s warplanes have inflicted such serious damage on the Houthi militias and their positions. Many Houthis who were once enthusiastic supporters of their rebellion, now realize that the battles in which they have been fighting and dying, are being fought not for themselves but for outside forces, notably Iran.
But even as they recoil from the juddering blows they have received in the air campaign that the Kingdom has led so masterfully, the Houthis are seeing something quite remarkable. The same Saudi hand that dealt with terrorists with such devastating effect is now being extended in a gesture of peace. It holds an undreamt-of offer of help. Operation Restore Hope is the peaceful successor to Operation Decisive Storm. It is proving to be one of the most outstanding humanitarian operations ever launched.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has ordered the immediate creation of a $274 million emergency fund. Very impressively, this bounty is already being used to help Yemeni victims of the insurgency.
In the wake of the tragedy of war or natural catastrophe, many countries around the world pledge money. But all too often the promised funds do not arrive swiftly, if indeed they arrive at all. In the wake of the first terrible earthquake this month, the Nepalese government struggled to cope with a mammoth disaster. It noted bitterly that “immediate” pledges of aid had still not arrived days later. And sometimes, scandalously, as in Afghanistan, the provision of money comes with strings attached. Seemingly generous aid is linked to it being spent on suppliers and contractors from the donor country. What is given with one hand is taken away with the other. It is therefore no gift at all.
No such half-measures have been evident in the Kingdom’s response to the crisis in Yemen. King Salman’s humanitarian response has been generous and instant. The creation of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Operations is fully-funded. It will be used to assist Yemen rebuild roads and infrastructure damaged as a result of the rebellion. It will also help Yemenis rebuild peace in their country. Put in a wider context, King Salman’s munificence is a continuation of the Kingdom’s longstanding support for its southern neighbor. Since around the turn of the century, Saudi Arabia has provided Yemen with some SR14.5 billion in direct aid.
On top of that money has been the substantial flow of earning repatriated by Yemenis working here in the Kingdom. It is toward them that King Salman has extended the second key humanitarian gesture at this hour of their country’s greatest need. He has granted a number of concessions to all illegal Yemeni migrants. He has directed that the legal status of all Yemenis in this country should be regularized. This means that those who have been here illegally are now no longer in danger of prosecution and deportation. They can correct their status by visiting the Passport Department. Overnight these individuals and their families have become entitled to be given six-month renewable visas. They are also allowed to work here.
Actually sorting out the documentation is a challenging task. Many of the Yemenis who have arrived illegally have never had a Yemeni passport. Clearly before their position in the Kingdom can be regularized they will have to obtain Yemeni travel documents. But King Salman has also willed the means for this.
Temporary offices are being opened up across the country to allow Yemenis to sort out their travel papers. Once they have these they will discover that the Saudi bureaucracy has geared up to deal with them. Passport departments have brought in extra staff. The aim is to process the new, fully-legal status of Yemenis as swiftly and efficiently as possible. Along the way, officials will explain the amnesty granted them by King Salman and what this means for their future.
Sorting out Yemen is going to be a huge task. No one should pretend otherwise. The rebels have still not accepted that their Iranian-inspired cause is irretrievably lost. Nevertheless, King Salman’s noble and generous support for all Yemenis is surely a crucial move restoring peace and security to their country.
KSA’s generosity for Yemeni people
