Great Escape: Yemeni Girl Flees Houthis Dressed Up Like Man
In this April 12, 2015 photo, a Yemeni refugee prays at a boarding fracility run by the UN High Commission for Refugees in Obock, a small port in Djibouti on the northern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura, where it opens out into the Gulf of Aden. (AFP)
Yemenis who have escaped the clutches of the Houthis have horror stories to tell.
Their hopes rested on a thin line between life and death.
The story of Zamzam, a young Yemeni girl, is an example of what ordinary citizens are enduring because of the reign of terror unleashed by the Houthis.
Zamzam was forced by her mother to cut her long hair to look like a boy. She was put in men’s attire. Her mother was afraid that the Houthis might capture her and harm her at the border checkpoint on the Yemeni side.
Umm Zamzam said: “Those were the most difficult and harrowing moments my family and I experienced since the beginning of Operation Decisive Storm. My fear for my daughter forced me to replace her garments with boy’s clothes and cut her hair short to avoid any means for blackmailing the family or taking the child by force, which has happened with other families.”
Once they reached Saudi territory, their eyes filled with tears of joy. She added that all the hardships they faced are now gone once they reached Saudi soil safe and sound.
The border crossing at Towal witnesses long queues of people kneeling to the ground thanking Allah for saving them from death.
Other Arab nationals also talked to the media on the hardships they faced until they reached the border crossing, adding: “They, Yemeni border officials, searched us and said horrible things to us because we left Yemen at this particular time.”
Those who cannot manage to leave Yemeni territory controlled by Houthis have been given up for dead.