From Foreign Policy
Yemenis desperately need hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid being offered by Saudi Arabia. But relief workers are wary of taking the money while Saudi airstrikes continue.
- BY LARA JAKES
Humanitarian aid groups that have been a lifeline to millions of desperate people in Yemen are considering rejecting a $274 million donation from Saudi Arabia as long as Riyadh continues bombing Houthi rebels in the Mideast’s newest war.
The conflict — which is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran — presents an ethical dilemma for aid workers who need the funds to help hungry, sick, and homeless civilians in Yemen but are wary of appearing complicit in the devastating air campaign that is believed to have killed more than 1,000 people.
The Saudi Arabian donation may be unprecedented in its scope: It is believed the first time in recent memory that a single nation has paid 100 percent of a so-called “flash appeal” emergency fund that is managed by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Flash appeals are usually funded by multiple donors.
One Western aid worker, who was recently evacuated from Sanaa and spoke to Foreign Policy on condition of not being identified, called the Saudi donation “guilt money” for moving ahead with its bombing campaign instead of aggressively pushing for a cease-fire. Another aid worker from a different organization urged colleagues to “avoid [having] the KSA fund the humanitarian response in Yemen,” according to e-mails obtained by FP that were sent to at least eight relief agencies, including the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, CARE International, Oxfam, and Save The Children.
KSA stands for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its embassy in Washington declined comment for this story.
The dilemma is nearing a decision point: Aid groups will have to decide in the next few weeks whether to accept the Saudi donation, which was given to the United Nations humanitarian affairs office to be parceled out to relief organizations. Top officials with U.N. and Red Cross humanitarian aid missions will meet May 13 with international relief groups to discuss the Yemen funding appeal.
At least one major aid organization — which declined to be identified until a decision is reached — is leaning against taking the money, and others are wrestling with whether they should also reject it, according to emails and interviews with a half-dozen humanitarian workers and advocacy missions. Nearly all spoke to FP on condition of anonymity as their organizations consider whether a perceived stigma of allying with Riyadh outweighs the urgent need of ministering to the war’s civilian victims.
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