Share your perspective on the war in Yemen

We want to hear what you think about the conflict in Yemen and America’s role in Yemeni affairs. Record an audio message using your mobile phone or computer, and email it to us at mafraj@yemenpeaceproject.org. We’ll include your message in an upcoming episode of the Mafraj Radio podcast and post it on the Mafraj Blog. We welcome comments on any aspect of the conflict, but here are a few prompts to get you started:

  • Should the United States continue to support the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen?
  • Do you think the planned coalition campaign to capture/liberate al-Hudaydah is a good idea?
  • If you were in charge of the peace process, what would you do to bring the warring parties back to the negotiating table?

We look forward to hearing from you!

Mafraj Radio #29: America at war

Welcome to the long-awaited fourth season of Mafraj Radio, the official podcast of the Yemen Peace Project. I’m Will Picard. On this episode we’ll discuss America’s role in Yemen’s civil war, and the Trump administration’s efforts to block citizens of Yemen and five other nations from entering the United States. And we’ll meet one of the many Yemeni immigrants who call America home.

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Mafraj Radio #28: Wartime Journal bonus episode

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This episode features another entry in our Wartime Journal series. We’ve asked contributors in different parts of Yemen to record audio journal entries for us, conveying their own personal experience of Yemen’s ongoing war. Our first installments featured recordings by an anonymous civil servant living in San’a. That same contributor offers her observations on how Yemen’s war has pushed millions of Yemenis into deep poverty, and even starvation. 

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Mafraj Radio #27: Introducing the Wartime Journal

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This episode includes the first two installments in a new recurring feature we're calling the Wartime Journal. We’ve asked contributors in different parts of Yemen to record audio journal entries for us, conveying their own personal experience of Yemen’s ongoing war. Our first journal entry comes from Yemen’s capital, San’a.

Mafraj Radio #26: A-WA celebrates Yemenite heritage through music

On this episode of Mafraj Radio, we meet Tair, Liron, and Tagel Haim, three Israeli sisters from a Yemeni Jewish family, who perform Yemenite folk music with a modern twist. Their band, A-WA, released their first video online last year, and have found eager audiences throughout Europe and the US, as well as at home in Israel. 

Mafraj Radio #22: A conflict retrospective

On this episode we revisit three of the most important interviews we've broadcast since the beginning of Yemen's internationalized armed conflict in March of this year: Nadwa al-Dawsari on the conflict in Marib, Alex Potter on Yemeni refugees and life during wartime in San‘a, and Professor Muneer Ahmed on the conflict's impact on al-Hudaydah and the Tihamah. 

Mafraj Radio #18: Marib, Saudi politics, and Change Square in photos

On this episode we take a closer look at one of the many front lines in Yemen's civil war(s), the governorate of Marib, where local tribes are fighting to repel pro-Houthi and pro-Saleh forces. We also talk about the politics behind Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen, and look back at Change Square, four years after Yemen's popular uprising.

Mafraj Radio #17: Yemen's civil war goes international

On this episode we discuss Yemen's escalating civil war between forces aligned with the Houthi movement and former president 'Ali 'Abdullah Saleh on one side, and Yemen's recently-ousted president 'Abdu Rabu Mansur Hadi and other regional factions on the other. On March 25, a coalition of foreign governments led by Saudi Arabia joined the war, launching hundreds of airstrikes against pro-Houthi and pro-Saleh forces. Hundreds of Yemenis have been killed so far, most of them civilians.

Mafraj Radio #16: 20 Years of Houthi History in 48 Minutes

On the first episode of our third season, we explore the origins and expansion of the Houthi movement, also referred to as Ansar Allah, and we look at how the movement has adjusted to its new-found power, following the fall of Yemen's government. Get ready for 20 years of Houthi history in 48 minutes! This episode features clips from Mafraj Radio episode 1, which featured interviews with Adam Baron and Madeleine Wells Goldburt, and episode 13, which featured Peter Salisbury and Hussain Albukhaiti. This episode also features new interviews with Albokhaiti and Baraa Shiban.

Mafraj Radio Episode 15: UK Strategy, and Reprieve on Multiple Kills

On this episode we speak with Sir Alan Duncan, the British government’s Special Envoy to Yemen, about UK foreign policy and his thoughts on Yemen’s precarious transition. We also talk to Jennifer Gibson, a staff attorney for the London-based NGO Reprieve. Her recently-published report reveals damning details about the American targeted killing program. Sir Alan Duncan is the United Kingdom's Special Envoy to Yemen and Special Envoy to Oman. He has served as a Member of Parliament since 1992.

Jennifer Gibson is a staff attorney at the NGO Reprieve, where she leads the organization's program on issues related to US drone strikes in Pakistan. She tweets at @jennifermgibson.

You can read more about Jennifer's report on multiple kills here. Gregory Johnsen's piece on a December 2013 strike, which killed 12 members of a Yemeni wedding party, is here.

I close this episode with a brief segment on the tragic death of American photojournalist Luke Somers. The segment is a condensed version of a recent blog post.

Mafraj Radio Episode 14: an accidental war correspondent, and two Yemeni-Americans making a difference

On this episode, we speak with journalist Laura Kasinof about her forthcoming memoir, which details her experiences covering Yemen's 2011 revolution for the New York Times. We also meet Rawan al-Halali and Jenna Zabarah, two young Yemeni-Americans who are working to make a difference in Yemen and beyond through their new organization, Lift Up Mankind.

Laura Kasinof began filing stories from Yemen as a freelance reporter in 2009. During 2011 she covered Yemen's popular uprising for the New York Times and other publications. She was also part of our panel of foreign journalists on episode 4 of the podcast. She tweets at @kasinof.

Laura's memoir, Don't Be Afraid of the Bullets: An Accidental War Correspondent in Yemen, is available in stores on November 11. You can pre-order the book from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Laura says that anyone in Yemen who wants a copy of the book can contact her; send us an email and we'll pass it along.

Rawan al-Halali is the founder of Lift Up Mankind, and a student at George Mason University.

Jenna Zabarah is a recent graduate of George Mason University, and a founding member of Lift Up Mankind. She is also a photographer; her work was featured in our 2014 International Yemeni Film & Arts Festival. She tweets at @notaphotographr. You can see more of her photos on her blog.

Mafraj Radio episode 13: President Hadi vs. Ansar Allah

On this episode we take an in-depth look at the Huthi movement, which is waging a campaign of expansion in Yemen's north and mounting mass protests against the government in San‘a. We speak with pro-Huthi activist Alhossain Albokhaiti, who has participated in the protests in the capital, and with journalist Peter Salisbury, who has written about Yemen and the Huthi movement for Al Jazeera, Vice, and other publications. 

We went into greater detail on the origins of the Huthi movement on the first episode of Mafraj Radio, which is worth revisiting.

For more information on the current crisis, check out these articles:

The UN Security Council's committee for the implementation of Resolution 2140 issued a press release today describing the interim report of its "expert panel," which was established to determine which individuals and parties in Yemen should face sanctions for interfering with the transition process. The report suggests that the Huthi leadership is at the top of the list.