Yemen As Viewed By Others

Late last year, I did a blog search for blogs on Yemen and Hadhramout in particular. I was more interested on those written in English. I found very few and was surprised that all the prominent ones I did find, were written by non Yemenis; most of whom were living out of Yemen. Most had never even visited Yemen at all. And yet the sites were considered as reliable sources on information on Yemen.

What disturbed me about these sites, was that - they had very little good or positive things to say about my country. Most simply focused on the bad and negative aspects. It was/is as if, nothing good or encouraging happens in Yemen. The most prominent of these blogs was/is mainly political, and was/is used, mainly, as a forum for dissent and almost every thing it writes on Yemen's politics - is negative. One blog, went as far as saying that there were no beautiful beaches in Yemen; to the contrary - some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, are here; and I have been to some world renowned ones in East Africa. In fact, I have never seen beaches as beautiful and pristine as some that I have seen in Hadhramout and Mahra (the Eastern side of Yemen); they only lack coconut trees and need to be developed. Another blog went on to have all these ugly pictures of public toilets around Sana'a and Aden with very negative comments; and yet another repeatedly shows the ugliest photos of parts of Yemen: dirty streets, garbage and litter, poor and ugly neighborhoods, beggars in the streets and so on.

Of all the sites I found, then, one (American) which was prominent and was well read with many comments - had very ugly things to say about Yemen. It went on to say that, most Yemenis possess guns (which is a fact), that most of us, men, are terrorists and are violent (which is totally wrong!) and that average life expectancy here is only 42 years (again,very wrong!). It went further on, to say - that my country is very violent and extremely dangerous to visit; while, honestly, Yemen is one of the safest places on Earth one can visit.

I wondered at how people can believe and rely on these sites written by people who have never ever been to my country! And whose only interests, is to spread lies and a wrong impression of Yemen (so it seems to me). Some of these sites are intentionally written to make Yemen appear ugly and unattractive; while some, are simply so - due to the authors' ignorance of my country.

It's not that it's wrong to write negatively on any subject or issue; in fact, that can be helpful and constructive. But, I find it totally wrong and unacceptable for any one to write repeatedly and continuously - only negative and bad things about my country. More so, from sources living out of here, who have never been here and who - apparently - have very little interest in us and our country, here.

It's us Yemenis ourselves, to blame for this; we should be more active in presenting, portraying and giving our views on our country; bad or good, negative or positive - but, our own views. Especially through the web. We are not doing much of that now.

Sources On Yemen: Arab.net,Yemen Times, Al-bab, YouTube

Comments

Unknown said…
Assalamulykum, i was researching on Hadhramout n i came upon ur Blog.Beautiful pictures, i still havent found wot im looking 4. just wondering if u could help me with my search. if so contact me at ash_325a@hotmail.com. THANX
Anonymous said…
Ash, I am not that stupid for this kind of trick. Try to be smarter!
nzm said…
Hello Omar

I've been reading your blog and gazing at your beautiful images of Yemen since you were welcomed to iToot!

We live in Dubai, and having visited Oman and seen how gorgeous it is and how friendly the Omanis are, we would also love to visit Yemen.

However, we've been put off by comments made by people saying that there are lots of kidnappings of foreigners, mainly to be used as bartering between tribes/villages and the government. (The government pays for the release of the foreigners by promising something in exchange for them.)

As 2 women wanting to travel into Yemen, how safe would it be for us, and what's the best way to do this? Would it be safer for us to fly to Yemen from Dubai and do an organised tour, rather than drive ourselves?

Any help would be appreciated, or some sites that you recommend for us to gain more insight.

thanks - and keep up the gorgeous posts and images!

regards
nzm
Anonymous said…
Salamaat,
I love your blog for precisely that reason; thank you for giving us a glimpse into Yemen; maybe one day I can join you in writing about it's beauty Inshaallah :)
Unknown said…
Im not sure wot ur talkin bout. all i needed was a detailed map of Hadhramout. No tricks but i guess u dont wanna help dats fine ill find it some other way.
shinji@tokyo said…
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Ann Tamimi said…
I want to go to Hadhramout this year with the family. Mr. Man's family lives in Tarim. Inshallah it will happen.

I think your blog is a great way to dispell much of the misinformation out there. And show another side to Yemen that so many wouldn't know.
Anonymous said…
nzm - I do apologise for having taken so long without answering your comments.

I would still say that, Yemen is one of the safest places for a tourist, more so - for a woman tourist. Apart from the kidnappings, which are very rare indeed and almost unlikely these days, Yemen has a very low crime rate and our people are awesomely friendly. Due to the tribal nature of the people of Yemen, women are cared for and I have never heard of any woman tourist, ever, being hurt.

Go to these sites for more: http://www.utcyemen.com/

http://www.yemen-explorers.com/oman.htm

http://www.yemen-explorers.com/
Anonymous said…
Nzingha - thanks for the comment. It has always been enlightening too and a pleasure reading your own blog.
nzm said…
Omar: Thanks so much for your advice, and the websites are great!

I'm really looking forward to coming to Yemen - Insh'allah that it will be sooner than later.
tlamha said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jed Carosaari said…
Visit my blog from December '05. I had many more positive things to say about my trip to your country.

And I'm overjoyed to have discovered your blog. It's good reading!
t said…
I also like your blog and have linked to it.
I hope to visit Yemen for a very long time, many years if possible, because my first visit was so lovely.
Anonymous said…
@abdul muhib - thanks for the comment. I will certainly visit your site.

t - thanks too. You are welcome. I will visit your site too.
Anonymous said…
Tintin - if I have answers to your questions, I will.
tlamha said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said…
Tintin - I fear of questions that would require the privacy of email. Whatever questions are to be asked, can be asked here and I would be willing to answer them if I can. And NEVER through email.
tlamha said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said…
Tintin - 'Yemen Times' (http://yementimes.com/index.shtml) is the leading, independent English language newspaper and 'Yemen Observer' (http://www.yobserver.com/) is a pro-goverment, independent English newspaper. I hope this helps you.
tlamha said…
Very much, Omar. Alf shukr and have a good week.

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