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StuckInYemen.Com: U.S. Citizens Can’t Get Out

Yemenis search for survivors in the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in a village near Sanaa, Yemen on April 4, 2015. CREDIT: AP
Yemenis search for survivors in the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in a village near Sanaa, Yemen on April 4, 2015. CREDIT: AP

A coalition of advocacy organizations are pushing the United States government to evacuate its citizens from Yemen as violence there claims more and more lives. The governments of several countries including Russia, India, Indonesia, and Algeria are among countries that have already evacuated their citizens among concerns that the conflict there will spin into a prolonged civil war. Even countries like Somalia and Pakistan which are grappling with prolonged violence at home have sent ships to rescue their citizens from Yemen.

“Unfortunately, the United States government and embassies abandoned Yemeni Americans,” the website, StuckinYemen.com reads. “The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) are collecting information from this intake form in an attempt to help Yemeni Americans currently in Yemen.”

In March, Saudi Arabia began to bomb Yemen along with its allies to push back Houthi rebels who took control of the Yemeni capital and forced its president into exile months ago. Many analysts project that the country is headed toward an all-out civil war.

“We believe there is a legal responsibility for U.S. State Department to protect its citizens,” Abed Ayoub of the ADC told ThinkProgress in a phone interview. “Citizens don’t know where next strikes are going to be or violence will occur or next attack will happen so leaving is their biggest concern.”

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The Stuck in Yemen website features a form for Americans Citizens to fill out so that the advocacy organizations like the ADC can put their cases forward to the State Department. Ayoub said that nearly 350 Americans have filled out the form since the site went live on April 1, but that thousands of Americans remain trapped in the country.

While the State Department has for years urged Americans not to travel to Yemen, those who have done so — mainly American Citizens of Yemeni origin — may now feel utterly abandoned by their government.

“The perception within the community is that the lives of Arabs don’t matter much to the U.S. Government,” Ayoub said. “The unwillingness to act feeds into this perception.”

A screenshot from StuckinYemen.com, a website run by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Council on American Islamic Relations, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice. CREDIT: StuckinYemen.com
A screenshot from StuckinYemen.com, a website run by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Council on American Islamic Relations, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice. CREDIT: StuckinYemen.com

In mid-February, the U.S. government closed its embassies in Yemen and evacuated its personnel. A month later, Yemen’s airports all but closed amid the conflict, making it nearly impossible to leave the Gulf state.

According to the World Health Organization, 540 people have been killed and more than 1,700 injured by the violence in Yemen since March 19.

At least one of them was an American citizen.

Jamal al Labani was killed in the conflict that he desperately tried to flee. The Hayward, California-based gas station owner was attempting to bring his pregnant wife and two-year old daughter back to the U.S. when, according to family members, he was killed by a mortar strike in the southern Yemeni city of Aden.

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“When he got [to Aden], after a few weeks he noticed things were starting to get bad and then the [U.S.] Embassy closed,” his cousin Mohammed Alazzani told CNN by phone.

Al Labani had told his relatives that he was concerned about being able to leave the country.

“The airports got closed and things got worse and worse. People were hoping things would get better, but they only got worse and worse,” Al Labani’s cousin said.

The 45-year-old then to explore crossing into Oman by land, and then flying to Egypt, but he was killed before he could make the journey.

“There really is no ground route out,” Ayoub said. “And the terrain of Yemen is very difficult to navigate. It’s very mountainous and hot. That paired with ongoing bombardment makes it almost impossible to flee.”

“We urge U.S. citizens to defer travel to Yemen and for those U.S. citizens currently living in or visiting Yemen to depart,” a State Department-issued travel warning from April 3 said.

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“There are no plans for a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of U.S. citizens at this time,” the State Department said on April 6, and advised citizens “stay alert for other opportunities to leave the country.”

Several countries resorted to evacuating their citizens from Yemen on war ships and received permission from the Yemeni government to fly into the country for a few hours a day to fly out civilians.

Yemenis search for survivors in the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in a village near Sana’a, Yemen on April 4, 2015. CREDIT: AP
Yemenis search for survivors in the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in a village near Sana’a, Yemen on April 4, 2015. CREDIT: AP

When asked at a press conference why the United States can’t evacuate American citizens from Yemen given its military assets in the region, State Department Spokesperson Marie Harf said, “It’s not that we can’t. There’s always a decision. Different factors are weighed, whether it’s a security situation or how we would be able to do this.”

“We’re continuing to re-evaluate the situation and if we have any changes to whether or not we’ll evacuate people, we will certainly let folks know,” she added. “At this point, we have encouraged all U.S. citizens to shelter in secure locations until they are able to depart safely.”

The State Department sent two emergency messages to American citizens notifying them of opportunities to leave the country, largely through the evacuation efforts carried out by other countries.

One such opportunity was for a flight out of Sana’a through a ceasefire arrangement the Indian government made to help its own citizens flee the conflict. Government officials suggested that Americans board Indian naval ships, promising only that “U.S. citizens may be able to board these vessels.” For both air and maritime departures, the State Department advised American Citizens to contact the Indian Embassy in Sana’a to make arrangements.

Abed Ayoub of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee said that he and partner organizations are engaged in discussions with the State Department about the U.S.-led evacuation of American Citizens. Should the State Department refuse to do so, the ADC is prepared to file a lawsuit against it, as it did against top cabinet officials for failing to protect American citizens from Israeli bombardments of Lebanon in 2006. The ADC withdrew the case when ceasefire was declared after a month of conflict.

Update:

On Thursday, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court on behalf of Yemeni-Americans “stranded” in Yemen. The plaintiffs are suing the United States Secretaries of State and Defense in order to “compel” U.S. government agencies “to initiate evacuation efforts and secure the safety and well-being of its citizens.”