This Feb. 15, 2018, photo shows sand drifting over an empty highway from Abyan to Aden in Yemen. Violence, famine and disease have ravished the country of some 28 million, which was already the Arab world’s poorest before the conflict began. The conflict pits a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government, which has nominally relocated to Aden but largely lives in exile, against rebels known as Houthis. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
ADEN, Yemen—The mood is eerie on the mostly empty streets of Aden, Yemen’s southern port city and designated seat of government that has suffered three years of civil war.
Damaged buildings are hollowed-out versions of their former selves, a testament to past lives and aspirations of inhabitants who now scrape by on aid handouts and the bare minimum for survival. Shot-up storefronts and apartment blocks, carcasses of burnt-out armored vehicles and signs marking minefields now define the cityscape along the sea.
Violence, famine and disease have ravished the country of some 28 million, which was already the Arab world’s poorest before the conflict began. The conflict pits a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government, which has nominally relocated to Aden but largely lives in exile, against rebels known as Houthis.
In this Feb. 9, 2018, photo, a girl runs inside a school turned into a camp for displaced persons in Khanfar, Abyan, Yemen. She is just one of some 2 million displaced by the war in her country. The fighting has killed more than 10,000 people, and driven the Arab world’s poorest country to the brink of famine. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
This Feb. 9, 2018, photo shows damage inside a classroom of a school that turned into a camp for displaced persons in Khanfar, Abyan, Yemen. Because of the country’s civil war, damaged buildings are hollowed-out versions of their former selves, a testament to past lives and aspirations of inhabitants who now scrape by on aid handouts and the bare minimum for survival. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 12, 2018, photo, a girl pulls water from a well in the home of Ahmed al-Kawkabani, leader of the southern resistance unit in Hodeida, in al-Khoukha, Yemen. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
This Feb. 17, 2018, photo shows a damaged theme park in Aden, Yemen. The mood is eerie on the mostly empty streets of Aden, Yemen’s southern port city and designated seat of government that has suffered three years of civil war. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
This Feb. 11, 2018, photo shows a clock damaged due the ongoing war ahead of sunrise, in Aden, Yemen. The conflict in Yemen pits a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government, which has nominally relocated to Aden but largely lives in exile, against rebels known as Houthis. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 9, 2018, photo, a displaced girl from stands in her shelter in Abyan, Yemen. Violence, famine and disease have ravished the country of some 28 million, which was already the Arab world’s poorest before the war here began. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 12, 2018, photo, women walk past Saudi-led coalition backed forces, who are leading the campaign to take over Hodeida, as they patrol Mocha, a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. Violence, famine and disease have ravished the country of some 28 million, which was already the Arab world’s poorest before the conflict began. The conflict pits a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government, which has nominally relocated to Aden but largely lives in exile, against rebels known as Houthis. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 13, 2018, photo, a man jogs on the beach after the sun sets in Aden, Yemen. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
This Feb. 15, 2018, photo shows a sign with Arabic that reads, “danger mines, danger mines” on the highway from Abyan to Aden in Yemen. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 13, 2018, photo, a man smokes a traditional “shisha” water pipe inside his car parked his car in front of the beach in Aden, Yemen. Even with a civil war in full swing, people seek some simple recreations and acts of normal life. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 13, 2018, photo, a elderly man walks past a damaged building from the 2015 war in Aden, Yemen. Violence, famine and disease have ravished the country of some 28 million, which was already the Arab world’s poorest before the conflict began. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
This Feb. 10, 2018, photo shows a shipwreck abandoned on the shore from Mocha to Aden in Yemen. On the beach, old pleasure venues also lie empty, broken and deserted due to the civil war here. A shattered night club and a vacant children’s theme park are ghostlike reminders of generations past. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 12, 2018, photo, a girl walks alone on a street in al-Khoukha, Yemen. Since the Saudi-led coalition began its bombing campaign against the rebels in 2015, the U.N. estimates that some 10,000 civilians have been killed. Millions need humanitarian assistance and have been forced to flee their homes. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
This Feb. 17, 2018, photo shows the Mercedes Benz building damaged in Aden, Yemen. Once a peg in a thriving commercial center that sprang up under colonial rule, the dealership sits empty and pockmarked with bullet holes. Its damaged sign now stands over bay windows boarded up by people sheltering inside. With the war still raging, nothing is being rebuilt. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 15, 2018, photo, youth play pool on a street in front of damaged buildings due to the war in Aden, Yemen. Many damaged buildings are hollowed-out versions of their former selves, a testament to lives and hopes once lived by inhabitants who now scrape by on aid handouts and the bare minimum for survival. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
This Feb. 13, 2018, photo shows damage and bullet holes from the country’s civil war outside a women’s hair salon in Aden, Yemen. The mood is eerie on the mostly empty streets of Aden, Yemen’s southern port city and erstwhile seat of government that has suffered three years of civil war. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 12, 2018, photo, an elderly woman smokes a water pipe at the home of Ahmed al-Kawkabani, leader of the southern resistance unit in Hodeida, in al-Khoukha, Yemen. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
This Feb. 12, 2018, photo shows the interior of a home in Mocha, Yemen. Even with a civil war in full swing, people seek some simple recreations and acts of normal life. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
This Feb. 15, 2018, photo shows war damage outside Lelte boutique for wedding dresses on a street in Aden, Yemen. Despite the country’s ongoing war, wedding boutiques are open late into the night, salesmen inside chewing stimulant qat leaves to pass the time. “Women come in and look at some dresses, but they are expensive for people now, so it’s hard to sell,” said one clerk. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
In this Feb. 16, 2018, photo, 18-year-old Abdullah gets his hair cut at a barbershop in Aden, Yemen. Even with a civil war in full swing, people seek some simple recreations and acts of normal life—such as this young man’s haircut. Women visit salons where a blow-dry costs 200 Yemeni Riyals ($0.80). Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
Crumbling, empty billboards line Aden’s rubble-strewn streets. An old Mercedes-Benz dealership, once a peg in a thriving commercial center that sprang up under colonial rule, sits empty and pockmarked with bullet holes. Its damaged sign now stands over bay windows boarded up by people sheltering inside. With the war still raging, nothing is being rebuilt.
Since the Saudi-led coalition began its bombing campaign against the rebels in 2015, the U.N. estimates that some 10,000 civilians have been killed. Millions need humanitarian assistance and have been forced to flee their homes.
The Mercedes Benz building damaged in Aden, Yemen. Once a peg in a thriving commercial center that sprang up under colonial rule, the dealership sits empty and pockmarked with bullet holes. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
On the beach, old pleasure venues also lie empty, broken and deserted. A shattered night club and a vacant children’s theme park are ghostlike reminders of generations past.
Even with a civil war in full swing, people seek some simple recreations and acts of normal life — young men get haircuts and women visit salons where a blow-dry costs 200 Yemeni Riyals ($0.80).
Wedding boutiques are open till late at night, salesmen inside chewing stimulant qat leaves to pass the time. “Women come in and look at some dresses, but they are expensive for people now, so it’s hard to sell,” said one clerk.
“I am engaged and want to get married but how can I in this situation when I do not have a job?” said a nearby youth, who like most young men here has recently taken part in the fighting.
Youth play pool on a street in front of damaged buildings due to the war. Image by Nariman El-Mofty. Yemen, 2018.
